EXPLAINING THE CURRICULUM

In the conclusion of the report of the Student Council Committee on Scholarship it is recommended that a Freshman mass meeting be held early in the year to stress the advantage of high scholastic standing. It also suggests that Freshmen be informed as to the details of the academic honors and degrees awarded by the college. The abstract encouragement of scholarship is of course highly desirable. But it seems to us to be far more important to make sure that every Freshman know the details of the requirements for distinction. Every student who is reasonably intelligent comes to appreciate the importance of education at best by the middle of his Junior year. If he does not, no amount of exhortation will have effect on him.

In far too many cases however, the student who at last opens his eyes to the possibility of learning something at college finds that it is too late for him to make up for a bad start. Too many students rush breathlessly from one activity to another for two and a half years and then, when they become ambitious to finish up their career with possibly a degree with distinction, they discover that because they failed to take the Anglo-Saxon course or to fulfill some of the many other requirements, any attainment of this kind is out of their reach, even though their marks have been of honor grade.

It may be said that the interested student will have intelligence enough to find out for himself what he must do by inquiring at the College office. Unfortunately the majority of Freshmen come to college with a distorted notion of college life so that they do not outgrow their prep school prejudices against education until well on in their college career. For this reason we believe it to be vitally important that the members of every incoming class have again and again explained to them the rules and requirements for obtaining recognition of scholastic attainment either in the form of prizes and debates or degrees with distinction and honors. More understandable pamphlets, more assistance from advisors (who themselves are not always entirely familiar with the requirements) and a Freshman mass meeting are all means to this end.

It is not the man who comes to college with the Phi Beta Kappa key as his only goal who suffers from lack of information. It is rather the immature student who does not grow up until he has had two or more years at college that needs more complete information early in his career, even at the cost of much wasted efforts in some cases, must not only be constantly impressed with the value of scholarship but must not be allowed to be under any misapprehension, resulting from carelessness or lack of interest, as to the details of the curriculum.