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Eckles: On the morning of July 10, 1972. It is the
Hovde:
fifth interview between President Emeritus
Frederick L. Hovde and R. B. Eckles of the
history department for the Purdue University
Archives. The interview takes place in
President Emeritus Hovde's office.
Well, the last time we were talking about
your life and times, sir, we were talking
about the reasons for corning to Purdue, and
you had pointed out that you had an opportunity
to consider the presidency of another university,
but had chosen Purdue. Before we go further,
may I ask if you would give us your broad
statement of your philosophy of education,
and your points of view relative thereto.
One can l&ok at education from a variety
of viewpoints. Normally when people speak
about education, they speak about the formal
structure that is devoted to the process of
helping people educate themselves. The leanning ...__ ____ .. ______ ,, .. .. ~ .... ,
__pr_o___c...- e _§..$ .. th.aL._gvery individual goes through is ,, '
directly equated to the environment in which he
lj._~~-~-: . In o~her words, the place_ wl:l:ere he
was born and was reared by his parents and the
particular group and class or segment or place
on this ea.- -~th. And from my own view, I ... 1"'\J_,_t . ..........
My ownAis that the growth and the development
and the education of an individual and his
learning process~.:p; depends more on envir9~ental
. \.
factors than almost any other kind of factor.
Granted that his biological equipment is somewhere
around the range of what might be called normal
biological equipment. That is, whatever intelli­gence
maj be as part of biological structure.