The sun., 1919-11-02
What the Colleges Must
Do at This Critical Time
AS Never Before They Must Demand Accuracy-Must
Place Higher Valuation on Art of Teaching
and Must Modernize Their Students



nicsl skill. OF those who are ardent
advocates of research and Of those who,
conceding their good taste, look with
disdain upon Inspiration"
Even so. the need here Is self-evident.
Tho externality and formality OF educa-
tion to-day Is generally conceded. This
generation faces stupendous tasks and
has unlimited potentialities which must
be aroused.
The duty of the college of liberal
arts Is to place q higher valuation upon
the art Of teaching. The result is
two-fold: "a. A student who studies
rather, one who is actually concerned
about his understanding OF truth and
life; (2) teacher who teaches-rather,
one who recognizes that a human being
Is one Of the final values of life, and
therefore actually proceeds upon the
hypothesis that the thing which counts
10 not the quantity of material pre-
sented but the actual positive awaken
ing Of q human spirit
The college must modernize It's stu
dents. The war has left tremendous
burdens and released marvellous new
forces. No intelligent citizen to-day can
assume his duties without some knowl-
edge OF our main problems For ex-
ample. the questions involved In our new
international situation, the difficulties
centring in the relationships of capital
and labor and the critical situations
arising out OF the demands of radical
groups, all present subjects which the
trained student cannot ignore.
Students must be at home In the whole
field OF the social sciences. But back
of this fact must be recognized the pri-
mary Importance of the prevailing at
mosphere of the institution. Every
classroom should be permeated with the
spirit of cogent discussion. Every COL
leSe should have its forum at which the
vital issues of the day are vigorously
debated. Members OF the faculty and
students should mingle together and
discuss problems on a perfectly normal
and human basis. The daily CONVERSE
ton OF students should reflect q natural
but genuine concern for public policies
They should anticipate as students their
duties as citizens.
The colleges must be training schools
in integrity. This Is a strange asser-
ton. but the present world situation
justifes It. The war shook the con-
idence OF the world. Mutual good will
and trust are the primary needs Of
German educational system has pro-
voked the most careful scrutiny Of our
colleges and universities. The unescap-
able lesson of the war is that Germany
lacked integrity. She manifested It by
her duplicity and her repeated efforts
to eliminate ethical considerations from
international relationships. As the
world trusts America to-day. SO Amer
lea must be able to trust her colleges
The college. therefore. must stand for
absolute, unqualified devotion to the
truth. Honest work must be done In
every class room and laboratory. Intel
lectual integrity must be our first az
sumption. A general standard must pre-
vail which requires plain honesty and
sheer integrity in all collegiate relation.
ships. Hte
Our colleges must send forth grad
yates who are not only honest but who
will be accepted by the community as
honest We must keep our hands clean
There must be no smell of smoke on
our garments. We must avoid all ap-
pearance of evil. In the world the COL
lege graduate must be a man who in
stinctively and necessarily opposes the
business man who profiteers, the labor
ing man who shirks, the politician who
sacrifices public veal to private gain, the
citizen who enjoys the blessings OF Amer
lean citizenship but accepts none Of its
obligations, the radical who destroys
without building up and the conservative
who exalts the past and neglects the
plain duties of the present
The future of the college OF liberal
arts Is at stake. The situation is
critical. Its most glorious days are
ahead. II 1t can train a generation OF
men who will work accurately. II II
can awaken its students to tho full
glories of being alive. II 1t can help
them to know their own day, and abovs
all II II can make them genuinely trust
worthy. These are not new duties. They
are the old tasks accentuated by the
| demands OF a new day