Pogo Eight

The Grinn ll REPORTER

An educational experiment —--

Economics Curricular Innovation l

By Dan Bucks

A new approach to the question or
senior economics majors was attempted
last semester through the introduction
of all Becredit seminar into the economics
curriculum. In broad terms, the seminar
was aimed at teaching students how to
think as economists and how to learn
economics, This concern took precedence
over teaming students a specific amount
of particular knowledge in the field.

Within this broad aim, the economics
department set several more specific
goals for the seminar. It was designed
to have students assume more responsi-
bility for their own education and to
motivate them intellectually to learn
oconomics independently of professors
and assigned course material. An em»
phasis was placed on getting students
acquainted with a cooperative learning
process in which students’ discussions
with each other and academic contro-
versy among them become a new focal
point for learning, This type of education
was emphasized over the more usual
competitive process that results from an
orientation towards grades.

Getting students acquainted with aca-
demic controversy was also associated
with the aim of presenting course
material that regularly does not appear
in standard economics courses. Contr0<
versial works of doctrinal importance
were selected instead of material do-
ligned to cover particular economic
knowledge.

So that the seminar could operate with
discussion groups of manageable size,
the students were divided into two
groups of about a dozen each, Each
discussion group held two sessions per
week: one session in which members of
the departmental faculty were present
and another in which no faculty mem-
bers participated. In addition, each stu-
dent discussed papers he had written
during the semester in two tutorial ses<
nuns with faculty members.

At the faculty-student Sessions, two
or more of the {our faculty members,
Mr. Haveman, Mr. Pollak, Mr. Dawson,
and Mr. Voertman, who had responsi-
bility for the operation of the seminar,
were present. Mr. Knopf and Mr. Stauss
also joined the sessions at various times
during the semester. in these discus-
sions, students were usually confronted
with vigorous academic debate. The
books chosen for these discussions, such
as Lionel Robbins’ The Nature and Sig:
nlticance of Economic Science and
Veblen's Imperial Germany and the in.
'dustriai Revolution, were quite conducive
to such debate.

This controversy was intended to serve
several purposes. The outlines of doc-
trinai dispute within the discipline were
presented to the students, Moreover, in
a situation in which the professors were
in obvious disagreement, the students

could not as easily accept the opinions
of one professor as they can in the
usual classroom context. The contro<
versy in these sessions was also to
serve as a model for the student ses<
sion without professors.

Throughout the semester, grades were
deemphasized. The notable absence
of this regulatory mechanism was com-
pensated ior by tutorials which served
to guide and discipline student's work.
Each student had an individual tutorial
on the two papers he wrote for the
seminar. One of these was an expository
paper that served as a lead-off to the
discussion in tha students-only sessions
of the material covered by the paper.
The other paper was of a more inter-‘
pretive type and covered a topic of the
student's own choosing. The tutorials
were handled so that the student could
obtain a sense of the gap between his
actual and potential understanding of
a topic without having a feeling that a
grade was directly tied to his perform-
ance.

The introduction of this seminar into
the curriculum entailed the sacrifice of
four senior level courses. These courses
covered the subjects of international
trade, business fluctuations, compara-
tive economic systems. and structure of
industry. A senior major would normal-
ly have taken two of these courses. To
some degree, material from these fields,
but on a lower technical level, was in-
tegrated into the students—only seminar
sessions. Nonetheless, there was a sacri-
fice of standard subject matter and
technical training for the sake of bene-
fits from the seminar approach. More-
over, non-majors sometimes enrolled in
the former courses; thus, these interests
were also sacrificed in favor of the
seminar, For the coming year the de-
partment has moved to fill some of these
interests by offering an international
trade course for non-majors during the

, first semester.

Student response to the seminar varies
with the student's particular experience
and is therefore difficult to assess;
however, some patterns of student opin-
ion have emerged. There is a general
enthusiasm among the majors about the
facultyrstudent sessions. The topics and
controversies of these sessions were
found to be challenging and stimulating.
There appears to be less enthusiasm,
however, for the students-only sessions.
Ths criticisms of these sessions center
around the varied quality of preparation
by the students for the discussions, the
sometimes wandering nature of the
meetings, and the fact that the materi-
als studied in these sessions were not as
interesting as those dealt with in the
faculty/student discussion. Students al-
so found the tutorials on their intere
pretive papers to be more rewarding
than the tutorials on the expository

papers.

 

} Schlestnger

(Continued from Page 1)
back into the stone age tomorrow, the
war Will continue,” Schlesinger den
clared.

Former Presidential Press Secretary
Pierre Salinger, speaking from Los An<
geies, commented on the relation of the
President to the press, as Well as V0ic<
lng opinions on Vietnam and national
politics.

Salinger noted the complexity of
White House communications problems.
He recalled that when President Ken-
nedy and President DeGauiie placed a
wreath at the Arc tie Triumphs in
Paris, a direct line to the White House
was waiting at the base of that famed
French monument,

He also stressed the need for coordi-
nation of information at top government

levels, in order to avoid embarrassing
conflicting statements such as those is-
sued at the time of the U72 incident in
1960. Khrusciiev later told Salinger that
had it not been for Conflicting denials
and admissions of the v.5. spymg, it
would have been possible for the Paris
summit cenlerence to be held. And
President Eisenhower's scheduled trip
to the Soviet Union would not have
been cancelled.

Salinger also predicted that the war
in Vietnam would continue through the
1968 Presidential elections, for Ho Chi
Minh is Convinced that the US. public
Will soundly reject the war effort.

