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SCIENCE 



[X. S. Vol. XXXI. No. 808 



and all students take a course in elemen- 

 tary chemistry. 



16. TT'orcesier Polyteclinic InstHute. — 

 Earlier attempts to examine upon a lim- 

 ited portion of elementary chemistry with 

 the purpose of definitely eliminating this 

 from the college course were not success- 

 ful. Note-books are now examined, and 

 when these indicate a satisfactory course, 

 the students are placed in separate divi- 

 sions and given a different laboratory 

 course. They attend the same courses of 

 lectures as the beginners. 



17. Massachusetts Institute of Technol- 

 ogy. — Students who have satisfied the en- 

 trance elective requirement are admitted 

 to a special class during the first term, and 

 the lecture and class-room instruction, as 

 well as the work in the laboratory, are 

 designed to take advantage of the work 

 ali'eady completed by the student in 

 the preparatory school. The effort is 

 made to introduce new lines of experi- 

 mentation, as well as to reawaken inter- 

 est in earlier work by encouraging the 

 student to interpret the phenomena which 

 he now studies in the light of his more 

 extended experience, and with the aid 

 of such additional concepts as have been 

 introduced into the lectures and recita- 

 tions. The two divisions of the class are 

 united for the work of the second term. 



Of these seventeen institutions one does 

 not recognize chemistry for entrance, two 

 make no specific provision for students 

 who have had chemical instruction in the 

 preparatory schools, three provide special 

 laboratory instruction, but give no definite 

 college credit, six provide special instruc- 

 tion in both lecture room and laboratory, 

 but without giving college credit, while 

 two give some college credit on certificate, 

 and four excuse students from elementary 

 college courses after special examination. 



These institutions are sufficiently varied 



as to locality and type to justify the asser- 

 tion that they represent the present prac- 

 tise on the part of thoughtful college 

 teachers. That there is apparently much 

 duplication of effort is at once evident, 

 and that this must result in some loss of 

 time, energy and enthusiasm hardly re- 

 quires argument. Vfhy, then, have we so 

 long tolerated this apparent waste, and 

 why do we not immediately take steps to 

 avoid it? The answer seems to me to be 

 this: It appears to be impossible to select 

 any point in the chemical instruction re- 

 ceived by the members of a college enter- 

 ing class at Avhich they have such a sound 

 understanding of the facts and principles 

 already studied that this knowledge may 

 safely be accepted as a foundation for 

 further college instruction; or, if such a 

 point may be selected, it lies so near to the 

 beginning of the college course as to make 

 a definite excuse from this small amount 

 of work practically meaningless. There 

 is, of course, a small proportion of stu- 

 dents to whom this statement is not appli- 

 cable, but it holds true of so large a pro- 

 portion that it determines the character of 

 the instruction which is given to all stu- 

 dents who have had any previous chemical 

 instruction. The situation does not appear 

 to be appreciably better in institutions 

 having a definite entrance requirement in 

 chemistry than in others. 



Some of the reasons for this state of 

 affairs we will try to consider presently, 

 but let us first look at the conditions as 

 they confront the college teacher who has 

 an earnest desire to enable his students to 

 utilize every advantage which they have 

 gained, remembering, however, that in 

 these days it is not a question of individual 

 but of class instruction, so far as the main 

 features of a course are concerned. The 

 college teacher or the teacher in a tech- 

 nical school will find among the members 



