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‘SAPERE AUDE’

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VOLUME I, NUMBER 1

BRYN MAWR, PENNSYLVANIA

DECEMBER 6, 1961

 

 

Bron Mawr’ s Educational Philosophy
Tradition and Challenge

Bryn Mawr has been unique in its
approach ‘to the dilemmas of educa-
tional philosophy. In our concern
with depth rather than breadth we
are unlike most other American wom-
en’s colleges. Bryn Mawr has not
attempted ‘to develop a glib “cocktail
party”’ familiarity with as many di-
verse fields as possible. Instead, ‘our
emphasis on the development of a
clear °and : disciplined mind through
a study of representative works and
problems has given rise to the com-
ment that Bryn Mawr is a “woman’s
college for men.”

Bryn Mawr’s unique educational
philosophy raises many important
and disturbing questions for the stu-
dent.’ ‘Is education in depth a justi-
fiable goal for the woman who has
no professional aspirations? More-
over, if it i8 justifiable, has the indi-
vidual ‘Bryn Mawr student taken full
advantage of her educational oppor-
tunities?. Has she come to a per-
sonal and critical evaluation of how
and what and why she is learning?
Is she.aware of. the power of the
collective student voice as an instru-
merit for change? In wrestling with
these’ broad and undeniably complex
questions,,we must first examine the
historical sources of our educational
philosophy. Next, we must criticize
and evaluate Bryn. Mawr’s consis-
tency in.the application of its educa-
tional principles, Finally, we must
view our educational philosophy as a
challenge to carry on the Bryn Mawr
tradition of dynamic innovation.

Joseph Wright Taylor, founder. of
the college, was interested in women’s
education because of the Quaker tra-
dition which recognizes women as the
mental and spiritual equals of men.
His original plan for the college
therefore emphasized the Quaker
moral and ethical values. According
to Taylor’s: will, the avowed purpose
of Bryn Mawr was “the guarded ad-
vanced Christian education of fe-
males” giving them “all the advan-
tages ‘of a college education which
are”sé freely offered to young men.”
To ‘insure the accomplishment of this
purpose, the college was to remain
small, guaranteeing the best of edu-
cations to a highly select group of
students under the guidance of an
equallyoutstanding faculty.

.\M. Carey Thomas, the second Pres-
ident of the college, devoted herself
tothe cause of advanced education
for women. Her vibrant energy and

._détermination ._ have earned — Miss

Thomas “her. well-deserved position
as the guiding spirit of Bryn Mawr.
At the age of fourteen she wrote in
her diary, “If I ever live and grow
up, my one aim and concentrated
purpose shall be and is to show that
women can learn, can reason, can
edmpete with men in the grand fields
of literature and sciencé and conjec-
titre that open before the nineteenth
century, that a woman can be a wom-
an and 4 true one without having’ all
her ‘time engrossed by dress and so-
ciety.” Indirectly, by her own ex-
ample as a scholar, and directly, as
an educator, M. Carey Thomas set
new standards of teaching and schol-
arship. in. women’s. educations. Hav-
ing completed her: undergraduate
study at Cornell, and finding it im-
possible to receive a Ph.D. in Amer-
i ‘she,went to Europe. and was fin-

 

ally awarded a Ph.D. summa cum
laude at the University of Zurich.
Her achievement as a scholar gained
her a position at the new college,
Bryn Mawr, and gave her the oppor-
tunity of implementing her ideas for
advanced education. She required
that the Bryn Mawr faculty be aca-
demic specialists and scholars so that
the students could be trained as
specialists, and so that the challeng-
ing instruction would teach women
to think for themselves.

Miss Park, third President of the
college, stressed particularly the im-
portance of the individual student.
She recognized the same importance
of providing the best possible educa-
tion for women, but also recognized
the importance of developing matur-
ity and responsibility. Under her
direction the course system became
much less specifically defined, on the
assumption that each girl should be
able to plan her program herself.
The honor system was instituted and
the Self-Government Association,
which had been established through
student initiative during Miss

Thomas’ administration, was revamp-
ed and revitalized; social conduct
was henceforth under the students’
jurisdiction. ‘The strictly formal re-
lationship between the faculty ‘and
students, which had been firmly estab-
lished by M. Carey Thomas, was re-
laxed, and the importance of close
faculty-student collaboration was em-
phasized. In What Makes a College
Cornelia Meigs says of Miss Park’s
policy that “above all there was to
be ample opportunity for consulta-
tion between professor and student.
Particularly for upperclassmen there
should be generous. individual atten-
tion and guidance in the chosen dis-
CINUNG «5 ee"

This concern for the individual and
emphasis of the well-educated spe-
cialist resulted in a policy of “breadth
and depth” to which the college still
adheres. According to the Bryn
Mawr Calendar 1961-1962, “The un-
dergraduate program emphasizes both
depth and breadth of knowledge and
understanding. No field is so broad
that it cannot take advantage’ of the
specialist’s deep understanding; no
specialty is so obscure that it may
not profit from a breadth of percep-
tion.”

