ARTICHOKES AND EDUCATION

What is an artichoke, a chameleon? Some undergraduates there are who cannot tell; so Professor West asks, in the "Atlantic Monthly", "What do students know?" Professor Boas counters with, "What do teachers know?" When we observe what Thomas Edison demands of those who apply for positions, we ask ourselves if there be any wisdom on earth. What do we know, what does Thomas Edison know?

Ever since the psychological tests were applied to army recruits, there has been a curious delight in experimenting with new forms of examinations. It gives one a sense of satisfaction, no doubt, to say off-hand "in what country orang-outangs live" and "where we get most of our sapphires", but it is impossible to believe that this is a test of ability to succeed in the Edison factory. What we want to know are those things that will help us live the better in whatever surroundings we find ourselves. We may have a sound critical judgment and ability to cope with difficult problems, yet appear complete idiots if examined under some of the so-called tests. One cannot help wondering if there is any harm in not knowing what "ramie" is (to return to the Edison questionnaire), when an intelligent man can discover the information for himself from the nearest dictionary. If the fact had been a matter that concerned our well-being, we might have known it before.

Perhaps the aim of these examiners, especially the professor kind, may be to point out the fact that a college graduate is supposed to be well-read; he is interested in life; he knows common facts of literature and history and geography for his own satisfaction. It is not for professors to teach general knowledge, even if their students do not know an artichoke; nor are the colleges guilty of a grave omission in their duties; nor are professors and students more ignorant now than they used to be. If these examiners are seeking to expose really dangerous ignorance, they are on the wrong track; if they are trying to tell the undergraduate to read more good books, and talk more about serious things, and feel more at home, therefore among men who, if they cannot work for Mr. Edison, are considered educated gentlemen, then they are doing a good work.