The Yale Report of 1828: A New Reading and New Implications

The Yale Report of 1828: A New Reading and New Implications

The Yale report 1828 is keen to address issues faced in the higher education system, and individuals can relate to such matters. The report was generated from the 1827 corporation’s suggestion where dead languages were to be dropped from the curriculum. In the 1820s, many debates concerning the curricula were being studied, and reforms were suggested. The question of whether Latina and Greek should continue being learned in school was raised multiple times. Many of the colleges had enforced a law where the students were required to understand the languages that were slowly going into extinction. In 1819, Thomas Jefferson University of Virginia hosted a publicized debate to increase the audience’s participation on the subject. George Ticknor addressed the debate in 1825, where he insisted that the languages should not be mandatory in schools, but in the future, the students should be allowed to decide whether they wanted to participate in the study of Greek and Latin or not; hence, leaving its study as an option. The Yale report author was touched by such writings and decided to write an opposition to the George Ticknor report. The report was comprised of the efforts of president Jeremiah Day, under the influence of changing the curriculum to be more inclusive and adopt an explorative form of learning. The report comprised a step-to-step analysis of the work and recorded their profound disagreement on the matter. The Yale report gained a lot of attention, and some historians considered the document to influence the higher education system of the United States and, ultimately, the world.

The Yale report eventually grew to become a reference point on the development of the higher education system. Curricular issues of the past and present were discussed, giving the audience a conclusive report of what is wrong in the system. Since the late 1960s, the yale report has been reviewed by historians who tried to reverse the traditional view of the antebellum college. Stanley Guralnick is one of the scholars who stated that the colleges were trying too hard to experiment, which has led to the curriculum’s failure. Nonetheless, the findings and evidence presented through the numerous experiments had produced more comprehensive findings away from the limited knowledge of many specialists.

In 1812, the Greek language was being used extensively in the United States; also, most of the research and materials are written in Greek could not allow the continued studying of the language. Yale was confident that the continual studying of the language was essential and helped stick on what was already tested to work on the curriculum. In 1828, Yale was termed as the Athens of America. The paper tried to establish the reason why colleges were moving back into classical requirements. The increasing competition to incorporate more students in the system forced many colleges to back down on their needs and accommodate the clients. The Yale report was regarded as a manifesto; most of the problems faced today in the colleges are elaborated in the document.

Thomas Jefferson was clear about the colleges’ issues to be solely controlled by the government when the Republic was being formulated. The colleges’ centralization could ensure equal distribution of the services and control of the quality of education being offered. Nonetheless, in the antebellum period, the government’s grip on its people was slowly wearing out, and they were losing control. The federal and the State governments lost their power over the colleges, and individuals were opening up more colleges. Giving a license to individuals who desired to open the colleges led to the governing body’s loss of control. The colleges could operate freely and set their own rules, which either attracted more students or not. The competition amongst the colleges was stiff, and the colleges were decentralized. In other countries, like Great Britain and France, the government was in absolute control over the colleges and Universities. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, there was twice the number of colleges operating in the United States.

Hence, the colleges’ decentralization saw an increase in the number of colleges, thus improving the skills of the people and more knowledge amongst the population. Nonetheless, the growth in the colleges was refuted by other historians and business people who saw the shift as abnormal and uncontrolled. On the other hand, Burke saw an increase as extremely important in the population. The other historians argued that the number of colleges had exceeded the population. Hence, most of them will die off, leaving a lot of losses in the process. In the antebellum period, there was no specific data collection to determine the exact number of colleges and, therefore, determine the clear impact. Hence, the arguments were based on speculations and no statistical backup.

Burke’s collection of statistics to prove that the colleges were well off are just but inferences, not easy to dispute. Nonetheless, in an age that no exact statistics were collected. The statistics could help understand the colleges’ state and the enormous pressure and competition that existed at the time.

In the Yale report, the colleges’ situation was established in creating the best curriculum amidst the decentralization of the colleges. The report demonstrates that amidst the tight competition amongst the colleges, no college wanted to appear outdated. Thus, the need to continuously update the curriculum. The various intellectual disciplines are introduced in the market, to attract kore students. In England, the pressure did not exist as the government-controlled the colleges. Nonetheless, President Francis Wayland noticed the distinction between the American curriculum and that of England during his visit. He saw the vast amount of knowledge in the United States curriculum introduced year after year to beat the rising competition.

The Yale report seeks to find the rationale of the dual curriculum and its incorporation into the system. The report started with a catchy statement that defined the astonishment of the people who visited the institutions after years had passed. The courses had changed, and the curriculum revolutionized to incorporate more details, and the mode of instructions had also changed. They were surprised by the changes that had taken place in the educational system. The report suggested that in the antebellum period, the curriculum underwent many changes due to the people’s conflicting ideology. Some people seek to remain tradition, while others wanted a transformation into a logical fact-finding curriculum.

The Yale report explained why, despite the changes, they could not reform and abandon the classical requirements. The Yale authors placed utmost keen interest in the clientele of the colleges. They were aware of the higher education system changes but were optimistic that abandonment of the classical system could be a failure to preserve its history. Adding the new courses and curriculum to fit the people’s needs was not the problem, but the abandonment of the old classical system. Hence, the keen interest of the classical approach to those individuals seeking to enter ministries, medicine, and the law. Therefore, there was a need to command respect in these areas by the formulation of classical allusions.

Therefore, the Yale report agreed that the elective system made sense, but it had to strip off the classical requirements brought up a rift. The report acknowledged the respect that the Universities from the European continent had established; nonetheless, there were not to be copied as they did not represent a more sustainable purpose. Hence, Geiger noticed that the main desire of changing the curriculum was to discredit the traditional scholarships. Thus, the colleges were faced with multiple enrollment fluctuations and closure of the colleges due to their denial that the colleges had enrollment problems. Furthermore, the American colleges still operate as they did before, with the dual system and the incorporation of the Yale report, which has proved substantial and essential in understanding the curriculum’s developments. The Yale report recommends that colleges avoid taking significant risks and consider the changes being made cautiously due to the rising competition and pressure. Hence, the management is keen to make changes that will not allow pressure to arise, leading to enrollment problems and closure of the colleges and Universities.