Genral Education End the Plight of Modern Fan. Firs Coviction That
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DOCUMENT RES3SE 8E 008 956 AUrM3R McGeath, Earl J. Genral Education end the Plight of Modern Fan. Lilly Endowment, Inc., Indianapolis, Inn. PUB Del'y 7f1 11077 192p- gveILA4LE FEnr The Lilly Endowment, Tnc., 2801 North Meridian St., Indiandpolis, Indiana 4S203 EDPS FoICE rF-50.83-Hc-f10.03 Plus Postage. 11737PTPTeF *Educational Change; Flucational Policy; Futures (of Society); *General Education; *Higher Education; Individual Developsent; *Intellectual Development; Moral Development; Personal.Growth; *Social Change; epecialization 1,15TFAC- There is in the higher education profession t strong and gr)wing segsert who believe, that although our colleges sty te successful in producing well-inforsed ard skilled epecialists they do not tarn out citizens broadly informed about the cosplez world ia which thry live. Consequently, as a people we are unable to cope with our personal and .Civic problems. These intellectual leaders holdthe firs coviCtion that success in the effort to equip students mentally ant morally to lead more effective lives will be contingent upor basic reforss in the structure and the substance of our system of higher eiacetion. 3nce theemesbers of the society of learning focus their attention on the present disordered state .of affairs in our cultarm and the unique resources institutions of higner educatioa have for restoring ma vision of the world in which reverence lnd orler iill prevent the riot into which modern society appears to be moving,* +41ay will undertake the essenriel reforses in policy and nractiee. (AuthorfmE) 4,404,111******430** 1011********10***4111141****************************/**.***/***11, Docuserts acquired by ERIC include many inforual unpublisFed sat-rills not available frou other sources. ERIC mikes every effort 0' to obtain the best copy available, nevertheless, items of marginal * reproducibility are often encountered and this affects +he guality of the eicrofiche and hardcopy reproductions EPI: makes available wit the EPIC Document Reproduction Service (!DRS). EDPS is not responsible for the quality of the original docuseat. Reproductions * * supplied by ?DRS are the best that can be made from the original. mo********************************************************************* GENERAL EDUCATION AND THE -.PLIGHT OF MODERN MAN N1,( ,RATH THE LILLY ENDOWMENT, INC. INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA 3 CONTENTS Foreword Preface vii. I. The Confused Human Condinon II.Education as Panat:ea 6 III.General Education Past and Present 20 IV. The Persisting Mission of General Education . 50 V. Reorientation of Graduate Education 87 VI. Neglected Dimensions 111 VII. Noteworthy General Education Programs . 144 1. Kenyon College 144 2. North Central College 149 3.Saint Joseph's College 151 4.Stanford University 162 5.University of Kentucky 167 6.University of Wisconsin Green Bay 175 VIII. Conclusion 180 4 s. FOREWORD Once more, Earl J. McGrath providesus with his appreciable insight into the current state of American highereducation. The present debate, set as it is, in the midst of thepressing problems of enrollment and finances andcollectivization,, is presented in the following pages in sharp detail. -Andwe are promptly made aware that the urgency of today's discussions about general education, indeed of the nature of the liberalarts college itself, is the product of several .decades of development. Dr.McGrath has captured the history and contemporary significance ofthe ongoing academic dilemma. In doing so, he hasnot been unwilling to express in con- vincing terms his own viewpoint,a viewpoint developed on the academic iring line over five decades. We commend this vital work toyour reading. Not everyone will agree; nor will everyone disagree.Yet itisinconceivable that anyone will regard what he hasto say with indifference. The issues which he identifies with such clarityare not bland Or casual or remote from the very heart of American academe. Dr. McGrath focuses on what he sensesare re-emerging emphases for the American college. The Lilly Endowment hasinvested substantial resources as a demonstration of its faith in the importance of the historic mission of the liberal arts college.This publication is one more piece of evidence of that faith. We cannot fully expressour gratitude to Earl McGrath for undertaking this task and then for doing it.so superlatively. But, we are not surprised. James B. Holderman Vice President for Education Lilly Endowment, Inc. Indianapolia, Indiana 5 PREFACE The ascent of nun willgo on.But do not assume that n will go on carried by Westerncivilization as we know it. We are being weighed in-thebalance at this moment.If we give up, the nela 'step will be taken.