Georgia Institute of Technology - Blueprint Yearbook (Atlanta, GA)

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is required of the Tech student in pe- destrian problem solving. You need, and recognize the need for, vaulting, soaring, inspirational thought and ex- perience. There are too few professors who rise above the cookbook approach to teaching, too many who burden the students with meaningless and irrele- vant course material. Dr. Leslie Fiedler of New York State University said that what is needed of the teacher is not that he impart knowl- edge but that he open up minds, that he reveal to his students possibilities in themselves that they had perhaps not even suspected. lt should no longer be considered a scandalous secret, he said, that the students believe they are hiding from teachers-or vice versa, that course subject matter is at best optional, at worst totally irrelevant. i Ralph Nader, the auto safety critic, had a similar complaint. ln a speech he commented that there is no dearth of excellence, but that there is a great dearth of relevance in this country's ma- jor universities and technical schools. What Mr. Nader said is true of much of Tech's curriculum. The faculty and administration must respond to a deep yearning by the students for individual participation and expression and to their need to make contributions. Not all courses should be technical in na- ture. Dr. William Haber, former Dean at the University of Michigan, claims American colleges are responding to the nation's changing educational and social climate with the speed of a gla- cier. Haber said universities tend to respond more slowly than other in- stitutions and that they should wel- come student demands for changes Hlong overdue. Individually and in small groups, stu- dents should question and prod their professors. Only by their own vocal and articulate efforts at encouragement can the faculty and administration be moved in the direction that the students want. Small pressure groups of students in each school might effect changes in the curriculum to make it more relevant and responsive to the needs of modern life, and to force professors to improve the quality of their courses and of their teaching. Then a more meaningful and less oppressive environment will be es- tablished on the Georgia Tech campus. These are my random thoughts on a Georgia Tech education and l have told it as l see it. Roy Barnes graduated from Georgia Tech in 7949 and was President of the Student Body as well as ANAK.

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