"THE UNIVERSITY'S PRODUCTS."

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 613, 16 September 1909, Page 4

"THE UNIVERSITY'S PRODUCTS."

■ THE STANDARD OF THE HONOURS " ;■ PASS.- >■'~-;.'"' .S'r —There is one passage, in y6ur deader 01 Iho University's Products" which should no bo allowed to pass without comment, though. am in-agreement-with' tho rest:of the article; : •lou .write: ''The* honours papers in mathc matics and mathematical physics 1 are not les difficult, and not much narrower in scope, thai the papers set before the .candidates at' th lnpos examinations'at Cambridge." This: i one of tho most amazing statements ■ I hav seen'in . the.-'columns of a. newspaper.' -It i difficult, to beliovo it was ever put forwari seriously. ■-■' -.■•■• • ■■ The standard of the New Zealand papers ii question is not equal to that, of 'those- set i: the entrance scholarship examinations of Triii lty College, -Cambridge. .; The candidates fo the ".Mathematical Tripos, Pt. 'I,' were drawl from -tho ! - picked mathematical students of th British' Umpire. They are taught and coacho by' tho most eminent of English niathcriiati cians. Thoy;study tho one subject alouo for' period of .two, or: most' usually three, years It will.thus appear how. modest your claic is as'to tho standard of New Zealand matht matical,. papers; ' ■ ■ . :. Further, you state : "the 'standard .of. Uni versity honours is admittedly high." I wa not aware of it; It is certainly not ' true o physics. Tho New Zealand."University sy! labus in physics docs not include somo of th most fundamental awl 'important - parts c physics: the practical work prescribed is in adequate, and of an elementary nature. I must bo'admitted ..the , examination '.paper sometimes reach a'good standard, but that i because they go'beyond and outside tho.svl labus. ■ • Nevertheless a candidate' can obfa'i honours for tho' most extraordinary courso (fo University'work) ' I am-acquainted with. ':'-' What I have"written above'-applies piirel and! simply .to th.e standard of the'examine lioiipapers, arid the syllabus of the 'Now'Zei land' University. I would like to add that n one can have-but the highest.admiration fc tho - physical • research work':' which Profes'sc Rutherford'did nt Canterbury, College, and Di Robertson nhd'Presidont'Maclauriu at' Victim College-,,t0 mention .only three well-know workers.—l am, etc.;'-' ■.'■'■• / " ;! ,;? <•'■':; .';''' :; THOS. Professor of P.hysicsj ■ Victoria College. I :Septeaibe'r : 14/;--.'..'."'.'.'' '■•''' ; '."'''" "'•'-.-' Sir,—ln . 'the . leading ', ■ articlo ;of |' to-day' Dominion" there appears 'tho •following' - ,stat< mont:—''The honours'papers, (of the Uiiivbrsit of .New, Zealand). ;in; mathematics ajid matin matical .physics.'pre,.4)Dt.-less, 1 (liffioolt, : -'arid:h(i much .narrower.' iiv.scopo,'.than.'the! papers sc before the,candidates, at .the Tripos exaniinr tions at Cambridge." Waiving, 'tho .'question'c facts, which are'too: technical;for" nowspapc discussion, ,1, address myself, to your; implict lion that our honours, graduates in tlieso sul jects may 'bo. regarded ns . ranking along Wit those of the great English University that ha for conturies been thohome of mathenintici an'opinion that cannot bo allowed to pass' ut questioned. -. : . ~'; . , ■'~ ; . ' .The matter ■of primary importance' Ys 'he that of difficulty or scope of. tho examinatio papers;-for when tho examiner is wholly-, oil of touch .with tho candidates, it is, not sui prising that, the papers should'vary so greatl m difficulty as they have done. The importer fact is that it has been almost.' impossible, 'i Wellington;at least, to get-more than tw years, from students'.for specialisation; and ,'.i many cases: tho first of,these years has bee seriously hampered. If, now,- you. consider tho several yoars-of work at.higherfmathematicsj a necessary preliminary to the winning of a Entrance Scholarship at Cambridge;,and tho tho undergraduate has • been, in ' tho habit r giving threo years'to, splo preparation for th Mathematical Tripos,* you'will realise hniv dift cult thoenses aro. Thfero is, in particular, 4h apposite, case of the man who;snends foil years at a••'Scotch University,, Worlcing chicll at thohonours subjects.of his degree, and the takes three years at Cambridge in preparatio for the Tripos. I can only supposo that you have been mi: led by a somewhat vaguo story I have hear about a particular examiner's comment on th work of a particular candidato: abouti whic it is only necessnry to say that an exceptionr case.may have occurred. The difficulty of'th papers is almost according fo tho whim of th oxaminor, overt supposing that ho : takes- pain to keep,within the .syllabus: and the'scope <: training is very .much, according'.to.the tea'cl crV,conception'-' of his ' subject—there boin; pnder' existing arrangements, :d' premium . o Superficial, veneer. But tho bee rock fact remains that there is ,n, limitatio iri previous preparation of the students and-i availnblotimo for study, at college which mus leave the, honours dcgTees of tho New Zealan University on a very much lower' level-"tho: thoso : of the, Homo Universities'.—l am, etc., 1-■ ■■•-•' : \ ■■■■■■: ... ; ..:-:. d. k.Sicken. Wellington; September 14. , . ; ■ . ■;-. ' Sir,—l am surprised to notice in your leade Df this- morning "that the standard of Uni versity honours in' New Zealand is admitted! high.' After teaching for ten years in th Dominion, I- have cometo .the.'opposite conclii sion.-' The. present .University syllabus'. is, a it-were, a millstono about: tho students' neck luring their,pass degree-courso; then comes i I'car of rush and hurry for the honours es innnation.'. The .students work-well, and hav marvellous enthusiasm, _but: they . got littl jhancd of learning thpir honours subject wel under .the 1 absurd present .conditions; To, meet tho difficulty, tho Senate has see; ;60d.t0 whittle down many of .the subjects' t mohalf or, one ; quartor ot the'.subject ns'iiji lerstood in other Universities. I would pai ticularly. instance -.-' the. subject,' of physics scienco, in which it is possible to obtain hoi jurs .without any know-ledge of electricity : o jf : , the fundamental properties' of matter.— »m, etc., '■'".'■•■."■."■. ' ' ; . , THOMAS H. EASTERFIET.D.- '.' Professor of Chemistry and Physics, Victor! •'' - ■ I College. ■-■'■"■ September 14; ■ ~ [In the face,of tho combined assertions of ou :prrespondcnts, who should be/in' a bette position than ourselves' to know with som ixactness tho relativo values of tho honour papers at Home and in. New Zealand, wear lot prepared to argue the point raised, an mvr to their correction. Our'• er'rohe6us est: n'atc, however, has served a useful purpose i ;ccuring publicity for the emphatic ah veighty yicws.expressed' by tho three lenrne orofessors . concerning tho weaknesses of. th New-Zealand University syllabus.]'