INFORMAL EDUCATION

Announcement of President Conant's so called extra-curricular program for study of United States history carries with it more significance than first meets the eye. With one of its aims being to destroy the belief that, in order to acquire a broad education, one must attend a college or university, the plan is indeed a decisive step. Aside from this purpose, the plan is intended to provide a ground of common knowledge on which all who participate will be able to meet and discuss the subject intelligently. Advancing on its first five year plan, the experiment will have every opportunity to be tested both by graduates and by non-members of the University.

Examinations held each year are to be the basis for granting the awards, but those who are not fortunate enough to receive the prizes will be given certificates merely for passing the examinations. The William H. Bliss Awards in American History, as the prizes are to be known, will be in the form of fine books, and both undergraduates and members of the outside public will be eligible to compete.

Although at first the plan may have only a local effect, as it becomes more publicized, its influence may well spread not only to other universities but to the educational system as a whole. The informality and the universal appeal to an organized but non-compulsory form of education should prove widespread.

More important, perhaps, than the outside appeal of this plan, is the fact that it emphasizes the value of furthering a pursuit of study beyond the mere bounds of degree requirements. Rather than assume an A. B. degree to be synonymous with complete education, the committee responsible for the plan intends to stimulate study after degree requirements are completed, as well as study in fields not connected with the student's life work.