Tutorial Unnecessary in Science, Instructors Say

Members of the biology, chemistry, and physics departments yesterday called a tutorial program "unnecessary" in their particular fields, as a science tutorial program for residents of Kirkland House is scheduled to begin Monday.

Kenneth Bainbridge, chairman of the Physics Department and professor of Physics, said that previous attempts to have tutorial in physics used the time and money of the physics faculty inefficiently. In addition, he pointed out that the exact sciences like physics "don't lend themselves to group discussions as well as the more subjective sciences."

The original science tutorial program in which Bainbridge was a tutor, ended during World War II because of limitations placed on the scope of courses by the war and the lack of manpower to run the program, he said. The real problem, however, he added, was getting the students to "really do work in the tutorial without putting a 'carrot in front of their noses.'"

Leonard K. Nash, '39 associate professor of Chemistry, discussing the present plan for the revival of science tutorials, asserted that "the first requirement in tutorial is some agreement on what subject matter is to be taught. There is no agreement of that nature so far in this program. There is ample doubt that such matter exists in the field of Chemistry."

William H. Drury Jr. '42, assistant professor of Biology and a member of the Undergraduate Students and Studies Committee of the Biology department, asserted that the discussion and contact with the junior faculty members was "much better in laboratories than it could be in tutorial." He said that Eliot, Dunster, and Winthrop Houses already have biologists who are assigned advisees in their House. These men should try to get to know the men in their Houses without the formal pressure of a tutorial, he declared.