Arizona republican., 1921-07-12
A NEW IDEA IN EDUCATION

ipWeu 10 waste muCn pr ulS tiIue at an ill-chosen study. The dean has found many students who just wish to be this or that without having sup plemented this desire with anything like an analysis of their own charac- teristics or natural ability for the work they think they want to under take.
 Follow the Natural Bent
 The student who is found to be naturally gifted and fitted Cor the profession of engineering requires only the usual course, and may be de- pended upon to make good For others whose fitness and ability are not so we'll defined. Dean Potter holds that it is the high duty of these your men and their instructors to put the student in the right way to achieve the utmost possible, and to advise him to study to fit himself for that position in life for which he is best fitted by temperament training and natural characteristics.
 In telling of his tests, Dean Potter says that the boy who reaches Is years without any evidence of inven- tive ability will never make design ing engineer. On the other hand, the boy who is never satisfied with his toys as they come to him. who seeks to change and improve them. as well as everything else that comes to hand. has in him one of the main essentials l for the profession.
 Dean Potter makes the broad claim that a teacher should make studies so interesting that the stu- dent will not have to be urged and driven to them. Also he warmly | urges not to take the printed page 1 fnx cd fo a. pie write books" but to test what Is read by the use of ordinary common sense and learn to skip judiciously.
 Another Potter principle which he applies is that to make success of making men one has to keep right I with them and keep the interest | young and vigorous. He has many plans at work for doing this. one be- ing to write short accounts of any notable thing the student does in his college work, and send it to the boy home paper The publication of this | serves the purpose of letting the stu dent know that his folks back home
 know how we'll he is doing, his par
 ents and friends are naturally pleased
 and responsive. and a general asse'
 of good feeling is created.
 AS the student progresses in his
 work. he learns that there are other influences which will help him to sue cess if he deserves 1t. Dean Potter is in constant touch with leading mem
 bers of his profession and large em- ployers of engineering talent. He i'
 quick 10 make known at Purdue an,
 valuable innovation he finds in th' | practice of engineering. He is for
 ever looking for openings for hi
 graduates for which they are pecu liarly fitted. As he puts it. he "sell' the crop every year, and Is keeni. interested in seeing to it that thu
 crop is high grade and placed to th' best advantage.
 Room fer the Right Men Many large corporations send eacf
 year at graduation time 'to add t'
 their technical forces from source
 in which they have the highest faith Despite the general stacking of indus try. there was a good demand To Dean Potter's graduates who close' ! their course successfully last month
 They labor long and hard with tn | boy at Purdue who is looking for col ', lege life but does not want his studie
 to interfere too much. They behev this attitude is the result of a meth !, cd that made the boy learn bool , instead of compelling his interest Il
 a study. Dean Potter holds strongl, : to the belief that the real pleasure T
 the world is in intelligent, interest
 ing work. and he has to his recor'
 many instances of snccess in turnin s students to his view, from which the : have not subsequently departed. Tn 5 dean believes in academic freedom g sports and pastimes, hobbies and in
 terests, but his face is firmly SC : against academic license and con 3 firmed laziness.