The Elective System.

In the interesting paper which Mr. Brearley, '67, read before the Harvard Club of New York, he states, in a very clear and definite way, the disadvantages of our present elective system. He endeavors to show that the step which Harvard took in throwing open the electives to freshmen was premature. As we have no system of school education in America which brings young fellows of eighteen or nineteen to that point of maturity in thought, and to that extent of general academical knowledge which is reached by the German gymnasia, he argues that it is, in part at least, the duty of an American University to complete this academical training. In other words, he would prefer to have prescribed work in the freshman year, at least; and for the latter years he advocates a system of groups of study, any one of which the student may choose at his own discretion. Whatever the merits of such a system might be, the great question is, whether Harvard was too hasty in making her latest move. Will not the radical reform which President Eliot has introduced force the standard of short work to be raised in a shorter time than a more conservative policy could. There can be no doubt that the requirements for entrance must be raised tremendously in order to effect any radical reform in the teaching given in our schools. There is much misapprehension relative to the average ages for entering a university in America and Germany. Many people seem to think that the average is much higher there than here, and that the matureness of the German students is rather attributable to that fact. But the truth of the matter is, that the mean age in Germany is hardly a year above that for entering such colleges as Harvard, Yale, and Columbia. It is in the schools, in the school training therefore, that the great difference lies. Our schools, in the majority of cases, undertake to "prepare a man for college," that is, they prepare him for his entrance examination, - there they see the end of their obligations toward their pupils. It is for the work he is to do in college that they ought to prepare him, not for the list of facts and rules necessary to get into college. And that is what the German gymnasia do: they encourage independent thought they try to develop the individual minds of their pupils and to instruct them in the methods of thought and research.

Another point which Mr. Brearley leaves out of consideration is that the German students generally serve a year in the army, between their graduation from the high schools and their matriculation at a university. In this active, open air life, they learn a good bit of world-wisdom which serves them well in their general intellectual development. From all this, it must be perfectly patent to every unprejudiced mind that the German student, at nineteen or twenty years of age, is more competent to make his own selections in the matter of study than we are with our imperfect and uneven intellectual training here in America.

But to come back to the main question again whether Harvard was over hasty, we cannot well give an unqualified answer. Yes, if we take the present state of educational matters into consideration; no, if we look ahead to the great change which is to be effected. At present there is a great gap between school and university which the young man has to jump over as best he can. His academical training ceases long before it is nearly sufficient; he is left to make shift for himself in a sea of different studies, and there is no denying that the average man gets hopelessly lost in it, and, as Mr. Brearley points out "educational systems are made for men in general, not for mediocre men merely, but certainly not for prodigies or exceptional cases of any kind." The Harvard man nowadays must steer between two dangers: that of becoming a narrow specialist and that of being a "dilletante," a literary or scientific "dabbler."

However, all great reforms are directly attended with immediate disadvantages for some past society and the present generation of Harvard men must be contented with their unfair opportunities and look forward with satisfaction to the higher development of the coming generation. Harvard's radical move must gradually elevate the schools, but only very gradually can this be done, for, according to Mill "reform even of governments and churches is not so slow as that of schools." - The only means to this end is to increase the difficulties for admission from year to year, and let us hope that President Eliot and his colleagues may support their new system in this radical way.