--but not .by us. .We have nOt been givenany guarantee that Assyria and Egypt and Ruine u ere ntt given .We are waiting to be somebody's past too, and not necessarily that ofour future. J. Bronowski. In discussions vitha hOSt of faculty members and adminis- trators over the past severalrears about the subject of this volume, the author has time andagain- been asked thequestion,. "If the general eaucation Movementof the thirties.forties, and fifties failed, what reason do you have to believe it willsucceed in the seventies?" Hopefully the 'complicatedanswer to. this query will be found in the following pages. but at the very outset it hasto be admitted that in atteMpting a revival of thismovement one must be impelled as much byfaith as by fact. One faCt,how- ever, is abundantly clear. The interestin and the concern -about general educationnever really died out in the intervening it merely lay dormant years; under a cover of distractingevents. Today there isin the professionsignificantlyamong SOme of the most distinguishedpersons intheir respective fieldsa strong and growing minority whobelieve that althoughour colleges may be successfulin producing well-informedand skilled specialists they do not turn out citizens broadly infonned,about the complex world in whkhthey live. Consequently,as a people wei_ are unable to cope withour personal and civic problems. These intellectualleaders hold the firmconviction that success in the effort to equipstudents mentally and morallyto lead more effective lives will becontingent on basic reformsin the struc- ture and the substance ofour system of higher education. The author unreservedly sharesthis view and has faiththat 'once the vii members 'of the society of learning focus their- attention onthe present disordered state ofaffairs in our culture and the unique education have for restoring, as resources_ institutions of higher Whitehead put it. a vision of the world in W'hich reverenceand order will prevent the riot into which modernsociety appears to be moving, they will undertake the essentialreforms in policv and practice: With the purpose of aoselerating such a'social regeneration, the authO'r undertook the task of assemblingthese ideas on the subjett of general education. A wordnetds to be said about the use of a term whidi regrettably,beause of earlier mis- advent-tires under its -riarne. today often arousesnegative reactions it)the teaching. community. Over a periodof years the author has sought* unsuccessfully- for a substitute phrasethat would Carry the essentialconnotations, while- avoiding the earliernegative ,attributes.If geral is taken to embrace the meanings expressed by Harry Carman's definition 'of some years ago,as quoted later inthis monograph. and rLiders willdissociate it from some of the favorable ackretions of the pasty- the term is adequate today to cover toth abstractconnotations and con- crete substance.In fact. 110 other expression seems to servethe purpose as well. Sortie members of the teaching guild,especially those in the liberalartscolleges.prefertouse the ancient . phraseliberal education. The latter _locution, however, is'even more confusing than generai education.Unfortunately, much of the instruction now offered in liberal artscolleges bears little semblance to the subject !natter and the purposes of the traditionaleducation that bore the name, an education designed to preparestudents for the common responsibilities oflifeby Acquainting them with the greatliterary and philosophical works of our4ntellec-tu2l Vradition:So-called liberal education today has neither common content-, nor meaning. .The .objectivesand prokrams of liberal arts colleges vary infinitely as perforcedo the characteristics of their graduates. The term general education hasbeen used here to suggest implicitly that a restorationof the commonality of yin learning is essentialto enable citizens to understandone another as they discuss the matters aboutwhich all members ofa demo- cratic society must: be toncerned. The principal purpose ofthistit e isto- call attention to a matter that it;the author's judgmentsurpasses in %importance all others in the acadernic community. The presses-annuallyspew forth tons of commentaries.plans. researchreports, and analyses of the existing state of affairs in colleges and universities.Many of these works, perhapsthe large mojoritv. deal with currently commanding matters. Too few,however, are concerned withthe basic philosophical' ands'ocialdecisions which oughtto deter- mine the future character of these institutions and theimpact of their services on the fate ofour confused society:, Dozens of kv)111:ncstreatsuchtopi"csasopen-admissions policies, tuition fees andeasy ao:e.ss tO higher education,agovern- ment support. tenure rights forFaculty members,new buildings and equipment, innovativetypes of curricula, and coeducational living facilities,