Septembee 14, 1906.] 



SCIENCE. 



329 



have derived great benefit from their 

 courses. On inquiry we found that these 

 students had studied from their bound 

 volumes, and that the text had been so 

 carefully prepared that they did not de- 

 sire to go to the trouble of writing out the 

 answers to the examination questions; and 

 not earing whether or not they obtained a 

 diploma or certificate, they never sent in 

 any work. 



Before pursuing this subject further, it 

 will be well to consider the character of 

 the courses we offer, and the reason why 

 we offer so many different courses. Our 

 system of education is based on an idea 

 that is almost directly opposite the views 

 held by the regular schools and colleges. 

 The regular technical school or college aims 

 to educate a man broadly ; our aim, on the 

 contrary, is to. educate him only along 

 some particular line. The college demands 

 that a student shall have certain educa- 

 tional qualifications to enter it, and that 

 all students study for approximately the 

 same length of time, and when they have 

 finished their courses they are supposed to 

 be qualified to enter any one of a number 

 of branches in some particular profession. 

 We, on the contrary, are aiming to make 

 our courses fit the particular needs of the 

 student who takes them. If a student is 

 employed as a helper in some shop, and de- 

 desiies to become a stationary engineer or 

 draftsman, or bookkeeper, or to follow any 

 other special branch of industry, we can 

 offer him a course that will fit him for the 

 particular position he has in mind. Such 

 a student does not wish or desire to be 

 forced to study anything that is not strictly 

 necessary for him to learn in order to fill 

 the position he is aiming at. Conse- 

 quently, without citing other instances, it 

 may be stated that every one of our 

 courses, with a few exceptions, perhaps, is 

 a special course. If a person desires to 



take up bridge engineering, and does not 

 Avish to learn the other branches of civil 

 engineering, we offer him our bridge engi- 

 neering course. He studies only those sub- 

 jects that are necessary for him to know 

 in order for him to understand everything 

 we teach in regard to bridge engineering. 

 If the person wishes to study stenography, 

 we offer him our stenographic course. If, 

 however, he wishes to take a course that 

 would correspond to a course in a business 

 college, we offer him what we term our 

 complete commercial course, which in- 

 cludes bookkeeping, stenography and other 

 subjects. If a student desires to study 

 mechanical drawing, and does not wish tO' 

 take our mechanical or mechanical engi- 

 neering course, we will offer him our 

 course in mechanical drawing, and will not 

 compel him to study any other subject. 

 There are many persons who already have 

 a good knowledge of mathematics and who 

 have a good general education. They find 

 it necessary to have some knowledge of 

 mechanical drawing, but do not wish to 

 study any other subject. Such a person 

 can take our mechanical-dravfing course 

 and learn the latest and best methods in 

 use in the leading drafting rooms of the 

 country. 



Considered from a pedagogical stand- 

 point, our methods are a distinct departure 

 from any that have previously been tried. 

 What has been stated here with regard to 

 the methods of the International Corre- 

 spondence Schools, applies with equal force 

 to a number of other correspondence 

 schools. These remarks do not apply to 

 all correspondence schools, however, for 

 the reason that some of them are conducted 

 along an entirely different line. Attempts 

 have been made to conduct correspondence 

 schools by means of what may be termed 

 the regular text-books such as are used in 

 the ordinary school or college. Their plan 



