Kerns and Brown Discuss Preparatory School Educational Problem---Present Their Views on Subject of Crimson Study

"Too many schools fear the New Plan and cling to the Old Plan as a certain means of getting pupils into college without leaving too much to the discretion of the College Boards of Admission," writes S. K. Kerns, Headmaster of the Country Day School for Boys of Boston, Mr. Kerns article continues the series on preparatory school education sponsored by the CRIMSON. Mr. A. E. Brown, in an article which follows that of Mr. Kerns, gives his viewpoint of the situation, Mr. Brown is Headmaster of the Harrisburg Academy, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Kerns continues:

"Ten years ago great hopes were entertained for the New Plan as a means of making the transition from the preparatory school to the college natural and easy. These hopes have not been fulfilled."

In 1925, of 19,775 candidates examined, only 2402 used Plan B. For the three subsequent years about 22,000 men were examined annually. About one-seventh of these men were examined under Plan B. In 1929 of 22,724 candidates 4054 employed Plan B.

Regarding this plan of entrance, Mr. Kerns further states. "You will note that Plan B is not making a substantial growth in popularity as a means of entrance to college. Too many schools fear the New Plan and cling to the Old Plan as a certain means of getting pupils into college without leaving too much to the discretion of the College Boards of Admission.

"In 1930 only eleven colleges presented 100 or more candidates for entrance under Plan B. Of these, five were men's colleges--Harvard, Yale, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, and Carnegie Institute of Technology--and six were women's colleges--Vassar, Smith, Wellesley, Mount Holyoke, Radcliffe, and Wheaton. Over a five-year period, among the colleges named only at Harvard, Vassar, and Smith have the number of new plan candidates materially increased.

"The difficulty is obvious. In doubtful cases neither the school nor the boy dares to walt till his last school-year to find out if he is to be permitted to take the new plan examinations. He cannot revert at the last moment to the old plan and have freshly in mind the knowledge needs to pass eleven examinations in June and September of a single year. A reference to the representative course of study above given will show that he has not studied Plane Geometry for a year, that he has not studied Algebra for two years. If the school believes that no boy expect one planning to be a linguist should give over half of his time to the rudiments of three foreign languages, and if it has sought relief from this necessity by attempting to discard the old plan entirely, he has not studied at all the extra language needed to complete the total of sixteen and one-half units.

"Schools which had hoped to adopt the new plan in toto have been unable to do so. Their efforts to solve the difficulties have resulted in a straddling process. They send all of their boys up for preliminary examinations under the old plan so that by the beginning of the senior year each one has obtained a certain number of units. If he obtains admission under the new plan, he gladly throws away these credits, regarding them, however, as valuable experiments which have robbed the coming final examinations of some of their terrors. If he is denied permission to take the new plan examinations, he has money in the bank, and still may, under difficult conditions, get into college by the old plan. Moreover, if he is permitted to take the new plan examination and is rejected, the college may credit him with certain examinations taken under that plan.

"Present college entrance requirements result in preparatory school curricula which leave the boy little time for self-education, for self-improvement of personal gifts and inclinations, for self-development of his own character by independent thought and experience. This is a fault to be corrected. Neither the college nor anyone has a right to monopolize the life of youth with its glorious possibilities, as if a certain amount of leisure were sure to be wasted or misapplied.

"In conclusion, let me crystalize the argument for more leisure in one practical suggestion. Reduce the quantity of the college entrance requirements (both new and old plans) by one-fourth. Make every boy obtain twelve units according to present plans with such modifications as seem necessary. Then require the successful candidates to show by personal conference with a college officer that their leisure time has resulted in self-education and cultivation of sufficient value and importance to justify its allotment. This plan would, I believe, banish present difficulties from the schools and bring to the college finer material than it now obtains."

Mr. Brown, concerning the problem, has the following to say:

"The transition from the preparatory school to the large college or university under present conditions is a hazard for the average boy. I have felt that Harvard freshmen dormitories have filled a great need in the life of the boy going to Harvard. I trust that in the new housing scheme the freshman will be given full consideration.

"For many years I have cherished the opinion that all elementary languages, in fact all elementary subjects such as first year sciences and one year elementary history courses should be studied in the secondary school. If the colleges make this a requirement it would mean that the prospective freshman would have a more thorough preparation in his elementary language or whatever course he now gets by pursuing these elementary courses in the college or university.

"The reason is obvious in the secondary school for he takes his subject daily instead of three times a week and being under a kindly, interested supervision he is given extra help as he requires with the result that this preliminary work is better done in the secondary school than it could possibly be done in the university. Being elementary courses there is no real legitimate excuse or reason for the college to bother with them.