The Elective Systeiii. — Wadstrorfh. 225 
In truth, the greatest curses, that beset any system of elect- 
ives, are the neglect of proper sequences in the stiidies and the 
tendency of various instructors to bid for students, by giving 
weak and inferior (technically known as soff) courses. This 
last, like many of the other ills of educational institutions, 
can be partially, if not entirely, removed, by placing the charge 
of the instruction under one experienced executive head, which 
head is to be held strictly accountable for the success of the 
work, and is to be given absolute control over all the instruct- 
ors, with power to discharge them if they do not properly per- 
form their functions. In other words, there should be intro- 
duced into our schools more of the business methods of suc- 
cessful business houses, — the direct responsibility for, and power 
of the individual over, everything placed under his charge. 
The Michigan Mining School has attempted to apply the 
methods in use in the elective systems employed for general or 
literary instruction to technical or engineering education, so 
far as the school's province of training men to assist in the 
development of the mineral wealth of the country will enable 
it to do. In accomplishing this it has tried to reduce to a min- 
imum all studies to be taken by every student, to conserve the 
sequence, and to obtain thorough work by the business method 
of individual responsibility. 
The only studies required of all the pupils here are " ele- 
mentary geology" and the "elementary principles of mining," 
— these are asked for because it is believed that in any insti- 
tution dealing with the ))roblems relating to the mineral 
wealth the pupil should have some knowledge of geology and 
of mining methods, and also because the director (who in tliis 
case happens to be in charge of the geological instruction) 
desires to come into personal contact with every pupil in the 
school early in his course. The above mentioned studies re- 
quire altogether the pupil's presence in the class room only 
three times a week for thirty-four weeks. 
Outside of the elementary geology and mining the student 
is allowed unrestricted freedom of choice in his studies, the 
same as he is in the literary, l)ut not in the engineering, work 
of Harvard, Michigan or in any other of our universities. 
Emphasis is here placed upon the almost absolute freedom 
of choice at the Michigan Mining Schocd because many have 
