Unpedagogic Words

Dr. Alexander Meiklejohn, quondam President of Amherst College, was forced out of that post last Spring (TIME, June 25, July 2), supposedly because of his too-liberal opinions. Whether his opinions are pink, yellow, black or white, it is easy to understand how they can make enemies on account of the manner of their expression. An example of this was furnished last week when Dr. Meiklejohn made an address to the New School for Social Research in Manhattan. His words, if typical, denote a new period in the history of education, as compared to the diction of the Eliots, the Dwights, the Wilsons.

Some expressions:

On Education vs. Instruction. "It's a great error on the part of teachers to try to give their students instruction. The days of instruction are numbered. You can't teach young men of college age. But you can give them an opportunity to learn."

On College Spirit. "The day a young man arrives he's told he must love his college. God knows why. If he'd gone anywhere else, he'd be supposed to settle his affections there. . . . That's silly, sentimental stuff. I don't object to a youth loving his college. But I do object if there's a reason for it. College is too good to be cared for in that fashion."

On Intellectual Parasites. " It's amazing how dependent our young Americans are in intellectual matters. They're anxious to find people in college who will tell them what to think, and they're quite glad to learn. Most of the graduates of our colleges don't read, and haven't any idea of books."