The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-02-19
TEACHER VS.. THE TAUGHT.

PrOf. Lake, OF 6afvarQ: NOW IHdL
the question Of changes both in the
spirit and form of university educa-
ton is SO much before the public, 1t
is perhaps not out Of place to draw
attention to the fallacy which seems
to underlie the suggestion so fre-
quently heard, that it is the duty Of
universities to work hard and ito do
more" and therefore to spend more
hours in instruction.
Universities, roughly speaking, con-
sist Of two classes Of men, those who
are being taught and those, who
are teaching themselves and those
who are teaching others and
teaching themselves. The common
term is self-instruction; and that
is the justification for very much
shorter periods, not of work, but
OF instruction, in university than
in a high school. Teachers and
taught in a high school are almost
exclusively busy with codified knowl-
edge; but the teacher in university
has not merely to hand on the facts
and information which he has al
ready learned. but has also to spend
| great deal of his time in attacking
the problem Of knowledge .fn the
making: and the pupil has not
merely to absorb information, but to
learn how to think and to find out
| things for himself. ft
/ In this respect American universe
ties have still something to learn
from those Of Europe. The only adj
vantage which a professor in the
European university has over one In
i America is that he has considerably
more leisure in the course of the
! year which he can devote wholly to
learning and not to teaching; and
anyone who has experience of Euro
pean universities will agree that in
| general the deficiency in quantity in
! European instruction is more than
compensated by the heightened quail
! ty given by more attention on the
/ part of the instructor to research.
Turning to those who are still In
| statrl pupillari, the great mistake
which they make, and which it must
be admitted Is sometimes made by
! their instructors, is in thinking thai
the university is place where mer
are taught rather than place where
! they are given facilities for learning
! The most important thing which {
student does at a university is tc
learn how to teach himself by the
proper use of books and by exploit
ing his teachers to the best advan
tage. The professor who does moi
like to answer questions and the stu
dent who never approaches profes
sors in order to interrogate them are
both missing the way. There is moth
ing which the American studen
needs more than to understand tina
lectures are help to learning and
not a substitute for It.
Most men at Harvard would be i'm
measurably improved if they coult
spend less time in attending lecture!
and more time in finding things gu
for themselves. "The student is tn,
unit not the course" The universit,
ought to differ from the high school
not merely in the standard OF attain
ment, but also in the kind of worl
which it requires. The greatest re
form needed IN an American uniyer
sity Is a reform in the attitude o
mind of students and a correspond
ing change in our methods Of grading
men so that the man who durin,
three years has resolutely refused t,
think for himself and contented him
self with absorbing peptonized infor
nation, will find himself handicappe,
and not rewarded.