662 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVIII. No. 724 



ing a short period before the examinations 

 (which is, I believe, wrongly regarded by 

 some instructors who do not appreciate the 

 character of cramming methods as valuable 

 in affording a review and perspective of 

 the whole subject), the attendant nervous 

 strain and injury to health, the evils of 

 tutoring and proctoring — but also because 

 it impresses upon both instructor and stu- 

 dent a different educational ideal, that of 

 training the mind rather than storing it 

 with knowledge. Some years ago the 

 faculty took the step of abolishing final 

 examinations in many first- and second- 

 year subjects. I think the time has come 

 when provision should be made by indi- 

 vidual instructors and by the faculty for 

 the extension of this plan to many other 

 subjects. 



These considerations may be summed up 

 by saying that problem-solving is by far 

 the most effective means we have of de- 

 veloping mental power. We must make 

 such work as large as possible a part of our 

 courses, making place for it by the omis- 

 sion of much other material, important 

 though it may be. We must insist on in- 

 dependent work in the solution of prob- 

 lems, but in doing it we must be ready to 

 give assistance to the individual student. 

 Our examinations should be made a test 

 of his power to handle problems connected 

 with the subject rather than a test of his 

 knowledge; and the record we give him 

 should depend mainly on his success in 

 this direction. 



Let me pause here to make one remark, 

 lest I should seem to underestimate the 

 success which is already being attained by 

 the teachers of the institute. Any one 

 familiar with our work well knows that 

 what I have said in regard to the relative 

 importance of knowledge and training and 

 the methods of developing mental power is 

 only an expression of the general eduea^ 

 tional policy of the institute, and that the 



principles I have discussed have already 

 been extensively put into practise here— 

 probably to a greater extent than in any 

 other large educational institution. I 

 have emphasized these principles only in 

 the hope of impressing each individual in- 

 structor more fuUy with their importance 

 and of encouraging him to aim to base his 

 own teaching upon them as largely as 

 possible. 



So far I have considered only that side 

 of our work which relates to the profes- 

 sional training of the engineer or the sci- 

 entist ; but, as we all know, the problem of 

 the institute is not confined to this. It is 

 our function to give a general education 

 in combination vdth a professional train- 

 ing — to educate the man as well as the 

 engineer. We must constantly bear in 

 mind this twofold aspect of our work, and 

 must be contented to sacrifice in some 

 measure professional attainment in the in- 

 terest of a broader education. We must 

 aim to develop those qualities which are 

 the result of a liberal training— breadth of 

 view, perspective and soundness of judg- 

 ment; but we must especially aim to 

 develop character and high ideals. The 

 acquirement of power is, as I have said, 

 the intellectual goal towards which we are 

 striving ; but we must also keep in view the 

 moral end, which is the cultivation of the 

 spirit which will lead that power to be 

 devoted to some high form of service. 



Some may perhaps contend that these 

 are not our functions— that our obligations 

 are only on the intellectual side, that the 

 development of the moral, social, esthetic 

 and physical qualities of the student are 

 to be left to outside influences. Such a 

 view is, in my judgment, a seriously mis- 

 taken one. It might well be held by the 

 authorities of a graduate school of the 

 purely professional type; but it is quite 

 inconsistent with the conception of the in- 

 stitute as an undergraduate school, whose 