In Miss Thomas’ time, the breadth
and depth principle was articulated
into a double major system which has

‘since developed into a single major|

with allied subjects. Miss McBride has
deepened insight into this concept
by stating that study in depth nec-
essarily 1éads to breadth; a thorough
and deep understanding of any giv-
en problem logically results in an
awareness of the breadth and scope
of the other fields that relate to it.

Obviously, the depth policy is the
logical one for the serious woman
scholar who plans on further gradu-
ate or professional study. But is
this emphasis on concentrated and
individual-work-in-a-specificfield_jus-
tified when we consider the tradi-
tionally domestic role of the Amer-
ican woman? Miss McBride—main-
tains that one of the prime reasons
for the depth policy as applied to the
strong single major is to give the
student a firm grounding in her field
and a taste of genuine scholarship,

 

 

 

 

 

Writing Chairmen

  

IAB RA Porter, dh Rariard, J

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“AKOUE”

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Research Chairman. ee ees ! E. Silberblatt
Art Ohairmen’ 0.’ :.-5- ve... Gross, M. L. Kjeldsen
Staff’ K;Boudin, V. ‘Biodikin, B. Carter, S. Gumpert, S. Kroto,

J. Zinsser.

   
 
 
  

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so that if she marries and has chil-
dren, she has the solid academic back-
ground that will enable her to re-
sume her studies. She also has dis-
ciplined her mind in such a manner
as to be able to approach any field
which interests her with a critical
faculty.

Thus the philosophy of Bryn Mawr
today emerges as that of a small
liberal arts college interested in in-
stilling in its students a basic under-
standing of the work of scholarship.
A deep and penetrating foundation
in one subject becomes a basis for
schélarship in her own field as well
as enlightened continuation of the
lifetime task of self-education.

The question remains as to wheth-
er Bryn Mawr is always consistent
with its educational philosophy. It
is obvious that the four course sys-
tem, the strong major, the require-
ments in general, the principle of the
honors paper, the limited size of the
college, are all logical outgrowths of
the emphasis on concentrated indi-
vidual scholarship.. But it might be
asked how the science major, the
double language requirement, the
lack of a general senior thesis to re-
place the honors paper, and the pres-
ent application of the, literature re-
quirement conform to Bryn Mawr’s
educational convictions.

What is the place of the science
major in a liberal arts college? A

gcod foundation in the sciences re-

quires many more courses than do
the humanities. A science major at
Bryn Mawr is limited to four, or at
most five, courses per year, and is
bound, moreover, to fulfill a certain
number of humanities requirements.
Therefore, she is left with little or
no chance to take other courses in
the humanities. According to Mrs.
Marshall, the science departments
fee] that eleven courses in the scien-
ces are necessary for a solid founda-
tion in the field. A deep study of
the humanities eventually results in
breadth because the fields are so in-
extricably interrelated; depth in a
science, however, leads only to
breadth in other sciences, and is only
slightly related to the humanitarian
disciplines, Does the science major,
then, fulfill Bryn Mawr’s liberal arts
ideal? How can she explore a va-
riety of disciplines by taking only
the required number of courses?

Languages are indispensable for
any well-rounded liberal arts pro-
gram, yet the question arises as to
whether the double language require-
ment only results in learning two
languages well enough to pass the
orals. rather than well enough to
really make the knowledge a work-
ing addition to the student’s liberal
arts background. Do students, forced
to learn a second language, find that
they are unable to continue and per-
fect their knowledge of the first?
Is the result an inadequate know-
ledge of both languages? Certainly,
if this be true, it is inconsistent with
Bryn Mawr’s philosophy of depth.
Knowledge of a language extends be-
yond knowing its basic grammar; it
includes the ability to read texts and
literature in the language. Perhaps,
however, the double foreign language
requirement may be justified as a ba-
sis for possible graduate study after
college.

The literature requirement is a di-
rect outgrowth of the liberal arts
philosophy. The primary goal of the
literature requirement is not, accord-
ing to Mrs. Marshall, to teach crit-
ical analysis. This is fulfilled at pres-
ent by English 15. The requirement
is designed rather to augment the
liberal background through the study
of either the literature of a single

Continued on Page 4.

 

An Agonizing Reappraisal

on Bryn Mawr’s campus were harnessed and directed, a very
different situation would result. Certainiy we are all aware
of this tendency, and, it seems, are concerned about it. Yet,
the basis for the apathy is seldom realized, and not frequent-
iy enough is anything done about it.

