22 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LIV. No. 1384 



they are difficulties in the way of the highest 

 development of the whole intellectual at- 

 mosphere and achievement of America. The 

 " Failure of the Collie " about which Profes- 

 sor Chapman, of Tale, writes so vigorously in 

 a recent number of School and Society, is 

 not simply the idle or sensational phrase of a 

 sick pessimist but it is a phrase that well ex- 

 presses the thoughts of almost all of us and 

 that makes almost all of us feel sick as we 

 face the facts. Yet we all go on; the colleges 

 and universities all go on the usual way, as if 

 the whole situation were out of our hands and 

 on the lap of the gods for outcome. We act 

 as if we were helpless; but that we should 

 really admit that we are helpless is incredible. 

 It is not American. It is not what we did 

 when we faced the enormous problems of war. 

 Do we have to have war to be capable? I am 

 every day growing more impressed with the 

 simplicity of war. War, which is supposed to 

 bring complexity, brought us to simplicity and 

 directness of thought and action ; while peace, 

 which should bring simplicity, has brought us 

 to a perfect maze of complexity. No thing 

 was too bold for us to attempt and achieve 

 when we were at war. No thing seems capable 

 of direct attack and solution now that we are 

 at peace. But that is the sick pessimist again. 

 And sick pessimism must not rule us. I am 

 sure it will not. It is incredible that in this 

 all-important matter of getting our higher ed- 

 ucation straightened out right we shall go on 

 indefinitely acting as if we were helpless. 

 Let the college or university that wishes to 

 do the greatest thing just now to be done for 

 higher education and true learning in America 

 step forward and boldly do the unusual thing. 

 Let it devote the most of its energies to the 

 most important part of its work. It will soon 

 not be alone in its doing. It will become a 

 prophet with honor in its own land. 



The National Research Council has recently 

 interested itself in an inquiry as to what is 

 being done to discover and encourage the stu- 

 dents of superior capacity and attainment in 

 the colleges and universities. One of its 

 representatives has visited, since the first of 

 February, about fifty institutions on this 



quest and for the purpose of friendly sugges- 

 tion. He finds a lively appreciation of the 

 importance of the matter, but a rather faint 

 heart about doing anything about it. 



In an interesting report recently made by 

 this visiting representative. Professor George 

 W. Stewart, of the University of Iowa, to the 

 Council's Division of Educational Relations, 

 certain impressions gained from his visits 

 were expressed as follows: 



Although each ambitious teacher is anxious to de- 

 velop leadership, yet, on the whole, when judged by 

 distribution of time his emphasis in fact is laid on 

 helping the mediocre in ability and the deficient 

 in attainment. At first consideration, a teacher is 

 inclined to deny the accuracy of this statement, 

 but the visitor has found that after a brief dis- 

 cussion there results a fairly unanimous assent to 

 its truth. The individual encouragement of the 

 student of ability is one of the delights of the 

 professor, but his class-room efforts are of neces- 

 sity gauged for the average and the presence of 

 the passing mark attracts his attention auto- 

 matically and constantly to those of low standing. 

 In other words, the routine demands a constant 

 interest in others than the most able. 



None of the colleges visited is approximating 

 its maximum service in the encouragement of su- 

 perior attainment and in the detection and de- 

 velopment of superior ability. The methods used by 

 any institution have been adopted fortuitously 

 rather than as a consequence of a definite sus- 

 tained study of the problem. This is to be ex- 

 pected since the problem is really every one's 

 business and concerted study and action is only 

 given spasmodically when some one member has 

 a single proposal that can be presented to the 

 faculty in a form for action. This is not to be 

 regarded as indicating a criticism of the professor 

 but rather a weakness in our system. 



Numerous colleges are utilizing mental tests in 

 one way and another, but, because of the time 

 and hence money required, such an activity is not 

 as widespread as it should be. Obviously such 

 tests would be helpful in detecting superior ability. 

 The inactivity of other colleges in this matter can 

 be accounted for by the fact that no individual 

 has the time to devote to it and the administration 

 or the faculty is not adequately informed con- 

 cerning mental tests. 



This matter of the utilization of mental 

 tests in helping to discover the students of 



