Sizer Deplores Weakness In Pre-College Humanities

"The weakest part of the curriculum in the public and private schools is the humanities," according to Theodore R. Sizer, Dean of the Graduate School of Education.

Sizer made the statement in his annual report to President Pusey, in which he discussed ways of improving the quality of teaching and teaching methods.

The report pinpoints six reasons for the weakness of teaching in the humanities:

* The idea that the Supreme Court's "stricture against teaching 'religion' in The public schools is a stricture against teaching any sort of values." But, Sizer said, values are taught "willy-nilly" in the education process anyway.

* The lack of "fundamental ferment in the humanities" at most universities. According to Sizer, "too much university scholarship in the humanities is sterile and out of touch with our culture."

* The "obvious differences between the official culture and the mass culture." Sizer called for limiting the "barbarism caused by indiscriminate and tasteless overexposure" to the humanities, and for an attempt to relate children's real experiences to Western values.

* The traditional disciplinary lines within the humanities which make it difficult to start with the "emotional and sympathetic heart of the humanities rather than with specific subject matter."

* The conventional class-teaching methods, which may not be suitable to the humanities. "Our school organization," Sizer said, "is governed more by the necessities for the control of the students than for the logic of subject matter or the needs of children. In all probability," he continued, "any step forward will be a radical one."

* The lack of knowledge of how values are absorbed or taught.

Sizer also decried the tendency of schools to suppress individuality. He explained that the regimentation and organization of students on the basis of apparent similarities, rather than intellectual and social characteristics, individuality and hinders the teaching of esthetic and ethical values.

Although the report is primarily concerned with teaching on the elementary and secondary levels, Sizer speculated in a telephone interview last night that the report might have "happy side effects" at Harvard.

Sizer continued that he hopes to stimulate reflection among the Faculty on these problems, but that no finalized opinions had been formulated. He said, "We have not yet brought the strings together and tied them into a knot."