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Show A NEW POINT OF DISCUSSION. An Interesting discussion of methods started at the Educational Conference of Catholic Teachers in Chicago, and of this we have not as yet heard the end, because it strikes at methods I which have the sanction of centuries, i The Jesuits have their ratio studiorum, which is traditional in the society; the Christian Brothers have their methods which have come down from educators of the last century, and, as may be supposed, sup-posed, they are not going to yield what Is traditional with them for anything which cannot go back over a generation. genera-tion. Father Burns of Notre Dame enters en-ters the list as an advocate of newer methods. His principle Is that, as there are varying minds among students, there must be elective courses of studies. stud-ies. In these days of specialization there have the Catholic colleges get away ! from its hide-bound curriculum and! broaden out. His article in the Catholic Catho-lic World Magazine for June on "The I Elective System of Studies" is worthy j of the closest study. It will undoubt edly be answered, and before the mat-I mat-I ter is set at rest the most famous ed-: ed-: ucators in the country will have en-j en-j tered for the contest. Father Burns I suggests as principles to be discussed ; the following: j "The cultivation of special aptitudes, ' if right and desirable at all, should not be neglected in the college. The col-i col-i lege cannot shift the responsibility on-' on-' to the university, on the ground that ; the latter is the proper place for spe-1 spe-1 totalization. The reason is, that only a j very small proportion 'of college grad-i grad-i uates, ever go to universities; and moreover, the university courses themselves them-selves presuppose, on the part of the college student, some degree of con-j con-j centration of studies. I have been informed, in-formed, on very trustworthy authority, author-ity, that no graduate of a college in which the uniform curriculum obtains ': may hope for admittance to most of the courses in Johns Hopkins university, universi-ty, without an extra year or so of preparation; prep-aration; and this, not from prejudice, or any desire of discrimination, but simply from the student's unfitness for the highly specialized work of the uni-i uni-i versity, through lack of necessary preliminary pre-liminary concentration. ' "In determining the ideal, the life-purpose life-purpose of the student must be taken into consideration. This is a practical , age, and the college of today must not only turn out cultured gentlemen, but must enable a young man to fit himself, him-self, if need be, for some useful career in life. Since the great majority of college graduates never go to a university uni-versity orprofessional school, it Is plain that, in their case at least, the college col-lege must do this Work, if it is to be i done at all. With the onward march i of civilization, and the increasing di-i di-i versity of Intellectual occupations, the demands upon -the college in this way will be also likely to increase. It is to the merit of the elective system that it j lends itself readily to any special preparation of the kind that may be desired." de-sired." I I |