TIME TO THINK

The article from the Transcript, quoted elsewhere in these columns, gives a fair presentation of the conservative point of view on educational problems which are being so much discussed at present throughout the press. There are many pleas for modifications of American systems of education to which this article is an adequate answer. No demand for greater freedom for individual thinking is worth a moment's consideration, if it ignores the necessary part a sound knowledge of facts must play in sound thinking. "No man's thinking is better than his information."

It is coming to be recognized, however, by more and more students, especially as they approach their Senior year that their college education ends at the point where it really ought to begin. It seems to them that many of the facts acquired for the first time in college could have been learned more profitably in preparatory or high school; and they feel that the entire fabric of American education needs revision to allow for greater freedom for individual thinking in the colleges.

Then there is another type of criticism to which the Transcript article is no answer at all. There are always a few exceptional individuals who do not fit into the system. From the point of view of the college office Emerson was a member of the vast mediocrity. He graduated below the middle of his class. He knew what he wanted, so he ignored requirements which conflicted with his interests. Then there is Heywood Broun who left Harvard because he was unable to get what he wanted here. Was this another case where free development was unduly hampered by college regulations? At any rate, it seems evident that something is wrong with a system which makes no place for such men. All systems tend to become too rigid. Greater flexibility must be introduced to encourage the exceptional man. The dean's list and the provision that candidates for distinction may drop a course in their Senior year are steps in the right direction, but they are not enough. Seniors continue to answer the class questionnaire with the complaint that they need more time to think.