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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 17, 1913)
. u-t'.i :,v.iwiry V''1?''-1 . ' c-. " THE DAILY HRRASKAN ft M" College Education Do Critics Justify Their Own Assertions? Ucadcru of I ho Outlook luni' Imoii ('OiiHl(lcinl)ly Interested ly the publi cation In recent lnnuen of article Irom the peim of college pi oIVhsoi s :nl lii'iwlH of arious In-.tltntloiiH of li-arn-Ini; In reply to certain facta and I'ik ures net lortli li (lie worthy editor of the Ladies' Home Journal, Mr. Kd uanl lto, whhh. us a lesnlt (d" his ( oires.ondeiK c wiHi .riial linndnd college Hliidenta, purporlM to prove that a college i-iliirallnn is in most eases a failure, in that II fjiils to j;ive a proper luiou leln of spelling, mam mar, wilting, and punctuation. lie KlvcH nuineioiiH examples of poorly written, misspelled letters lie received and as a liirther e idem e ni lack of knowledge of business elhis, accuses the I, (lit! students who did not reply Is HiiluYlently educated to enter col lee The object of tho final examina tion is to ascertain whother the candi date for graduation Is Hufilciently edu cated to graduate. If he cannot write an intelligible Kngllsh letter, he ouuhl not to bo allowed to enter college, it lie has lost that abillt, he ought no' to be allowed to graduate. It is not the business of college to tea li arith luetic or geography. Hut if (lie slu dent cani.o' perform a simple sum in addition and does not know what i't the capital oT the l'niled States, he should not be allowed to enter olh-e, still less to graduate with ollei'e hoe o' is nit the buslines of (hi- o leize to teach Knglish grammar, but it ' the businesH ol th( college to aM-er lal'i v'lether its students know enough ef Kiu'lish n miliar to write gram matically The degree of A H ought to in fi 11 that the Hucliolor of Arts knows the fundamentals of the lan guage o his country Omaha Kxcel sio- to Ills letter of i 1 1 1 1 1 ii , inclosing FT stamped i ft 111 11 cnulope. of being guilty of di-com h s That the aver ag( college graduate does not know how (o spell i oi 1 ei and i how s a si on Islilng In fK of Know ledge of giainniar and the principh s of let ler w riting we will agree willi Mr Itok to a certain extent, although we would hesitate to assert that a college, student's educa tion was ahsollllelv useless to It fill he cause he could not write and spell correct I v. We quote lurewilh a few thoughts along that line by Douglas W Johnson, pi ofe sor of ph vsiography, Columbia I'nnersttv, whosavs: " careful in vest ii-ator will want to be assured that the icplies whhh reached Mr. llok were I airly repre sentative of college seniors as a whole Mr. Hok himself, with ids chcaractor lstic viewpoint, concludes that those who failed to reply include men who disgrace our colleges more effectually than do those who answer his letter of Inquiry. May It not he that the re verse Is true? Our best college stu dents are not only busy with routine work but are active in many other phases of college life, sin h as literary societies, college papers, oratorical contests, debates, and so on "Mr. Hok does not explain just how a mail can, without his knowledge or consent, become morallv obliged to ex pend part of his valuable time on everybodv who cIioom-s to mail him a list of questions and a li-cent stamp Were Mr. Hok's posit ion tenable, It would be a piece of impertinence to send a busy man a stamped envelope, for one would thereby force him into the disagreeable necessity of repl ing whether lie wanted to or not, and whether or not he ould afford the time. Hut a stamped envelope is not a device for putting the other fellow "in a hole" and making him answer. It Is rather a courtesy which the send er owes the recipient of the letter, in order that the labor of replying may be made as light as possible." On the other hand, sa.s the Outlook, those, who defend the ollcgc on the ground that it is not the function of the college to teach bpelling, writing, and grammar appear to us to miss the real question. The college does not merely teach, it certifies. The degree of A. It. signifies, or ought to signify, that he who posi sses it is fairlv well educated. lie who annul write an intelligible Kngli:-di Idler is not fairlv well educated The objei t of an en trance examination is to as erlain whether the candidate tor admission "Even as You and I" Are Our Professors While Vacationing 'I lie new student who stands in line previous to registration doubtless In ag'nes that the grey beared, be-spec-lacled professors seated behind the long tables are veritable tyrants ol the idassi ooin He supposes that thev willi sternness conduct their classes am! allow nothing of a worldly nature to even enter their thoughts With fear and trembling, and dire lorbodiugs th.it he will be caught unprepared b;. these same floating ,edue:itors, he a v alts the call to duty. In order to dispel any illusions lie inav have had concerning these an gu-t faculty gentlemen the new stu dent should observe some of their an tics when they take a vacation. To see 'i sedate professor of law dressed in coiduroys, hip boots, flan nel shirt and felt hat, wading in a mountain stream attempting to hook the elusive strout, Is a novel sight A certain dean looks unfamiliar but happy in a fishing boat on a Swedish Ijonl. One could scarcely believe that the brawny, tanned fellow chopping down the big tree in front of h hut in the Adirondacks is a well known instructor of the youth of Ne braska. Hut perhaps the strangest tiling is to behold an individual with a "hot dog" sandwich in one hand and a Mi aw hat in the other, riding the "shoot the chutes" at Coney Island, and to have a bystander point him out as a member of the faculty of the University of Nebraska, out "seeing the sights." Really it is astounding to see the learned preceptors enjoying them selves like anybody else. The reason is that their severity is assumed from habit and at heart they are as worldly as the rest of us. If you ha'o your (loots, try asking one of them about it. Harvard Season Opens. Cambridge, Mass., Sept. 1G. Har vard opened tho football season this afternoon when sixty-seven candidates, including the first string of last sea son's substitutes, reported to Coach llaughtou for preliirilnary practice. Ted Marriner Cleaner, Hatter, and Repairer. Auto B-1799. 235 No. 11th. The University School of Music Established 1894 Offers the highest class of instruction in all branches of music. Students may enter any time. Anyone expecting to study music will do well to get information concerning this school before choosing an instructor. Willard Kimball, Director Ask for new catalog -:- -:- Eleventh andR Streets This Should Be Your Decorating Week To every one who buys pennants and posters here to the value of $2 or more, we will give a handsome Nebraska Poster Free. Prices and Goods are Right THE COOP 318 North Eleventh Street SPECIAL CLASSES Shorthand, Typewriting, Bookkeeping,Banking, Penmanship, etc. AT HOURS TO SUIT UNIVERSITY STUDENTS A large number of University people were enrolled with us last year among them being ten members of the Class of ' 1 3. Night School Opens September 29. We conduct the largest private Night School in the city. CALL AND INVESTIGATE Nebraska School of Business he Business School Training Schaol with the University Atmosphere Cor. 14th and O Streets -:- Electric Building WHITMAN'S CLASSY CANDY Meier Drug Co H AND O STREETS HAVE THE EVANS DO YOUR WASHING Patronize our advertisers I ft m
