SR_DPI_DNE_Special_Subject_File_B5F1_Durham_NC_College_Negroes_075

North Carolina College for Negroes,
Durham, North Carolina
February 22, 1926.

Dr. J. E. Shepard,
Campus.
Dear Dr. Shepard:

Please let me assure you that I have no adverse criticism
of the present Course of study. I believe that, under proper
circumstances, no better course could be offered leading to
an A. B. degree in Education. I am of the opinion, however,
that for a course to be good it must meet the needs of students,
and it must be a course that will train students in the line
of work they intend to enter later in life. If we are to train
teachers to teach we must train them in what to teach before
we can train them how to teach.

You have notices that a large number of students have failed
in various subjects. According to the manner in which we have
the courses arranged the number of failures will probably
increase for next year rather than decrease.

The Freshmen Class, as a whole, was required this year to take
freshman mathematics, consisting of college Algebra and
Trigonometry. Almost 35% of these students have had only one
year of algebra and a few have had no geometry. Allowing a
reasonable per cent of failures for those who have had two
years of algebra, we will see that it is almost impossible
for 50% of these students to pass.