The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-14
MARsTt)H TELLS J
WH||ll1!''l. c. lacks.
Professor Of Psychology At
tacks Methods of Instruc-
tors in Washington
By WIN MoULToN MARsToN,

~. WA. MOULTUN MARSTON,
You may remember an article,
written some months ago for The.
Times. dealing with paft-time stu
dents and the. educational situation.
in Washingt Here's the other.
side of the same situation-part-
time instructors. 80
Lets look at the facts. For, many
years we have heard assertions
made by educational optimists that
just as Washington has become
the .'world-capitar' politically so
win II become the "world-capital'F
educationally Scarcely a public ut
terance OF the Washington educa-
tional boosters can be found that
IS not sprinkled with statements
concerning the incompatible"
group of scientists, lawyers and
intellectual specialists here assem-
b1ed. The argument is, then, that
the mere presence Of this large
group Of learned specialists in this
Capital city is sufficient to make
Washington an intellectual GEN.
ter" as Oxford and Cambridge are
Intellectual centers in England, and
as our great American university
cities are, intellectual centers in
this country. And yet. today, the
real facts are that you don't find
young men and women from an
over the world coming to Wash
ington to be educated, and you do
find them going to our big univer-
stty centers elsewhere in the United
States; You don't find the s'learneds
societies OF this country meeting at
Washington, but you do find Athe
Modern Language Society meeting
this year at the University of
Pennsylvania, and the American
Psychological Association meeting.
at Harvard What is the fallacy
In the Washington boosters arg14
ment? Just this: You can't serve
God and Mammon; these great spe
Cialists can't serve the United
States Government and themselves,
and also truly serve education.
TWO GOOD REASON.
Why? Two reasons First, not
enc notable specialist in ten who
ID asked to give course in his
speciality at e Wash ngton Univer-
sity has the moral courage to make
his students really work Why? Be-
cause .he gets his little SO an hour,
or whatever 1t is, for attracting
students to the University, and for
holding them there; and IL he makes
his men work too hard, they won't
stay in the course. and that's all
there is to it. So he feeds them
bunk, frotn, and fireworks. done
mp in attractive and very snnaA
packages The students are en-
thusiastic: they flock into his class
es; the specialist adds another.
thousand to his income; the uni
versity adds another hundred part
time students to its already over
crowded roster Everybody Is hap
ny, but Education, and who cares
for education? Why, Education's
only an abstraction, and has no
Voicei
The second reason why the Gov
eminent specialist, as a part-time
instructor, can't truly serve Edu-
cation is psychological one; just
as the main reason why b part
time student can't do as good work.
as a full-time student is a psyche
logical one. It's very simple
Any mans going to give the
best of his brains to his job
his bread and butter depends on.
And bread and butter does not
depend, even in the case of the
expert in a Government job, upon
profound theoretical speculations,
or learned discussions of other
mems theories. No, bread and but
ter depends upon practical appli-
cation of theories already put forth
and proved to specific, actual needs,