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OF INTEREST TO TEACHERS 



College Entrance Botany 



In School Science and Mathematics for Februaiy Mr. Franklin 

 T. Jones, of Cleveland, Ohio, opens anew the discussion of high 

 school work for the college boy and for the boy who is not going 

 to college. Some entrance papers (September, 1908) are given 

 and the question is asked, " In what respects would a teacher do 

 differently in preparing students for these examinations than if he 

 were giving them what he considered best in preparing them for 

 life ? " While some claim that the best preparation for life is not 

 accepted by college people as the best preparation for college and 

 that teachers are forced to eliminate the vital part of the various 

 subjects in order to fill college entrance requirements, Mr. 

 Jones pertinently asks : "Are not such assertions more or less 

 preposterous on the face of them ? Are we, as teachers, ready 

 to confess that we cannot do pretty much as we please in shap- 

 ing the details of our courses, and that, with such freedom, we 

 are therefore (if we accept the judgment of some of our highest 

 educational authorities) really making failures of our chosen work ? 

 Is not our practice and our theory better than it was even ten 

 years ago, and are we not on the up path rather than the down ? 

 It seems . . . that it is about time for us science teachers to 

 champion strongly what we ai'C doing, or else as we have almost 

 perfect freedom to do, on our own individual initiative, change to 

 the best thing." 



The examination questions given in botany in this particular 

 case are far from indicating a desire to demand preparation along a 

 line that is " far from life ". 



Entrance Examination in Botany 

 Columbia College, September, 1908 

 Note. — Time : Two hours, ten minutes of which will be devoted to an oral exami- 

 nation. The certified notebook on the laboratory work must be submitted at the 

 examination. 



1. What structures of the leaf are of advantage in photo-synthesis? Explain in 

 what way each one is of service. 



2. What is the cause and mechanism of the curvature of tendrils ? 



