THE BANGOR LABORATORIES. 499 



great cure for it is in repeated and careful and 

 very free interchange of question and answer 

 between teacher and student. Professors and 

 students must speak to one another. One of the 

 greatest things is to promote freedom of conversa- 

 tion in such classes, to cultivate in them the power 

 of expressing ideas in words. Then something 

 more definite than viva voce examination can 

 come. Written examinations are very important, 

 as training the student to express with clearness 

 and accuracy the knowledge he has gained, and to 

 work out problems, or numerical results, but they 

 should be once a week to be beneficial. If only 

 occurring once in two or three months they will 

 lose their effect in promoting good teaching, and 

 can be scarcely more than a test ; if only once a 

 year they are merely inspector's work. The object 

 of the university should be teaching, and examin- 

 ing should only be part of its work, and that only 

 so far as it promotes teaching. The credit of the 

 university should depend on good teaching, and no 

 candidate should be granted a degree who does 

 not show that he has taken advantage of the good 



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