College teaching standards were recently again under fire, when an educator told a group of secondary school teachers that most college professors undertake teaching without special training for their tasks. Elementary and high school teachers are better fitted for their work, he maintains, because they have been trained.
It is entirely true that good teachers are rare in the college of today. For every promotion to professorial rank of a man who possesses the ability to teach well, there are a dozen for scholastic accomplishments. Unluckily the two virtues do not always go hand in hand. It is ridiculous, however, to assume that college students require as much "teaching" as those below them in the educational ranks. By the time a student reaches college he is expected to learn, rather than be taught.
It should not be assumed that a good teacher is not wanted at college. Harvard, in particular, could use to great advantage a few additional men whose classroom ability consists in more than more scholarly lectures. The University possesses a few, and has had its share in the past. Great teachers are part of Harvard's past, and should provide some part of her future.
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LAW FOR THE LAWYERS
