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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 1904)
Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler on Education (Copyright. 1908. by T. C. McClure.) T T(Tf -KA vuut.. nmc w urn A-si i. iiuiui Zlk I Murray Butler, the president of trustees of that Institution Ills first report as ptesldont they were probably Informally prepared for the start ling and radically Innovating suggestions Which were contained In it. Hut to the pub lic Dr. Butler's propositions came so un expectedly and were so surprising that fitr reachlng discussion both In the dally press ftnd In all educational circles followed. Thereby was made clear the fact that public thought had already been, perhaps vaguely and tentatively, dircclel to the dangers which Dr. Butler pointed out In his report and which lie purpose to rem edy. The suggestion that he made was that tho regular college course, heretofore occupying with alnnv i every Institution four years, be so c -r.ged that there le provided concurrently both a long p.n.l short course; one of two years, for which an appropriate degreo might be given, an, I one of four years, for which another and equally slgnllicant degree might be con ferred. In Boston recently Dr. Butler, about a year after his view was first made public, addresse.1 a gathering reprecn'lng the Na tional Kducallonal Association of the United States. That was so Important and bo great an assemblage of those Interested In educational matters that It was a sub ject of discussion In the newspaper press, both throughout the United States and In Kngland. The estimate is that oonslderal ly In excess of 30,000 teachers or educators now actually engaged In teaching were present, and to this vast audience Dr. Butler spoke, reiterating earnestly and em phatically the position he had taken In his report to the Columbia trustees. " Boon after the adjournment of that asso ciation Dr. Butler returned to New York, partly for the purpose of accepting. an In vitation to spend a day or two with Tred dent Roosevelt the president and Dr. But ler having been warm friends for many years and It was after his return from that visit that Dr. Butler spoke in the m ) H. J. KIRSCTISTEIN, NEW PASTOR OP NORTH SIDE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, OMAHA. Informal and more personal way which 13 recorded In this Interview. President Roosevelt Is greatly InterestoJ in the National university, whose work Is made possible by the endowment of Andrew Carnegie of $H OUH.OOO, and which Is de signed to furnlrh nn opportunity for ex haustive and extensive original research In nil departments of learning and especially In the field of science. Dr. Butler was asked if there was any relation between the National university as sponsored by tho federal government and endowed by Andrew Carnegie and the change.-) with rest ect to tho curriculum of a college proper with which he Is now so prominently Identified. "Uf course, there Is the closest relation," he replied. "The National titilvers Il y is. In its scope and purpose, to furnish final cp portunity for original research, investiga tion and sti:dy of a character which it Is not possible, perhaps, to obtain in any onj of the great universltlos. The federal de partments at Washington are to be open to such students as are certilled as qualifhd to pursue original research in them, as, for Instance, In the Naval observatory, In the Smithsonian institute, in the theological de partment or in the coast or geodetic sur vey, as well us in the Treasury depart ment. "It Is my view that after the methods of this Institution are understood end It has been thoroughly organized our coll g.'s and professional schools will be found sending to the National unl.eisily men of the highest ability and qualification, the result of whose rcscaiche3 will be vsst'y to Increase knowledge In all dip rt:iHitts of learning and undoubtedly with the nvt beneficial effects upon clvllbatlou and the welfare of mankind. Now, I have long felt that If there Is too much time taken In tin academic course or if .students enter it at too late a period In life, then they are at al together too advanced an 'age 'upon gradu ation to pursue higher professional or tech nical studies such as those of the National university, unless they expect to be stu dents all their lives. Therefore it seemed to me that it Is speedily to be essential that thrro be some modification of the c 'lego curriculum, especially In view of the f ict that the preparatory or the srec.ndary schools, the high schools, are so ndvai.c'njf their studies that they really overlap the work done In many colleges In the first or second year of the courses." "Is It to be Inferred that you favor the subordination or the belittling of Ilia col lege proper to the end that the high or pre paratory school on tho one hand and tho professional school upon the other may continue to increase their requirements?" Those who have insisted that Dr. Butler, In his advocacy of t. shortening of the col lege course is really, although perhaps un consciously, unfriendly to the American col lege, should have seen the expression of irritation and Impatience with which he heard this question. In answer to it, he epokc with a good deal of warmth and em phasis, saying: "In my opinion the American college by which I mean the academic department so-called is the chief characteristic of our entire educational system. It is in the col lege that the great advantages over the educational system of continental Europe are to be found. "In a recent address I said that the spirit and the purpose of tho college are our strongest defense against tho purely ma terialistic and commercial Ideals in educa tion and in life. I want to save the col lege. 1 want to keep for It those Influences which are the best of Its results and which ought to be steadfastly maintained; and yet I feel certain that there, are forces at work which will surely Impair, if not destroy, the American college as we have known it, within a few years, unless this harmful tendency Is checked. 