UNIVERSITY IDEALS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 637, 14 October 1909, Page 3

UNIVERSITY IDEALS.

Sir,—ln reading, the letters of' your'vanoUi corr<espomtents v oh' tHo subject of "Mathematics : as Taught at'yictotia-College, v I havo been moved to •' heartfelt symjpathy; for Professor ; Picken on tWoiio liand,' and extreme'pity ,the writers of >thes6,letters on the other. ; Iri the first place, I ehould'like' to .point out * ■ that students.,who write letters such as * these \ . are unworthy-of the .student-body .of "which they. .. are, nominuHy, for 'Surely'anyone ; with tho.interests of-tho t college at heart would... . refrain from I discussing the. supposed' 6norl>. coming?,of the professors in a,newspaper which-' is read front one ; end'of our .Dominion to tha . , other. Yet,. I am sure, : that on certain occa- ■~•*. • sions these students flaimt :the "green and gold"-and, sho^t^ , ,;. etc.," -. quite "as lustily ; 4 as . any'—■ Is. this'.tbe/cx* . . tent of their^loyalty to their^alma.mater? Surely- it''would be hlore..honourable.to go (or. write) to.-the"professor-and point out that ho is "obtruding;, his-.views ..to the 4 detriment . of • many students,": and •I' am quite i oortam \ thati^'the*'caso : could "be, to thd professor so convincingly-'as to'make him. see : that it is to the "detriment" of his students, . he would .not;hesitate to• chango his tactics. It is unfortunately true that, many students, attend tho!uhiversity'solely. and wholly with the intention of 'passing- an s .'examination, which-. Will enable them, to writo the magic letters B.A.'after their ilamo.;(fcw aim ns lugh as M.A.),tho idea.being, I presume, that, teachors ■ whov havo obtained 'this- degree : &?<),.paid,. . larger salaries than thosp who have. not. Con- ; sequently,' anything which tends .to prevent ;• them from • passing this examination' is "to., tbeir detriment,'' and-these, ate students at a. college whose motto is. "Wisdom is more to l?e desired than gold;" . •V' So far I have b6sed ; my remarks on.the sup. position that- itHs 'necessary- for,-students . to-.; obtain outside hclp»- but ;I* wish to state most emphatically' that it . If the does not 'give His students the necessary>help, surely his advanced'students should.faro uorse than''those .in !'the' pass- class?, Yet: it • is- : to . these that webave to/gt? for his warmest' mj>. porters,. while' even, in' tho. pass' class ther< ; . ard,',those ,\tho;cannot find? words for. use; in ; sounding' his are we : to account-for this? also,-tire account for tlie. fact, that students from . College' passed the degree 'examination. • "last year; for it is. qnita certain that all those who ; passed had not thc.hclp' of'a coach. > Docs not r [his suggest that the. fault lies not with tin . professor, but. with the students? 'Of course, ; il, is a well-known fact that there have been, are, and presumably always will. be*> j)eoplc. to vrnom "mafheniatics'-v'is-.a stumbling-block. ..That our. university .system should .uot foico such. • people to. stiidy I<adtiiit, ,but, 4 ' long as itdo^.it.is unfair fori them to,blame. the professor because, they cannot follow, him. Now, I.also am Victoria College, . and itscems to me.'thafc many students do not., try to understand the professor's lectured They •• go* to'a lecture which tliey do not .understand, •, and leavs the room.-at the end of the hour.ovrth the fiiw conviction,that they, havo been. gi>ca ; , is. milefi too, hard.for-them; . .they, then go home ,(somo tako their noto-books . with them, othersdon't), and are so firmly ..con- ' vinced that they cannot understand tho work:. ; ' that, they give,;no further thought to itrtul it ; is time for' the .next lecture. Naturally they • . ' understand,less-'of this' thaii-'.ftfVthtf'.previous one,, and I .cau.jeadily bdievo that at tho end •• of a-week.br'two'jthey are completely in ; a fog. Now,"- wouki not iany ftensiblo' person tako" th« first lecture home, thinkyit.-oyer -wellj; and-,., earnestly try to get to'the bottom'of and if ,he 'still • had il(%uUy with. it> take it ' to" .tho professor and telMiim* sb ? '• So: long as' students , refuse to tell the professor' what . difficulties they-have, how can lie possibly- know the sepa» . rate troubles nf each individual? A. tutorial t class is. •held.' fbr |he- sole purpose; of clearing ,; up'difficulties, often not d single' s'tu-,". dent stakes the t rouble to attend it. know that 'theto, pro some whoxaro imable. ,to • bo .• present at' this 'hbur, tho profcssor is aU , ways willing at any- 1 tiriib tovtalk.'over difficul-.: ties' vjth ' anybody, 'if students have , not : sense enough to avail themselves of this-~woll # . , it is their own faults if they do fail,in the. i examination, . . >.■ : - - : ! : •• Further, how anybbdy 'who has'ever attended • Profossor Picken's 1 lectures can say that they ; do not, learn : enoiigh mathematics to pass the , B.A. examination;l,cannot understand. ♦l am ; thoroughly oonvinced-Uhat : anyone, who takes ,1 i the trouble"' to give -some serious thought to tho i .work- set before;- him. ; will have no difficulty ; ; whatever in passing the degree Examination, m , fact, will probably; find it mere child's play. t personally, I may say, that scores of times; ; every week, dp I thank the good fortune. that, j l>rought Professor Picken ; to Nfcw Zealand dur- [ ing .days, for T now see common .' , sense- a'nd ,cpntinuity(.-in what ; was before; • t merely a Wies of detached fragments. Of 3 coutso, I have nbtioed .that: Pix»tessor Picken . 3 does his students 1 the honour,-of treating-thbui v as if they possessed an average, amount of'inj telligerice (people without an- average A ahionnt : ; i of intelligence • surely have no business at • a j university), but-can professor l)e blamed if ,• some who.are lacking in this respect find'theii - > way to,Salamanca?—l,am, etc.,'. , - : :•JUSTICE. October 9.-' : , ~