THE MICHIGAN DAILY
CHANDLES INTERNAL PROBLEMS:
Prof. ru ac er Ives eec
, 1 211 S. State
3o IFC Termed Legisi
By ANITA FELDMAN
"We're deadlocked, stuck right
in the center and unable to move
either way," John Brubacher,
University professor of higher
education noted yesterday.
Speaking at the 29th Annual
Conference on Teacher Educa-
tion on "Changing Concepts in
Teaching Methods," the former
Yale University professor ap-
proached the problem philosophi-
cally._
"Different concepts in teaching
method have come and gone and
over the years, have changed and
reverted backwards again," he
said. The early part of the cen-
tury, for instance, exhibited a
definite , pragmatic method of
teaching, whereas in the '20's and
'30's, education had its heyday.
Teaching methods were flexible
and in a constant state of motion.
"Most important, progressive edu-
cation came into the fore, and the
conservatives were forced to take
the defensive." he noted.
"Today, however, progressive
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The Eagerly Awaited
"COMPULSION"
education is on the defense," Prof.
Brubacher said. "It holds one end
of the rope, and the conservatives
hold the other; neither 'contest-
ant' is willing to 'let loose'."
The problem is, "What are we
going to do? How are we going to
break out of this deadlock?"
There are two movements
which began during World War II,
which may very well have an im-
pact on the solution, he explained.
Gives Possible Solutions
The first lies in the field of
logic, and is called by various
names, semantics or analytic phil-
osophy, for instance. The second
solution may be in what "many
college students talk about with-
out really knowing what they are
saying: existentialism."
Discussing the 'logical' view-
point, Prof. Brubacher noted that
in the recent past, educational
teaching methods were based
more on a psychological "behav-
iorism" pattern. "Trial and error
was the watchword to success," he
'said.
But lately, the importance of
language in learning has received
a greater emphasis, and semantics
is holding its own, "Many edu-
cators feel that by asking a stu-
dent to define precisely, or to veri-
fy exactly, just what he meant by
a statement, his ability to think
logically will be much enriched as
well as his word power," he ex-
plained.
Theory Doubtful
However, the ability of this
theory to work effectively is
doubtful, he added. The reason is
that "Teachers themselves do not
have a precise enough under-
standing of logic and logical forms
to be able to train the students
correctly."
For that reason, he feels that
teachers would greatly benefit by
having a course in logic them-
selves. "In this way, they could
use and apply the logical forms
with accurate knowledge of their
meanings."
Illustrates Point
To illustrate his point, Prof.
Brubacher called to attention a
statement made by Mortimer Ad-
ler: "The aims of education are
the same for all men everywhere
and always.''
Then he asked: "Was Mr. Adler'
stating a fact here, and if so, does
he have evidence to prove it's a
fact; or is this just something he
personally, believes? Or is he try-
ing to persuade us to his point of
view? Or finally, is he speaking
prescriptively, telling us that this
is the way things ought to be?"
The answer is: we don't know.
"Thus, the supporters of the
'logic' teaching method believe
that we need some knowledge of
linguistic analysis in order to un-
derstand the exact meaning of
Mr. Adler's statement."
Existentialist View
The other point of view is that
of the existentialists. They place
great emphasis on the importance
of the individual as opposed to
I the entire society, he said. They
hold that "the uniqueness of each
individual must be brought out"
so that he does not get caught in
the swarming crowd of "that hu-
manity- which is common to us
all."
If house funds were used for a
aren't going to get it, then per- drinking party or a social tax was
haps they might lose their apathy levied on the members in the
for the academic." house, Joint Judic will try the en-
"Also, they contend we must do tire fraternity. The Council also
away with the classroom tenden- considers whether a notice of such
cy to make rational abstractions, a party was placed in the house
and instead, insist upon the mak- or whether it was discussed at a
ing of definite stands," he added. chapter meeting.
"An individual must not be Consider Another Factor
shielded from the consequences ....JL.a a t
PROF. BRUBACHER
... speaks at 'U'
of his own individual actions, they
say. He should be made to choose,
made responsible for his actions,
and then he'll 'come out' all the
better, the professor explained.
Alleviate Deadlock
And then, Prof. Brubacher
asked, "Can either of these two
views alleviate the educational
deadlock?"
His answer was "probably not."
"Both views are too limited," he
said. Neither is inclusive enough
to get us off the deadlock.
Remain Deadlocked
"They may sharpen our tools,"
he said, "but that is- all."
The professor concluded that
we probably would remain dead-
locked until a relaxation in the
cold War occurred.
"A cold war causes tensions and
tightening in all fields," he said,
"and we, in education, will have
to wait until the ice thaws a bit
before we can go back to the more
virile educational movements of
the '20's and '30's.
V
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The existentialists contend that
a person knows that he lives in a
world not of his own making, and
thus, not knowing the nature of
reality, is thrown back and forced
to cling onto his owvn seemingly
limited resources for survival.
They believe that such an indi-
vidual experiences "anxiety, dread,
loneliness, and despair," he con-
tinued.
.Crisis Philosophy'
"Existentialism, therefore i's a
crisis philosophy' for a time of
crisis - the cold war," he said.
The emphasis must be placed on
the individual himself.
In applying an existentialist's
point of view to education itself,
Prof. Brubacher went on to ex-
plain, they believe that we could
create in children an 'anxiety for
education' by making them think'
Sthat they need it and somehow
11
CITOILAL UNION SERIES
TEN CONCERTS
GLENN GOULD ........ .. .Mon., Oct. 12
Extraordinary pianist from Canada, after his 1958 May
Festival triumph, returns for a recital.
BOSTON SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA .......,....Sat., Oct. 24
CHARLES MUNCH, Music Director
IRMGARD SEEFRIED ... . Thurs., Oct. 29
Austria's foremost lieder soprano and star of Vienna
State Opera.
RICHARD TUCKER . .......Fri., Nov. 6
Metropolitan Opera tenor-number one in his field
today, returns for his second recital here.
PAMPLONA CHOIR
from Spain . .. (2:30) Sun., Nov. 15
Luis MORONDO directs this mixed chorus of a cappella
voices, in their second American tour.
JAN SMETERLIN ... ... . Tues., Nov. 24
Distinguished Polish pianist in his Ann Arbor debut.
MINNEAPOLIS SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA ..........Mon., Feb. 8
ANTAL DORATI, Music Director
BACH ARIA GROUP . .. .. Tues., Feb. 16
Nine world-famous artists under direction of WILLIAM
H. SCHEME include JULIUS BAKER, ROBERT BLOOM,
EILEEN FARRELL, NORMAN FARROW, BERNARCD
GREENHOUSE, JAN PEERCE, CAROL SMITH, PAUL
ULANOWSKY, MAURICE WILK.
DRAASEASO
Tickets for Individual Performances
Evenings (Monday thru Thursday) $3.25, $2.75, $2.25 (Friday & Saturday) $3.75, $3.25, $2.75
Matinees (Thursday & Saturday) $2.50, $2.00
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