Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-11-05

be greatly TO our advantage to re-
quire a year of additional prepare
ton of all students desiring to enter
our college either in a Well-organized
and equipped secondary school pre-
pared to do advanced work or in the
university proper. We are securing
it now by making our students carry
an extra load of ten hours of college
work for graduation as compared
with those pursuing the A. B. and
other coordinate courses. l have
been told frequently that the policy
we have inaugurated was impract1-
cable; that students would not pur-
sue courses where the handicap was
so great Strange to say, there are
more men and women registered in
our four-year course at this time
than ever before in the history OF
the college, and our technical
courses have grown up and expand
ed alongside courses leading to the
degrees of A. B., B. S., B. S. in edu-
cation, B. S. in commerce, and other
allied subjects. A technical school
in any event must at least maintain
the same entrance requirements as
the state university. I do not see
how it could, hope to properly func-
ton on any other plane. would
like to put our work on a five-year
basis, and hope this can be done
at no distant date. I think those
in charge of carrying forward tech
nical instruction in the leading in
stitutions Of our country are of the
same opinion. A precedent has al
ready been set in this direction, as
you doubtless recall, through the &C.
ton taken by our medical schools.
The impression. that a student in
technical school does not need
training in those courses which the
experience of educators has demon
Strated as possessing special value
for the development of the mind is
altogether wrong. The graduate of
a technical school must have the
ability to read and express himself
in a foreign language and must
know as much about history and
economics and the use of his mother
tongue as any other college gradu-
ate. In addition he must give hours
upon hours of time to his laboratory
courses or else, he will go out into
the world improperly prepared to
handle the subject in which he has
specialized. Unless he does this, he
will eventually fall behind and fail
as leader of the society he was
supposedly prepared to serve.
In regard to the normal schools,
what subject is now required for en-
trance to a university with which a
would-be teacher should not be ia
miliar? Every one appreciates the
fact that we must raise our stand
ards Of instruction throughout the
United States. Can We do this by
lowering the entrance requirements
to the normal schools2 Are we gain
ing anything by taking in the crowd
just as it comes to usf' Under such
circumstances, L consht:r that we
are penaliZing the ll.prepared stu
dent and the school as well to which
we, assign our inefficieutly prepared,
so-called teacher graduates. The high
schools of the south from this date
forward will graduate enough boy S
and girls to fill our nornlal schools
to overf1oWing each year. There is
no reason, therefore, why we should
not set up q standard of fifteen
units for these institutions. There
is no excuse, in so far as J. can see,
for the normal schools not organic
ing and conducting their courses of
instruction in accordance with a
plan which will mako them the
equivalent to those offered in a
standard university. This should be
done in justice 10 the schools and
to the students themselves. Certain
ly we cannot expect to Do less and
measure out even-handed justice to
the coming generations. The states
which operate on this plan will nat
urally enjoy a material advantage
over those commonwealth which
fail to organize on the basis indi-
Gated,