Oldfather's Classical Education
As both an administrator and as a teacher at the University of Nebraska, Charles Henry Oldfather was considered by many to be a classicist. Besides teaching the classical subject of Ancient History [University Bio Record], Oldfather was a strong advocate of classical learning in all areas of study.
As a teacher of history Oldfather often cited history's importance to the present, "If you study in history the experience of all mankind, you don't have to make the same mistakes yourself." [Hootwalker] While some would consider history a "jumble of uninteresting dates and events" [Nicoll], Oldfather instead showed the importance of persistence in studying history in his famous translation of Diodorus' manuscripts. [Nicoll] This landmark achievement is considered by many to be the most authoritative translation of the Greek writings which are some the only documents that "cover several centuries of civilization" [Nicoll]. In translating just three books worth of Diodorus, Oldfather spent ten years of his spare time and had to translate over 170,000 Greek words [Ancient Gaul].
Oldfather's was outspoken in his views on classicism in all areas of study. A strong indicator of the extent of this classicism were his views on art, "I like art to be restful... Art has been very important in every civilization, and it is a very happy antidote for the utilitarian tendencies of our American civilization." [Hootwalker] Similar to his views on art, Oldfather thought that a college education required classicism in all aspects, including Latin, higher mathematics and the British literary masters [Knoll, 116]. Also, Oldfather felt such higher level courses were the necessary offerings for a college to prevent universities from becoming "extended high schools." [Knoll, 117] Oldfather even voiced this idea that college should only be concerned with higher learning in a letter to Chancellor Boucher, "In my opinion the University cannot afford to incur too much expense in making up for the lack of preparation which our students should have gotten in high school." [Oldfather to Boucher, 1945]
Dean Oldfather approached education with a very specific idea in mind, "education has been and always will be an experiment." ["Objectives...," pg. 1] In expanding this idea, Oldfather also concerned himself with defining what a college education means and what makes an education worth the money and effort. This ideology is reflected in Oldfather's work as an administrator and also in his words on the subject.
In several instances, Oldfather showed his willingness to experiment to find what method is best suited for teaching a subject. For example, in a letter to Chancellor Boucher, Oldfather outlines a program for the Modern Language Department which outlines two separate groups that will be given differing curricula [Letter, Oldfather to Boucher, 1945]. This instance is an exact embodiment of Oldfather's idea that education is an experiment. Another similar example is a plan that Oldfather proposed in 1936, which outlined a system in which beginning students would take general courses and after the first year be sorted into various divisions based on their performance [Knoll, 98]. Though this plan met heavy resistance because it would limit enrollment, [Knoll, 98] it embodies two of Oldfather's ideas on education, experimentation and higher learning.
While Oldfather favored experimentation he also was a strong traditionalist in that he viewed college as a higher education that, "prepares the student for the major professions of the Law, Medicine, Engineering, Business, Dentistry, the Ministry, and the like." ["Objectives...," pg. 4] Specifically, Oldfather outlines this higher education as a "Liberal Education" that would serve four main objectives: "...a facility in the use of one's native tongue...an appreciation of the world in which we live...a disciplined mind...a sense of values." ["Objectives...," pg. 6-17] Oldfather was not willing to sacrifice this level of higher education for the sake of a general education to prepare students for life. [Knoll, 117] This became a topic of debate in 1950, shortly before Oldfather retired, and the main argument was whether or not the university should, "discipline the mind... and transmit a body of fact, or... foster citizenship and celebrate democracy." [Knoll, 117]
Charles Henry Oldfather was a key factor in the creation of the Univeristy of Nebraska Honors Program. Oldfather, who at the time of these events was a professor of ancient history, oversaw a committee that was set up to create the honors program. This program would follow the custom of what Oldfather and the rest of the committee considered a historic arts college, but the University community generally failed to respond to any serious questions raised at this time which made the honors program not do well. [Knoll, 74] However, because of this early version of the Honors Program, we now have the current Honors Program which is well sought after to be a member of, and an important part of many students lives.