lone are any better criteria. ^I’he
(•.lassies at least had the virtue of
requiring some dejrree of scholar
ship for their mastery.
A teacher often \vouders what
motive has pushed some of his stu.
dents into his classes. 'I'he listless
classroom attitude, the failure to
show any initiative in study, tlie
lack of grasj) of reiterated essen
tials of the subject matte, the chiL
isli and flatulent an.swers to exam
ination iuestions_all these eviden
ces of ineffectiveness may often be
ex])lained by the misplaced em
phasis ou the point, the semester
hour, the credit.
Of course it is not all the fault
of the student. Rating boards.
State boards setting the require
ments for teacliers, graduate
schools establishing entrance re
quirements, and professional
schools have helped to establish the
l)oint system. Of course units of
measurement are necessary, and
uniform standards have their util
ity; but no one has demonstrated
that standardization guarantees in
terest, thoroughness, or seholar.ship
A teaclier’s idea of Paradise is
not a schol where all the students
have an. IQ of 150. Rather, he
dreams of a place where students
who are willing to work will b(>
pursuing those subjects in which
they are interested by inclination
and ability. In that blest clime ex
aminations, if any, will be a pleas
ure instead of nightmare to both
student and teacher, and any ref
erence to points, credits, fior semes
ter hours will be penalized by cast
ing offender into outer darkness.
C. D. Halliburton.
NEW BENSON LIBRARY