0n national politics, Salinger pre-
dicted that ex-Governor George Wale
iace's campaign for the Presidency
would hurt the Republican cause in
1968. He also predicted the emergencu
of a “peac- candidate” in the election.

Need more funds—

May n. im

Ex ioco Pareniis goes on—wiih problems

By Kit Leder

If the student will raise his eyes from
his book for just one minute and clear
away the log which surrounds his head,
he Wlll see an interesting phenomenon
floating across the horizon. This is the
Ex Loco Parentis, Gl'innell's new ott-
eampus coffee house. The relevant
question is not “What is it?” but “What
is it going to be?”

The coffee house has received its fair
share of criticism; criticism which is of
the utmost importance ll EX Loco
Parentis is to grow into what it should
be: a refuge from the campus, a place
where performers and artists can ex-
press themselves. a crucible where
ideas can be refined through free ex-
change, a common ground where the
formal gap between student and protes-
sor can be breached, and, central to all
this, a place where no one feels con-
strained to leave his shoes on, use a
napkin, or refrain from shouting. With
the abolition of Women's hours next year,
the Ex Loco could fill a Vital need by
providing a place to go after midnight.

So much is possible —- but the Ex
Loco is not by any means a permanent
fixture yet. It exists as an experiment
sponsored by the Board of Religion.
The Board has provided the funds nec-
essary for this semester. But unless the

nine months rent for next year can be
guaranteed, the building where the
coffee house is located Can't be held
over the summer. Concessions barely pay
for themselves and not included in the
rent are gas and electricity. Nine hun-
dred dollars is needed in order to in-
sure the existence of the Ex Loco next
year but sources are scarce. Some
money will come from the senior gift,
some from the SGA, and the Board of
Religion hopes to contribute some. But
the amounts are indefinite, and it is
doubtful that the entire nine hundred
dollar requirement can be met from these
sources.

In spite of its name, the Ex Loco also
faces the problem of legal responsibility,
which now rests solely on Mr. Dennis
Haas, faculty advisor to the Board of
Religion. If the coffee house is to con-
tinue to exist, a corporation must be
formed; at least three people over
twenty-one must agree to be legally
responsible for the venture. Some of
the possibilities under investigation are
town church leaders. professors, and
students over twenty-one.

Problems loom large. They must be
solved or the Ex Loco will come to
grief. And it isn’t likely that such an
ambitious Venture will be embarked on
again in the near future. Yet so much
is possible. . 4 .

 

Singing priest for "active worship

By Ann Kirschner

America's answer to the Singing Nun
guitar-toting, folk-singing, hymn-writing
Father lan Douglas Mitchell, Episco-
pallan "free-lance" priest and mission-
ary, and one-time gasser and greaser for
the Greyhound Bus Company, captivated
nearly a full house at Herrick Chapel
last Sunday. Father Mitchell led the
worshippers in the Folk Song Mass he
composed in 1961. He has presented it
in cathedrals, churches, night clubs and
concert halls throughout the country,
and it has been used in many foreign
countries.

WUS linked to CIA

Ed. Note:

When informed of the alleged relae
lionship between the WUS and the CIA
Chaplain Dennis Haas, of the Board of
Religion, which sponsors wos auctions
replied that he knew nothing of the cone
nection Ind had no relevant lruorma-
tion.

CPS — In Chicago, Michael Wood, who
originally gave the CIA story to RAM-
PARTS magazine, charged that John
Simons. the current executive director
of World University Service (WUS), is
employed by the CIA,

WUS is an international student charity
organization which conducts tund~rais<
ing drives on American campuses.
Thirty-nine per Cent of U. S. WUS funds
received since 1954 have originated with
the Foundation for Youth and Student
Affairs. according to Roy Henderson of
the University of Chicago‘s International
House.

A WUS investigatory committee is cur-
rently attempting to determine any con-
nections the group might have had with
the CIA through funding or employment
of individuals associated with the intel-
ligence organization.

Deadline for applications for
Reporter editor for {all lie] in
Wednesday, May i0.

Father Mitchell's feeling that worship
should be active, rather than passive,
was well exemplified by the response
to Sunday's service. an dynamic per-
sonality was contagious and had the
congregation joining in heartily with his
foikrstyle melodies. He successfully set
the stage for an energetic sermon on
"living the Christian life" which pro-
vided a change of pace from the intel-

lectual critiques of the Bible usually oi~ -

fered on Sunday mornings. Having told
the choir during a rehearsal of the Mass
that “it you call yourself a Christian,
you should have caiiouses on your knees,
he expounded on that subject at some
length for most of the sermon.

The Folk Mass itself is a collection
or pleasant, catchy melodies, providing
a tasteful accompainment for the Angli-
can version of the mass. As folk singers,
Father Mitchell and his wife have ap-
peared in night clubs in several Ameri-
can cities, and they recently toured the
Far East, giving shows in churches,
schools and hospitals. Presently travel-
ing around the country to promote a
renaissance in liturgical music, Father
Mitchell has served churches in Chicago
and Indiana and a Navajo Indian mis-
sion in Utah. He studied composition at
the American Conservatory of Music in
Chicago and his next project is a festi-
val mass with organ accompaniment.
“I have nothing against the organ,” said
Father Mitchell, hoisting his Gibson
into its case.

Apply for Peace Corps

Prospective Peace Corpsmen are re
minded that the deadline for this sum«
mer’s training programs is Monday,
May 15. Application questionnaires are
available at the city post office

ADDRESS HEREr

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