Page Six

> Education

(Contiued from Page 5)

ethnographies or tield monographs. The
traits oi such projects are (1) that they
involve multiple levels of sophistication
in the activities which comprise the re-
search, ranging from relatively routine
procedures to complex manipulations of
intormation (applying principles of inter-
ence and constructing hypotheses); and
(2) that the scope tends to be relatively
elastic; permitting participation by vary-
ing numbers of students, or allowi g
variable time commitments tor partici-
pants in a project

Plausible subjects for investigation are
not identified in terms of some level of
preparation of studenm. Substantial in-
quiry at all oi the irontiers of knowledge
requires investigation at many levels of
professional competence or sophistica-
tion. Adequate preparation for making
observations, conducting interviews, or-
ganizing data, operating equipment, in-
cluding data processing equipment, and
other procedures can be acquired very
quickly. Study of the “layers” of litera<
ture bearing on the research subject and
on methods of investigation can be com-
bined with the specific collection and
analysis processes of the research Pro
gress, irom initial levels or preparation
to more advanced levels of understand-
ing, then, is more critical than the start-
ing level. Research participation, as con-
trasted with independent Study, permits
students to observe and interact with
other students and with the proiessor
(or protessors) who are asking their own
questions and may be employing other
means of inquiry. Undergraduate stu-
dents may not achieve levels oi syn-
thesis or of invention in theory that one
may expect of PhD candidates, but very
high levels at understanding of design
of inquiry, oi methodology, and of the
relevance of theory and its limitations
can be achieved. Moreover, undergradu-
ates stretch to be respected associates
ill the undertaking
Brief Notes on Student Values and

MOTIVATIONS

Up to now I have been concerned With
questions in the philosophy of education
in general, and with an examination or
perspectives on the behavior of the fac-
ulty in relationship to educational goals.
The point or view has essentially been
that of “the establishment," of the eld-
ers or academia discussing the proper
education of the younger generation.
We have the power, even though it is
being challenged by the students, to de-
sign the programs, to set the standards
and to legitimate the perlormances of
Students with grades, Certificates and
diplomas Much of what we do is judi-
clal in character. Mindtul or our respon—
sibility to sort the young into appro-
priate classes in respect to the positions
we find them fitted for, we are often
more attentive to the problems or test-
ing and grading than to the problems
oi learning. We never really separate
leaching lrom testing (we either test
for what we teach, at leach for What
is to be tested, if the testing is beyond
our control). Now this is by way of in-
troducing the correct student view of
“the establishment.” Students do not,
as a rule, misunderstand the academic
process. it is primarily a game to be
played for the prizes — the grades, the
credits, the diplomas and the status. It
is also a game to be played by the rules
— more or less — which speciry that a
student must figure out how to Score
with each professor-judge. students
place dittering values on the choices
between points and what you must do
to earn the points. Some of these choices
reflect the ease or difficulty of the
plays, but many of the choices retlcct
the enjoyment or else the distaste of the
plays. Whatever vol 5 students may
ultimately place on l educations,

SCARLET AND BLACK

they understand that the establishment
respects those students who scorer They
also will state, almost universally, that
there are irequeiit and serious discrep-
ancies between scoring and learning.
Operationally, then, the academic status
or achievement to participation in the
game, to discovery of suitable modes of
play in order to score. Faith that aca-
demic achievement is generally COnSiS‘
tent with learning is widely held in the
society, except by students. They be-
lieve that it is only sometimes the case
that the record is an accurate reflection
of learning. Once they have completed
the process they will tend to forget the
intensity of their doubts and become
reconciled to the view that since they
are certified they must be educated.

Why is college such a chore for so
many? Why is it not exciting and pleas-
urable; its own reward? To a large ex-
tent the answer is that it's a bore. As
standards have been raised and compev
tition has become more intense even
more time is spent in dull tasks and
tensions are increased. Learning. of
course, is exciting and pleasurable, but
the game being played is not by any
means uniformly a learning game.
Even for the brightest students with the
gieatest faith in the system, many
courses turn out to be dull and unre-
warding tasks. Hostility toward areas of
knowledge, which becomes an antlrintel-
lectiial set, is trequently generated by
the failure of alignment between playing
the game according to the rules and be-
come interested in the game beyond
the compulsion to score,

EDUCATIONAL EFFICIENCY

The usual defenses of the prevalling
order do not stand on its merits as a
promoter of intellectual independence
and a nurturer of curiosity and creativ-
ily. Detense oi the system, and etiorts
toward its retorm are geared to maxi-
mum absorption ot revealed truth at
the least cost per student, Most of the
increases In academic Costs have
stemmed from the bargaining power of
the taculty members to provide theme
selves with increased opportunities or
treedoms tor inquiry. This is, in itseli,
a clearly worthwhile gain, but at least
some of the burden of these gains have
come to rest on the students in the
form of a growing depersonalization,
and mechanization of the educational
machinery,

