Americans -- England -- Oxford; Education -- United States; Education, Higher -- England -- Oxford; University of Oxford
When Mr. Bolles wrote, one class of administrative officer and one
only was limited in his duties to a single small community: in each
building in which students lived, a proctor resided who was supposed
to see that the Regent's orders were enforced. Since then another
step has been taken in the same direction; a board of advisers has
been established, each member of which is supposed to have a helpful
care of twenty-five freshmen. These two officials, it will be seen,
divide the administrative duties of an English tutor. That they
represent a step toward Mr. Bolles's solution of the administrative
difficulty has probably never occurred to the authorities; and as yet
it must be admitted the step is mainly theoretical. The position of
both, as I know from sad personal experience, is such that their
duties, like those of all other administrators, resolve into a mere
matter of police regulation. The men are apt to resist all friendly
advances. In the end, a proctor's activities usually consist in
preventing them of a Sunday from shouting too loud over games of
indoor football, and at other times from blowing holes through the
cornice with shotguns. The case of the freshman adviser is much the
same. His first duty is to expound to his charges the mysteries of the
elective system, and to help each student choose his courses.
According to the original intention, he was to exert as far as
possible a beneficial personal influence on newcomers; but the result
seldom follows the intention. Beyond the visit which each freshman is
obliged to make to his adviser in order to have his list of electives
duly signed, there is nothing except misdemeanor to bring the two
within the same horizon. When the adviser takes pains to proffer
hospitality, the freshman's first thought is that he is to be
disciplined. When, as often happens, a proctor is also a freshman
adviser, he unites the two administrative duties of an English tutor;
but his position is much less favorable in that his duties are
performed toward two distinct bodies of men. With time, tact, and
labor, he might conceivably force himself into personal relationship
with his fifty-odd charges; but the inevitable ground of meeting, such
as the English tutor finds in his teaching, is lacking. An attempt to
become acquainted is very apt to appear gratuitous. In point of fact,
such acquaintance is scarcely expected by the university, and is
certainly not paid for. What little an administrator earns is apt to
be so much an hour (and not so very much) for teaching. A gratuitous
office is so difficult that one hesitates to perform it gratuitously.
If the young instructor is bent on making himself unnecessary trouble,
there is plenty of opportunity in connection with his teaching; and
here, of course, owing to the characteristic lack of organic
coördination, he has to deal with a body of men who, except by rare
accident, are quite distinct both from those whom he advises and
those whom he proctorizes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account