Rollins College - Tomokan Yearbook (Winter Park, FL)

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Another experiment near completion so that he can help them where they most need it. When there is such close contact and dis- cussion, there is not the need for a cramming period prevalent at other schools; for at Rollins the student must attend classes. There is no cut system. Perhaps the real success of the Plan lies in the fact that the members of the faculty have been chosen as much for their personality and teach- inq ability as for the training they have had in their particular field. This means a great deal, for if a student is to learn, he must be able to admire and like his instructor. At no other school is there the closeness and friendly spirit between the teacher and student as at Rollins. Many professors have informal discussions at their homes, and here in a friendly atmosphere, the conference plan is at its best. The faculty mem- ber is allowed to apply the Plan as it seems best to his subject . . . hence each class is a new experience to every Rollins student. In keep- ing with class formalities, students in many classes do not agree exactly with theories promulgated by the professor. At such times, in particular, Dr. Fort takes up a question in psychology 12

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As has been said many times in the past, tha Conference Plan is the distinguishing mark of the Rollins College program. It takes the place of the usual lecture and recitation systems gen- erally used in other colleges and universities. For its objective it has a continuous, cooperative, democratic, friendly, and human relationship be- tween student and teacher. Behind this is the theory that since the student ' s mind is normally immature, he needs the professor most when he is preparing his lessons, not after he has learned it or failed to grasp it. The student ceases to be a passive recipient of information under the Con- ference Plan, as he is under the lecture system, or a target for the professor ' s catch quizzing under the straight recitation system. Instead, he becomes a partner in the joint quest for truth, in which the teacher, it is true, acts as guide, but to which the student must contribute his eagerness to learn and the reaction of his own mind to the facts and ideas to which he is ex- posed. Recitations and lectures, as systems, are abolished, and the discussion, or conference is submitted. Of course, this does not mean that at Rollins we do not have some recitations and some lectures, for we do, but it does mean that Dot and Bow brouse through the stacks as a system they are not tolerated. The fact is that we do not have a system of final exams. However, we do have weekly quizzes and exam- inations. The main purpose of these quizzes is to point out to the Prof the student ' s weak spots The Baroness gives a 1 tew pointers in French 11

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the Rollins student is a true individual, for he may disagree openly to any statement if he has a basis for his argument. With these disagree- ments as an incentive, many students do extra research work to prove or disprove their points. No wonder the Rollins professor is apt to get his share of learning along with his pupil. The final touch is the individual conference held fre- quently and periodically between the student and teacher. It is during these conversations that the professor really discovers what the stu- dent is thinking, learning, and accomplishing. The Rollins Conference Plan is based, in a sense, upon the proposition that no person or institu- tion can educate totally; that it is in effect, the individual who also does the educating. All true education is self-education. Here, real learning values have been substituted for perfunctory task performances. Academic life has been put on a more personal basis by placing class attendance on a par with duties in an ordinary business establishment. Dee does some practice teaching in the Winter Park School Mainly, it can be said that the Rollins student is allowed to participate in his own education. Enroute to Convocation on Founders Day 13