1 profess to be and I believe with all my heart that 1 am as warm and true a friend of the American college as any educator or any alumnus can pessibly be; and It Is for that reason that I urn so earnestly advocating this change." "Could you Identify these harmful ten dencies of which you speak, Dr. lttit'er?" "Certainly. On the one hand they ore caused by the veiy swift and marvelous development of secondary schools, and es pecially of tho public high schools, although the secondary school Is deserving of all praise for this development. Many of these schools today graduate students after a ci Ictiluni almost as far advanced as that maintained by many of the smaller colleges of a generation ago. The public high school In the I'nited States Is now. In many of Its requirements, upon a par with the requirements of some of tho colleges for the first nnd second years of their courses. The tendency In thcpullle high schools is to advance more and more Into the field hitherto occupied by the freshman nnd sophomore years of the college. On the other hand, we have the professional schools, those which prepare students for the vocation of the law, medicine, higher scl Mice and the ministry. The tendency has been strong, and Is Increasing, I re gret to say, to displace In the Junior and senior years of the eolege proper the cur riculum adapted for those years and to adapt professional and technical studies which are. In my opinion, foreign to the spirit and the purpose of tho studies thus displaced. "Some are of the opinion, doubtless, that these changes are all for the better; that they are in accord with the modern ten dencies of American life. Well, If they; are, then there Is no occasion for the modi fication of the college curriculum which I am advocating. But I am persuaded that they are not In the Interest of better or more effective educational standards in a democracy. I am thoroughly persuaded that the growth of the public high schools has been of Inconceivable advantage to tho youth of the t'nlted States. They have given educational opportunities to thou sands of students who could not have ob tained such education In any other way, rr who were unable to consider a college edu cation. "I recently said that I accept theso charges as not only In 'V'tal le, but bene ficial. 1 know that the best of the puldio high rchm Is have so nr. lnti'incd an educa tional system as to co:npare most favor nl ly with the work that many colleges have done In the freshman and sophomore years. Therefore, I would not for a mo ment be regarded as favoring tho curtail ment of the high school curitculuiu or the prevention of the further advance of the s condary schools. But 1 do feel that the work of the prof siional schoo's la w, mod Is'ne, the ministry, higher science ought i.ot to enctoach upon the work of the col li ge; and that It his eneroache.l any one who Is acquainted with the work of our urlversitl-s nn I od!e?os knows too well. I want some time for college residence, so that there may be study In the liberal arts and In th? sciences, and that Is study which means very much for the youth of tlK I'nlt.-d Mate." "It would seem, Dr. Butler, from what you have said that you would favor the maintenance of the high standard of the Fecondary or public h'gh school, nnd regit rd that as an cquiva'ent for the freshman an I sophomor.' years i f thj college proper." "That Is not exactly tho way to state my view. I think that all students in the ITidteJ States who purpose a college course ought to complete a secondary or high S i.iJJ.tf.. 'lie: STROMSBURO MANDOLIN CLUB. I f r it c : - m ! !' i 'v .-if 3-. . I -. 1 A I F V S t -to. X f 'At : 1 ... i ;Vf v . - " Vrv - CROUP WHICH GATHERED AT A HOLIDAY REUNION AT THE REHFELD HOME.-Flaslillght Photo by a Staff Artist. school course In four years. My Impres sion is that ten years Is a wholly adequate time to prepare a youth for entrance to the colli ge proier. If he teglns at 6 or 7 years of uge that would make him III or 17 years old when he is prepared to enter college. "Now many of those who enter college expect to take up some one of the pro fes Ions after graduation. Supposing a stu dent Is 17 years of age when he enters college and ho looks forward to work In a professional school of from three to four year.'. That period of time, together with four years ut tho college proper, makes for him from seven to eight years of edu cational work still to be done ' him be fore he is ready to begin his life work. He will then be from 25 to 20 years of uge. 1 "It seems to ine and I thir.lt many of tho ablest educators uro of this opinion that this is an excesslvo requirement. As a general statement I think It Is safe to Bay that a young man ought to be made ready to enter upon his life work when he Is from 22 to 21 years of age. Now, as I do not favor the curtailing of tho curriculum of tho public high schools or secondary schools, it docs seem to mo that if a cur riculum were prepared by which the gind uate of one of thtso secondary schools can obtain a two years' resldenco at college In general study In the liberal arts and tel enets he Is then fitted adequ.ili ly and h.uid oinely for the more lechnb al work of the professional schools. I do not believe that it is a wise method for a student to go di rectly from the secondary school to th pro fessional or technical school. If be had a two years' course at college of liberal and general study he would bo then bolter qualified for tho specialized study of the technical echool. On the other bund, to In sist upon a four years' course for a stu dent who enters college at 17 or IS years of oge Is to require him to postpone the time of his special studies by at least two years. ,a "Not long ago I was invited to make an (Continued on Pago Sixteen.)