The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1922-01-12
A LONG LOOK EXCEPTIONALLY
Teachers College Budget
By Dean F. B. Taylor
of jamestown College.

of Jamestown College.
am wondering whether those ed
ucators who propose to relieve the
present pressure upon the facilities
for higher education by excluding
some Of the applicants for admission
are looking far enough and deer
enough thru and into the nature and
purpose of education in general.
In spite of the wide discussion of
the situation which has prevailed for
some time l was. | confess, somewhat
startled on hearing our new National
Commissioner of Education state or
imply that admissions should be linn
tied because the occupations for COL
lege and university graduates are linn
tied and that those admitted should
be selected, by some means, from the
most gifted four per cent Of the pop
ulation, because none others are fit
to profit by the higher education and
use it to the profit of society. His
splendid democratic speech later did
not modify this view, for in the later
address he was evidently considering
popular education, not higher educa-
ton.
l refer to Doctor Tigert's utter
ance in his brief talk to the Higher
Education section, not for the sake of
criticizng, but to show how high his
idea of limiting higher education to
select few has reached, and to en-
phasize the corresponding necessity
of protest from those who do not ac-
cept it. Possibly my opposition to
| the aristocratic basis Of selection
for the privilege Of a college or uni
versity course may grow out of the
conviction, the knowledge in fact,
| that it would have excluded me. At
any rate l am rather proud of be-
longing to the great body of citizens
of medium ability VINO do things,
keep the world moving and hold it
steady. I seriously doubt whether
more than four or five per cent of Mr..
Tigert's little audience of college
professors that Wednesday forenoon
would have been there if the stand
ard which he seemed to indorse had
been strictly enforced during the
past thirty, or forty years. l am in
clined to think that most of that BIZ
ologically top four per cent at least
in the United States, go directly into
business or politics: without stopping
for much higher education, and that
mere hole in the wall would not
draw them into it. Genius and talent
are impatient and new America has
bribed them to enter practical affairs
headlong. Politics was a practical
opening for Lincoln, and he jumped
into it at nineteen. He was educated
in the business and, being great,
made good in it, 1t is not the talent
ed that most neel extensive formal
education or profit most by it in
their own personalities. The super
latively great will find their places in
leaders without artificial education.
But a broadly based public opinion
arising from the developed intelli-
gence of a large body of educated
citizens of medium ability is a SAT-
err guide in democracy thon person.
al leadership even by genius.
It may be necessary for a time to
turn some away from the doors of
higher learning until the halls within
can be enlarged; and it will be wise
to discriminate among applicants on
the basis of total character and fit
ness, including motive, purpose, dis
position, habits, and many other facts
and qualities beyond mere intelli-
gence. A trial in most cases is still
the best entrance test. But it is not
necessary or wise in discussing this
temporary situation to put forth in
adequate and misleading conceptions
of the fundamental nature and ulti-
mate purpose of education. If l have
not misunderstood our eminent Com
missioner he lent the influence Of his
HIGH office to the doctrine that high
err education is to fit for a profess
sion, a calling. 7 huubly submit that
that task is the function Of training.
He also buttressed the leadership
fallacy. I prefer to stand with Mr..
Dewey on the more advanced ground
that it is not the business of educa-
ton to produce leaders. Its function
is to make the common man more