592 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



see things in such a perspective that he may speedily become a com- 

 petent adviser. 



5. If after two years of teaching, the student-teacher shall have 

 convinced the professors of his department that he has mastered his 

 subject satisfactorily and has developed sufiBcient teaching ability and 

 has shown a character suitable for the calling, he shall be awarded the 

 degree of Ph.D. The degree shall be given in whatever subject the 

 recipient has taught. The method of determining ability may vary 

 considerably, no doubt; but some combination of examination ratings 

 and " general impression " should be struck, in any case. The student- 

 teacher receiving such a degree shall be placed upon a preferred list 

 of candidates for recommendation to college appointments. 



What, now, are the advantages of this system? 



1. It will provide the best possible young teachers. Under any sys- 

 tem the young teacher is a necessary evil ; but he is the least troublesome 

 when wholly devoted to his class-work. And he is most completely 

 devoted to it when in it he finds the way to a higher degree and to 

 advancement, and when he knows his success or failure as a teacher is 

 being checked up on his score-card. 



2. It will permit the nearest practicable approach to individual 

 teaching. The supreme difficulty in the way of individual teaching is 

 the cost. Some day one or two of our richer colleges may hope to have 

 a staff of mature men large enough to give every student a faculty 

 adviser and a private tutor; but most schools must resign that pros- 

 pect. The next best thing, however, is the small class with closely 

 supervised instructors who are teaching without pay (or on small 

 scholarships) in the hope of an advanced degree and preferment. 



Let us see how nearly the goal may be approached. Imagine 

 a very large college whose freshman class is, say, 1,000. Suppose 

 one course of English is required in each semester of the first year. 

 The English department will then have all these 1,000 students to deal 

 with. Suppose there are in this department altogether, 12 professors 

 and instructors (Harvard has at least 5 more, not counting her assist- 

 ants). And let us assume the purely ideal condition of having a 

 student-teacher manage only 2 sections of 15 students each. Suppose, 

 on the other hand, that neither of the required freshman courses could 

 be partly or wholly given by lecture. We should then have the ideal 

 arrangement fulfilled, if each of the 12 instructors took only one fresh- 

 man section and were assisted by 27 student-teachers. By increasing 

 the class unit to 20 students, only 19 student-teachers would be called 

 for. Does anybody imagine that a university with a college entering 

 class of 1,000 would have much difficulty in securing nearly that num- 

 ber of student-teachers for at least each of the five chief departments 

 under the terms of the system we have sketched?^ Needless to say. 



