The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-03-12
By GARDNER FROST

0y WAWUNEN ENVSA
 (UnIted Press Stan Correspondent Copyright lelS By Unlted Press)
 Cambridge, Mass. March i2 -- ,(U.PJ - Sweeping education ad. vances which will"see more Ameri. cans demand more knowledge and which will tend to stabilize and strengthen our national life were foreseen today by President James Bryant Conant of Harvard Univer. Sity as c probable result of the war.
 "Through these advances 1t may be hoped that the average American will have greater opportunities !n the future" pr. Conant, head of the nations oldest and weAlthleSt university, told the United Press in an exclusive interview.
 A sort of American renaissance lies ahead, according to Dr. Conant, who believes the widening of educa- tlonal horizons already Is underway, He believes 1t will proceed in these steps:
 1, Education beyond high school will be made possible In the coEl- ing months to many who otherwise would Do barred because of AnRn. cial or geographical limitations. It will be done through vast army and navy study programs in the col- legeB and universities.
 9. These same advantages will be sought after peace by similarly reS- tricted civilians.
 3. To meet this quest for know. ledge beyond that obtainable in high school, the nations education. al program will bo revised. It may Do done through collegiate expan. sion; !t may also be handled through other types of schools be. yond the high school such as the junior colleges. It certainly will give tho average man Q chance to ob. tain e more comprehensive know. ledge of the world in which he lives and works.
 pr. Conant emphasized, however that the public high school under. lies ell education Of the college or similar types of institutions.
 "Too many college and university teachers in the past" he said, "have assumed that the public schools were no concern Of theirs. Too many citizens have taken the public school system for granted
 But h our public high schools the essential groundwork of the training of the young men and Wo" men of the future must be laid, ThlS training must not only enable them to take advantage of tho opportuni. ties Of the American system for earning . living, but must also bring them to understand the prob. lens involved in preserving that sys tenn based on freedom"
 This too, he said, will be increas- lngly recognized as result of the war.
 For some years now" Dr. Conant said, "our colleges have been turn. ing out some of the finest types of men in the specialized professional lields-doctors dentists and lawyers.
 Many of them. l venture to say Q majority of them, have mastered their own fields of study but have given only cursory attention tod more general subjects that would give them Q broader outlook on life,
 "This Is not c sound basis for cltl. Henship in Q Democracy. Beyond specialist training, there are re. quired 0 study of literature, history, art, social and political life of peo- pies of the past whose experience can throw the most light on our problems of the present"
 Many of the students in the col. leges come from the urban areas, he said, where educational advan- tages are unlimited. pr. Conant said that perhaps some Of the best brains never reach colleges because geographicai or financial limitations preclude their attending college af. ter high school.
 But these Army and Navy pro- grams will alter that" he said. "The Navy plans to take 6 crosg.section of its personnel out of high school and, after examinations. send the best fitted to colleges for study with. out expense. The Army has a sim. liar plan underway.
 Naturally, these students will more or less specialize along lines to 1t them for war. But the i'm. portant thing is that they will re- ceive an advanced education, some. thing they perhaps otherwise would have been unable to obtain."
 At the wars end. pr. Conailt said, somewhat similar advantages prob. ably will be sought by civilians Nv. ing iii areas where an advanced education is difficult or perhaps inc possible to obtain.
 These advantages will be ex. pected in far wider fields than the specialized technical training SO i'm. portant in modern war;" he said. "They will Dc called for in the whole area Of what we call the liberal arts. It viii be the duty of education to meet this demand for c broad train. ing in the humanities as well as technical subjects" 4 A