A TOOL OR A HURDLE

Just at present there is a good deal being heard from the Junior Class on the subject of German. In informal discussions the word is usually preceded by one or two vigorous English expletives of doubtful Teutonic origin. But informal or formal, the discussion is one not to be dismissed lightly. Approximately a quarter of the Junior Class is on probation because of failure to meet the Modern Language Requirements.

The state of mind brought about by this situation is not one calculated to make the undergraduate regard the requirements before him as "a tool to use instead of a hurdle to jump". The Junior who finds himself on probation because of failure to show a reading knowledge of one language or an elementary knowledge of the other, in spite of three or more attempts to pass the requirement, feels himself unjustly treated. Worse than that, he loses entirely any benefit from the original object of the Requirements,--to force on every undergraduate a working ability to read text-books in French or German.

Plainly there is something wrong; the question is where? Before finding a remedy, it is first necessary to find the sore spot. In this case it may be one or all of three things. The attitude of the class towards German as a language may be hostile,--but that is not likely; or the attitude towards the courses in German may be wrong,--that is possible. The Requirements may be too strict either because the standard is too high, or the field too narrow,--that also is possible. Finally, the courses may be inadequate because of the great difficulty in teaching the larger part of seven hundred men a subject that must be taught by the recitation method.

Of these three causes, it is difficult to single out one as any more responsible than the other two. Each is dependent on the rest. If the courses are inadequate, then even a healthy standard is insurmountable. If the standard is too high, then the courses are seen in a bad light, because they fall short of one of their objectives,--the passing of the Requirements. If the students' attitude is warped, it is reasonably possible that the other two factors have contributed, in greater or lesser degree, to the warping.

More than anything else the case calls for a re-adjustment. Whichever of these factors is out of true should be brought into line as rapidly as possible. Gauge the teaching and the Requirements accurately, and the attitude of the undergraduates, right or wrong, can be measured and weighed.