Colleges and universities can only as-
sist students to leam, and learn how
to learn, by providing the students with
a suitable set or connections with a com-
nlunity of professors who are engaged
in the callings of scholarship. The ma-
jor questions I have raised heie have
to do with the suitability of these con-
nections and the importance of serious
egtperimentatinn in new modes of rela-
tionships between students and faculty
which promote the scholarship of the
faculty and at the same time provide a
very ditterent set of opportunities tor
students to become intellectually inde
pendent. Research participation can, as
I have suggested, operate with quite
authoritarian and restrictive patterns in
the relationships or apprentices to mas-
ters. I think this is a serious problem,
but not really as serious as the weight
at such patterns under present arrange-
ments. AS I have tried to point out, the
posture and behavior of the academic
us investigator is essentially a diiierent
one than in his position as a classroom
teacher under Conventional arrange-
ments. Students’ connections with pro-
fessors can be, I think, even more sup-
portivo of students’ genuine curiosity
and their desires to be recognized as ac
tive explorers in a research participa-
tion relationship than is usually attorded
in a course program The stretch to al-
low E most efficient alignment of the
students’ independent interests with the
research interests or the prolessors does
depend both on the scope and character
of research project design and upon a
set of responsible negotiations concern.
ing the limits of freedom of choice of in-
q.ry within which the protessor will
offer his aid and guidance,

The question of efficiency in promot-
ing inquiry as opposed to programming
knowledge must be explored. I do not,
on the face of it, think that what is pro»
posed here is inherently more costly
per student than many present arrange-
ments for education. What I have called
research participation can be explored
at many levels of interaction between
students and iaculty, and the experi-
mentation Inward major modification in
educational policy will, 1 think, provide
some guidance as to costs. The most
serious difficulties, however, are not the
costs but the pains oi reorienting eii-
trenched perspectives as to what educa-
tion is about and how it is to be done
in our time.

 

Do You Feel Like
Things Are Getting

TAKE A BREAK WITH US!

Still 20 Minutes
From Phone Tol Pizza

moon's PEZZA

TOM 8r BETTE GAREISON

236-5222

May is. not]

Fifth Your Program
Ignorance or Apathy?

By SUSAN HUNT

The small number of applicant! if)!
this years Fifth Year Ahmad Program
suggests a general ignorance as to til)
existence or function of the progrb
Annually the International Studies Co
mlttee establishes contacts with to
sign schools who express interest in of
ering a graduating Grinnell senior b
one-year teaching position.

This year the committee matched the
qualifications and interests or three ren-
iors to the specifications listed by three
lorelgn schools and allocated lunds for
the students round trip transportation.
Kaye Handford begins her work as on
English tutor and church organist Jun.
20th at Ahmednagar College, a non do.
nominational Christian school near Home
bay, lndia. Beginning in September, so.
san Hunt will serve as an assistant in
the music department at American Col:
lege for Girls in lstanbul, Turkey. .Iané
Parlsh will teach conversational English
at Lingman College in Hong Kong begin»
ning in late August.

The definite assignments of students to
varied positions in Istanbul Hong Kong
and Bombay raise the question as to
why more Grinnell seniors don’t apc
ply for such an opportunity. Is it that
students are unaware of the existence
of the Fifth Year Abroad Program or
does their apparent lack of interest sug—
gest a questioning of the aims of such a
program? The gradual decline oi the in.
lemational Relations Club, which served
as the coordinate student group for the
international Studies Committee, may be
responsible {or the lack of student pro-
motlon at and subsequent participation in
the program over the last few yearst
last year no qualified students applied,
and two years ago only two students
were selected as participants (compared
to eight chosen in l958). If, however, the
aims of the program are in question,
then their clarification should proceed a
continuation of the program. it the activ-
hues of the committee don't allow them
sufficient time to completely review the
Fifth Year Abroad Program, then per-
haps a director of the program in Off-
Campus Study, as proposed by the
navenman report, could undertake such
a project.

Grad Week Planned

Graduation activities for this year are
different irom years past. Students do
not have to attend Commencement to
receive their diplomas, and Baccalau-
reate is not as traditional as before.

At the Commencement services, for-
mer governor and U.S. Senator Harold
nughes will present the address and re-
cieve an honorary Doctor oi Law de-
gree. Others to receive honorary degrees
are: John Chapman, ’24. editor of the
Harvard Business Review, Dring Need<
ham, ’14, “distinguished jurist” from Des
Moines, and James Stauss, ’36, retiring
Dean of the College, all Doctors of Law;
Roger Loveland, '19, former Photo Mi.
cmgraphy expert lor Eastman Kodak,
Doctor of Science; and Philip Hallie, ’44,
protessor of philosophy at Wesleyan u.,
and Curtis Tarr, retiring president of
Lawrence, Doctors of Humane Letters.

Other activities slated for Commence-
ment week include a Senior party Tues~
day night, a Senior dinner Wednesday at
which the President's medalist will b.
announced, a “compromise" Bacca~
laureate service Thursday at which Mol~
ly Malcolm, Kathy Karlsen, and Hubert
Farbes will give their responses to tho
Grinnell College presented in the cata-
logue, and an Alumnae dinner Friday

GRADUATION—
gContinurd Page lo Co,lumn 3)

 

