University of Rhode Island - Renaissance / Grist Yearbook (Kingston, RI)

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done more than satisfy a ritual enforced by the inevitable standardization of formal education. If education has two func- tions — first, to provide private enjoyment, for a variety of rea- sons, and second, to create intellectual capital, which increases the student ' s productivity (and also to give him greater satis- faction, in that he does his job well) — the present system has serious drawbacks. Required courses or areas have an unduly large quota of uninterested students. Most classroom activity fails to provide the apprenticeship that is the best professional training. Students who are socially conscious complain that con- ventional courses and teaching fail to involve them in the im- mediate problems of society. One can think of a number of different educational systems that would be better than the present one; the difficulty is that such innovations are more expensive than the present system, which is of course more expensive than what is perhaps the best educational process of all. The most effective learning takes place when, for any reason at all. an individual becomes consumed with curiosity. He may be tortured by his inability to communicate in a for- eign language, or unable to overcome some form of racial discrimination. His efforts to reach a tolerable degree of un- certainty constitute education. Unless we atomize our formal structures, and return to some- thing combining the personal relationships between teacher and student of a medieval university with an apprenticeship system, there will be continuous conflict between the university s gradu- ation requirements and education, which is a wholly personal matter. Within the rigid structure, the best that one can hope for is that the instructor first makes the student dissatisfied with the state of his understanding so that he will initiate inquiry. Then the teacher may help the student pursue his quest, either by associating him directly with current investigation, where student participation as a junior member of a team can sharpen his analysis, or by guiding him in independent problem-solving. The major role of teachers is to convey the paramount im- portance of analytical methods of inquiry, no matter what the emotional connotations of the problem. I doubt, however, whether students impatient for more relevancy will take this view. Joel B. Dirlam Economics 21

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University “Self-Study” At the moment the entire University Community is involved in a process of self-study. This in itself is important since it points out a dissatisfaction with the status quo and seeks a change. Teaching, research, tenure, curriculum revision, student participation, student housing and medical care, campus po- lice power . . . ; what a bewildering array of questions to ponder! I hope that during this process we do not loose sight of the fundamental role of the University to impart education and training to students. By education I mean a liberation of mind so that a student trained in, say, physics, is also enough educated to comprehend and confront social or communal problems. It is alleged that Science and Engineering teachers treat this human aspect at best with benign neglect. The humanities seem to fare no better. Some letters published in the BEACON convey the impression that in humanities the students are exposed to an abundant supply of platitudes and trivia. Then there is a general indictment that occasionally tenure serves as a blanket to protect incompetence and, worse yet, a lack of interest. In many quarters it is felt that not only teaching but the moral trust of the University is sacri- ficed by overemphasizing research even when it is classified or defense oriented. This is further encouraged by the un- written law of publish or perish. All of these questions have cogent arguments ' on both sides and should be decided by the involvement of the entire aca- demic body; and this includes the students which form the foundation of the University. They should take part not only in protests but also in cooperative and less volatile forms of activities. A close cooperation and mutual trust between the students and faculty would go a long way to solve the problems. A. Choudry Physics 23