It was from one of these innumerable discussions about

our campus’ lack of active participation that the idea for
Akoue was generated. It seemed to us that the tendency
towards apathy was not the result of any initial lack of in-
terest on the part of the girls, but that, paradoxically, it
arose from several of the most positive and salubrient tea-
tures of Bryn Mawr’s structure.
First, Bryn Mawr so strongly stresses a basic respect
for the individual, that often we find it distasteful to im-
press any of our beliefs on others. ‘She has a rignt to think
the way that she does, so long as I can continue to think the
way that I do,” is a common attitude, and consequently we
often don’t engage in any conversation of a highiy contro-
versial nature. Although this respect for the individual
must be maintained, we muSt also realize that we will never
be able to define, much less defehd, our own positions with-
out hearing all opposing viewpoints, and that no single view-
point can be so obnoxious as to be dangerous. How much
greater is the danger when we dare to stop thinking!

_ The second cause is truly paradoxical, and quite in-
triguing. We have inherited such a liberal background, that
we have become,’as Louis Hartz would say, almost absolutely
enslaved in it. Thus, we find ourselves teeling that we have
little to complain about; that there are tew restrictions
placed upon us; that there must be very good reasons for
the restrictions that are placed upon us, and theretore why
question anything? We are certainly not advocating a neg-
ative attitude, nor are we advocating unconstructive criti-
cism for its own sake, but we must realize at the same time
that we will lose the liberal tradition by not questioning, tor
it is‘only through setting up and testing hypotheses that
one remains liberal in the true sense. We have not arrived
at a state of absolute truth at Bryn Mawr, but rather must
reassess and reevaluate at every moment in order to discover
new methods, or to rediscover and recomprehend the value
in existing methods.

The third basis for apathy is a good one, although it
need not result in the condition that we have. From the first
day of our Freshman year, we at Bryn Mawr are taught a
certain very valuable academic humility. We are.contronted
with our own ignorance, and under the influence of the em-
phasis which is placed upon clear thought through thorough
knowledge of a subject, we begin to retrain from discussing
anything without first doing adequate research on the topic.

It is mainly a result of this last condition, though indi-
rectly a result of all of the above, that Akoue was instituted.
The purpose of the paper, which will appear every six weeks
as a supplement to the College News, is not to be a vehicle
for ungrounded opinion. Speaking without knowledge is
simple enough, and is certainly no solution. Neither will
Akoue supply answers to problems. Rather its function as
we now see it, will be to provoke thinking about topics which
concern us: questions will be raised, and these questions will
be researched as extensively as possible, but the answers
will be thought out by the readers, who, we hope, will have
a fair amount of knowledge about the topic because some of
the research will have been done ‘for them. At the end df
each issue we shall print a bibliography of pertinent books
and articles. The issues discussed will pertain to student life
in a broad sense: to those aspects of student life which relate
us to the outside world, either to other colleges, to the U. S.
government, or to movements going on in the world.

For this issue; we have decided. to-begin at. Bryn Mawr,
and to question our position here and now: to see where we
are and why; to see where we are going and why; to see
from where we have come and why. Bryn Mawr has a unique
tradition; we are part of an exciting line of innovating wom-
en, and we think that it is essential that we undergo, each of
us, somewhat of an agonizing reappraisal.’ We must look into
this line, and see whether we agree with its development; if
we do, we must see where we fit into the line, or where, if we
don’t, we have individually gone wrong: The ultimate pur-
pose of the paper resides in action; at least in active thought
and discussion, if not in an involvement in action already
taking place, or in starting action where necessary. What
better opportunity have we for beginning than right here

on campus where our voices can and should be heard, where

we are not powerless but can make a difference? After we
have in some measure understood our place here at school,
we can begin to understand and act regarding our position in
relation to the outside world.

Certainly, the purpose of the paper is not yet fixed, and
perhaps we shall find that our direction is not really the best
one, but we felt that a journal with this basic function was a
necessity at this time. We have no permanent staff, and no
set ideas for further issues. This will come, we hope, from

any interested members on campus who are willing to help.

think up topics, to debate them, to research them, or to write
them. Anyone who has the desire is welcome to join, and
need but contact the editor. For those not interested in par-
ticipating directly, please send us your suggestions, for they
will be greatly appreciated. Those not interested, or unable
to participate in any other way can perhaps keep our motto
in*mind.: ag) comes from Kant, and we realize that it is quite

 

a goal in itself. Sapere Aude! Dare to think. The tor

Cd ten,

If all of the energy expended in discussing the apathy »

4

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