Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1942-05-02
HOW EDUCATORS
GEAR PROGRAM
TO WAR EFFORT
STREANuTNTNG OF SCHOOL SYS-
tenn IS EXPLAINED BY POLY
INSTRUCTOR

WHITES ABOUT AIlAHCC1 anu tJ0AbC@
to cooperate with civilian defense
these problems and many others
win face the American educational
institutions through the coming
months, perhaps years Of war" ac-
cOrding to AIphin T. Gould, profess
scr of English and Journalism at
Billings Polytechnic institute.
For example, he pointed out, the
Billings college has heightened It's
summer session to enable students to
get fun semester OF work during the
summer. The Poly, under DR.. II. K
Moore, dean of the summer session
heightened its term last year, a full
year IN advance OF most smaller COL
Ieges, and announced that students
could complete degree requirements In
three years If they attend each sum-
mer.
Boston university has inserted an In
terseSSion between its regular year and
its six-week summer session. The in
teTsession Is scheduled for May Is to
July 3. The summer session Is from
July 10 August IS. Both are under
the direction of a regular summer ses-
sion administration.
Wittenberg college, Springfield, Ohio,
recently announced a three-Semester
year Columbia universitys law school
Is mstitutfng a 14-week summer ses-
sion but students may choose to at
tend only during the regular year In
fact, few If any schools are requiring
students to attend during the summer
1t is an optional plan in nearly every
case, Gould said.
It Is quite the usual thing now for
colleges and schools to cancel the
spring vacation and to have an earlier
graduation Billings Poly saved enough
time to hold its commencement on
May % instead of June 8. Montana
State college moved its commence
ment from June IS to May &c.
Some Montana rural schools have
gone on a six-day week to release stu
dents earlier in the spring for farm
work.
Courses with small enrollments are
to be discontinued in many schools and
colleges, Gould said, such as at Yale,
reduced their courses because they lost
so many instructors to the war and
defense effort.
Such streamIning has been done
without much publicity, but few coll
leges IN the country viii be able to
avoid some reduction in curriculum,
especially in the less popular fields
such as foreign languages except Span
ish, and other purely cultural studies.
Billings Polytechnic institute, for ex-
ample, installed completely new air
craft mechanics department under the !
direction Of E. B. Joiner, an aeronaut-
ical engineer Aircraft drafting and de- ]
signing also were added. Courses in [
81 h.
this summer Courses In economic ge- !
ography are being sIanted toward war {
strategy. South American history and Z
Spanish have been taught In the adult {
division. The psychology and phil
0sophy of such men as Hitler is being .
discussed in college classes. Radio code !
md radio license examination training ]
S being given. Measures TO relieve the !,
shortage Of high school teachers have a
,een instituted. :
Professor Gould pointed out that the c
commission on colleges and civilian de- b
ense set up by the offices Of civilian d
Iefense, has urged the following pro- ii
ram for American colleges and uni n
rersities: 4
/. To survey the physical plant to h
determine facilities for fire fighting a.
.tlQ u1Cd1lS VI pfOgSCb4OU VI pclcOkA1cl
gaiaSt incendiary and explosive Il
Ombs. cC
2. To organize students and faculty al
ither into a separate protection unit h
4 those institutions which are fairly al
;olated and self-contained or as an e.
integral part of the larger protection W
nits in institutions which are inte- N
raj parts of the physical community. ~
4 every institution, close cooperation m
essential with all protective agencies
the community. gs
g. To initiate Immediately short ST
purses available to faculty and stu SIT
snts, such as civilian defense training, m
re prevention for air raid wardens, to
re auxiliary units, emergency medical 70
rvice for civilian protection, and vol Of
1teer nurses aid. De
The commission also urges the need tn
reviewing existing courses and the tn
of new courses directed do
ward the building up of civilian NOR &C
e; but it also records its opinion that ec
e normal values Of education are still sc,
lid and that the primary function Lo
the college and university is still,
en- In the emergency, to give its stu ex
nts sound education. tn