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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXII. No. 812 



fundamental differences between the two 

 countries, and questions whether the Eng- 

 lish system of university extension can be 

 made to thrive in our more democratic 

 soil. 



Grave doubts are expressed as to the 

 permanent response which our people will 

 make to the education offered, and atten- 

 tion is called to the difficulty of securing 

 a sufficient number of suitable itinerant 

 lecturers and teachers, as an insurmount- 

 able barrier. This article further cautions 

 against the serious danger of superficial- 

 ity, of cheapening, and a tendency to edu- 

 cational insincerity as a result of the new 

 methods. 



During the years succeeding the earliest 

 experiments in university extension in this 

 country, Mr. Palmer was not alone in his 

 questioning. Many conservative views 

 were set forth. The aristocracy of schol- 

 arship made its scornful comment in agree- 

 ment with Miss Repplier's pithy sum- 

 ming-up of the method as offering "the 

 second-rate at second-hand. ' ' Nor was the 

 number small of those who echoed the 

 voice of the Cambridge commissioners who 

 saw need for all their resources within the 

 walls of the university. 



Publications during a period covering 

 from ten to fifteen years expressed the gen- 

 eral belief that university extension in the 

 United States was practically dead. Even 

 its most loyal friends saw that it was not 

 accomplishing all that they had hoped. 

 "It failed because it did not meet a popu- 

 lar demand," wrote one; "It has not cre- 

 ated so large a body of serious students as 

 was expected"; "University extension 

 has fallen into channels of popular ap- 

 peal," came from others. 



It had become evident that though uni- 

 versity extension teaching as borrowed 

 from England was successful in several 

 populous areas, yet, in order to become 



coextensive with the nation, it must adopt 

 new methods to fit new conditions. 



The recognition of this fact heralded a 

 new era for university extension and for 

 some years past the work has been making 

 its own response to doubters. 



The fundamental differences between 

 England and America pointed out by Mr. 

 Palmer doubtless exist, yet those experi- 

 ences of England which have led to recent 

 modifications of method in order to bring 

 about a closer affiliation between univer- 

 sity and working classes would seem to im- 

 ply that "the people" there are not dis- 

 similar to "the people" here. 



There has been some reason, no doubt, 

 for the fear that extension teaching will be 

 more or less superficial, but I believe that 

 there is now general acceptance of the 

 principle enunciated by Mr. Moulton, that 

 "as dealing with people who work for the 

 most part under difficulties," the method 

 must be "more rigorously thorough and 

 not less," than that of other agencies. It 

 is recognized, also, that in comparing non- 

 resident with resident students it is com- 

 mon experience to find in the former a 

 strength of purpose and earnestness, 

 greatly to their advantage. 



The problem of finding a staff of exten- 

 sion workers possessing the very special 

 qualifications required of them is still a 

 serious one. President Hadley, with refer- 

 ence to university extension at Tale, says: 



We made some experiments of that kind fifteen 

 years ago, and repeated them in a little different 

 form five or six years ago; but we felt in both 

 eases that with conditions as they existed in this 

 part of the country, the men who were capable of 

 conducting such courses could obtain larger re- 

 sults by directing their energies into other chan- 

 nels. 



Mr. Hadley 's observation has more or 

 less truth at the present time, but in the 

 five or six yeai-s that have elapsed since 

 Yale's latest experiment, university ex- 



