PAGE FOUR
A Proposal: The Experimental College
A well-known scientist recently said:
"The creative personality thinks of the
world as fit for change and of himself
as instrument of the change." The situat
ion today is somewhat different, for the
world is changing rapidly. The need is for
the persons who accept the changing
world as challenge and opportunity for
their and others' creative self-unfolding.
This proposal is motivated by the
conviction that higher education in the
U. S. A. and elsewhere must be a cat
alyst in this process.
With this in view, it is proposed to
hold an experimental semester of about
8 weeks in July-August this year. It will
have some fifty participants, including
five or six professors. The campus of
some small college that is free during the
summer will be used. The semester will
be an initial step toward the development
of an experiment-oriented college.
Concretely, the aim is to develop a
community of learning, self-regulating
and self-determining; to stimulate the
growth of creative persons responsive to
the possibilities of the world caught in
the toils of dramatic changes.
Participants: Some leading scholars,
including philosophers, anthropologists,
educationists, have indicated their will
ingness to cooperate. Students who have
heard of the proposal have shown strik
ing enthusiasm.
Participants will be drawn from all
over the U. S. A. Individuals from abroad
who are studying or teaching in the
U. S. A. will be eligible.
Criteria for inclusion will be keenness
to participate in the program and capacity
to benefit from and contribute to its
activities. Openness to educational and
intellectual adventure rather than grade
averages will be the main consideration.
The Program of the experimental se
mester is oriented to intermeshing the
creative potentialities and processes of
the participants individually and as mem
bers of a community with the challenges
that face us in all directions.
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By Dr. S. Suri
Seminar-workshops will be organized
around three basic themes. First, the
socio-dynamic of the emerging world
community. It may be called world
civilization in the making and comprises
a world-wide economy, the international
political network, and an all-encompass
ing technological revolution.
The second theme is the crisis of
individual self-identity and in the mean
ing of group memberships (community,
race, nation).
Third, the state of religious beliefs or
of any other kind of faith, or lack of
faith. This theme may be called the
"world religious situation" - - as it really
is in the minds and hearts of individuals
and groups.
Seminar-workshops will explore and
develop these themes. These will be
augmented by other activities such as
filming, acting, writing, singing, painting
and, of course, many bull sessions. Lec
ture discussions will be organized on
"frontiers of knowledge" that will include
discussions of new hypotheses and the
ories.
Hypotheses to be tested: Is the com
munity of scholars meeting in an atmo
sphere of freedom and working through
relatively unstructured seminar-workshops
a successful means for the growth of
creative individuals and for generating
creative ideas?
Are the three basic themes posed here
for discussion during the experimental
semester such as to evoke the genuine
enthusiasm and intellectual energy of the
participants? Would the themes prove
in fact to be central in the "crisis of our
time?"
Evaluation: The group will be largely
self-evaluating. Each participant will be
requested to write a brief weekly report
on her or his activities or observations,
and a more inclusive report to be turned
in before the end of the semester. Par
ticipating professors will also write sim
ilar reports. Papers written by the par
ticipants, the pictures painted or arti
facts created by them will be included.
There may be a "public" diary.
The organizing director, with the co
operation of some participants, will pre
pare the overall evaluation. It will cover
the different foci of activities in the
seminar, evaluate it as an experiment in
educational methodology, and draw les
sons for higher education in general and
for the proposed College of the Future
in particular.
Costs: Total expenses are estimated to
run between $75,000 and SIOO,OOO. The
immediate need is $5,000 for the pre
paratory arrangements.
In conclusion, central to the enter
prize is the assumption that the present
and impending crises in our society, or
THE GUILFORDIAN
those facing the individual and mankind
generally, are not simply problems out
there that may be solved in a clinical
manner. These are human crises to be
overcome by the individual's growth to
ward greater creativity.
v
m*
LIBRARIES DECLARE FREE
BOOK RETURN DAY
Friday, March 22, has been declar
ed a free book return day by
Guilford College Libraries. Both the
Downtown Campus Library will
assess no fines for books returned
to either library on that day. Any
book, whether it has been taken
from the libraries legally or illegally
may be returned during this day of
amnesty without any questions ask
ed.