Reading for Honors

Abstract

T THE system of reading for in American colleges is becoming so popular that the method is attracting universal interest and attention. It has gained the confidence of educational experts to such an extent that the General Education Board and other foundations concerned with the advancement of education have been willing to grant generous subsidies toward its promotion. Although the method has not been in operation in America long enough to test its worth adequately in the achievement of generations of graduates, its success is being proved to a high degree by the enthusiasm of students, who, after graduation, maintain the faith and broadcast the doctrine, and by the comments of critics, investigators, and general visitors who have been impressed with the spirit and trend and unmistakable advantages of the movement. Even secondary schools, prompted by dissatisfaction with the results of commonly practiced, and stimulated by hope in the new order, have caught the contagion of the honors concept, which is to encourage able minds to realize their highest powers. A conference of secondary-school administrators held at Swarthmore College three years ago revealed an amazing number of modifications of the scheme which already were being tried out, not only in project methods and Dalton plans, but in special experiments with individual pupils and with picked groups. Obviously, there is general familiarity with the idea of the honors system, but the extent to which it has been introduced and the administrative details connected with it differ greatly. As a basis of consideration, therefore, it will be practical to outline here a single plan-the plan which the writer knows best, the experiment that is being developed at Swarthmore College. Toward the end of each year, at Swarthmore, application forms are sent by the Dean of the College to all the Sophomores, whereupon students who so desire petition to read for honors. The credentials of these students, including their curricular and extra-curricular activities, are carefully considered by a committee of the deans and of professors in the various honors groups, who decide which applicants shall be accepted. To be eligible to read for honors, students should display in their chosen field the quality of work which is usually represented by marks of A or B. It is not essential that they should have made A's or B's in non-allied subjects, but it is essential that they have a reputation for dependability, and that they show promise along some line of academic