Why Boys Fail In College
Author’s introduction | Herbert E. Hawkes
Herbert Edward Hawkes (1872-1943) was a mathematician and an expert educator. He had first-hand knowledge of many problems that boys faced during their college period. He remained Dean of Columbia College for twenty-five years, the longest tenure for which he secured the title the “Dean of American College Deans.
He studied mathematics and wrote texts on algebra. Understanding the problems of the students, he wrote this essay to describe the causes of failure. He also provides the solution to their problems. He wrote many articles and these articles were published. He compiled the articles in the book “College, what’s the use".
Summary | Why Boys Fail in College
Why boys fail in college in one of the articles that the author published his book College, “what’s the use.” The author of this essay elaborated on the reasons for the failure of college students. He divided the reasons into seven categories. But before describing the reasons, he classified the students into two groups (1) those who try, (2) those who do not try.
Reasons of failure into seven sub-divisions
1. The first category of students is they do not concentrate on the studies. They have a lack of concentration. They do fidget activities and do work nervously.
2. Those students who are forced to study the subjects where they show less interest. This is called the mistaken ambition of the students. Their parents exert pressure on them to choose the subjects which are not of their interest. So the writer says to the college administration to provide counseling to students in selecting the subjects of their interest.
3. Some students are over-confident and ignore doing work, fail due to this attitude. They are bright students but put little effort and had not understood the impotence application.
4. Some face the problems of health (physical, mental).they are so weak to study. Health is another obstacle in students’learning. They face various health issues. Their parents even don’t give any attention to them. The writer focuses that their health issues should be addressed at college and awareness should be provided to them.
5. The deserving students who have a lack of money to continue their studies. These students face financial pressure. They afford their studies on their own expenses. They do some odd jobs to continue their studies. This results in poor health and less value education.
6. Those who take an interest in games and literary activities. They join athletic and sports activities and give them full time instead of concentrating on their studies. They have less time to prepare for exams. So they fail due to such reasons.
7. Those who do not pay heed to their studies. Resultantly they fail. They join college to enjoy and to make fun. The lazy bluffers whose objective of life is to make merry. They fail and drift out the college.