Why did colleges make their students take examinations, and why did they give grade? What did a grade really mean? When a student "studied" did he do anything more than read and think-- or was there something special which no one in Walden Two would know about? Why did the professors lecture to the students? Were the students never expected to do anything except answer questions? Was it true that students were made to read books they were not interested in? . B.F. Skinner
About This Quote

In the early days of higher education, there was no such thing as a student who went to college and did nothing except read and think. The professors no doubt took their students seriously and expected them to learn-- and do more than that. This is not to say that students were not expected to do anything more than read and think, if it was something special they never knew about. A professor could lecture to his students because he believed in his subject and wanted to share it with them.

He might also lecture because he enjoyed teaching and wanted to share his knowledge with them. It is possible that many of the students attended classes simply because they had been assigned to do so by their parents. Also, some students might have enrolled at the university because they were required to do so by their professor or their parents; still others may have attended on a whim.

Source: Walden Two

Some Similar Quotes
  1. Because I trust in the ever-changing climate of the heart. (At least, today I feel that way.) I think it is necessary to have many experiences for the sake of feeling something; for the sake of being challenged, and for the sake of being expressive,... - Jason Mraz
  2. The past has no power over the present moment. - Eckhart Tolle
  3. It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. - Confucius
  4. Often, it’s not about becoming a new person, but becoming the person you were meant to be, and already are, but don’t know how to be. - Heath L. Buckmaster
  5. Art is unquestionably one of the purest and highest elements in human happiness. It trains the mind through the eye, and the eye through the mind. As the sun colors flowers, so does art color life. - John Lubbock
More Quotes By B.F. Skinner
  1. We shouldn't teach great books we should teach a love of reading. Knowing the contents of a few works of literature is a trivial achievement. Being inclined to go on reading is a great achievement.
  2. A scientist may not be sure of the answer, but he's often sure he can find one. And that's a condition which is clearly not enjoyed by philosophy.
  3. A fourth-grade reader may be a sixth-grade mathematician. The grade is an administrative device which does violence to the nature of the developmental process.
  4. Education is what survives when what has been learnt has been forgotten.
  5. Why did colleges make their students take examinations, and why did they give grade? What did a grade really mean? When a student "studied" did he do anything more than read and think-- or was there something special which no one in Walden Two would...
Related Topics