Halls Of Honor: College Men In The Old South

“They would become the ministers, the professors, or the college administrators in the future generations” (p. 3). Throughout history, the time period of the Old South, has been thought to be uncommonly poor in the area of knowledge and uneducated. However, it has been proven and placed throughout many pieces of literature, that the Old South was predominately strong in knowledge. as is demonstrated throughout Robert F. Paces’ Halls of Honor: College Men in the Old South. Through this book later generations have realized the importance that knowledge had upon the South, especially through the collegiate experience. Before the Civil War, the Old South saw a drastic climb within the number of males whom attended college. These young men would …show more content…
Each of these aspects would be shaken drastically to that of what they had known before enduring their college experience. The first commonly overlook was sickness. Paces’ book informs his readers about illness in the collegiate world when he proclaims, “…illness and epidemics plays a major role in the college environment and how students reacted to it…Illness forced many to grow up—perhaps before they were ready. Illness brought to students a sense of their morality.” (p. 42-43) Many of these young men had to rely upon their own selves and the resources given to them through their college experience in order to overcome their common illnesses. As Pace proclaims, an illness caused these young men to realize that they could no longer rely totally upon their parents, but instead had to learn from this experience and grow up accordingly. This allowed for them to realize that their lifestyle was changed because they now had to do for themselves. The second accommodation that they also had to adjust to was dining. Pace proclaims that this was a major adjustment to each young mans’ collegiate experience. He states on page forty-five that, “These adolescents had enjoyed the meals cooked for them at their homes for their entire lives. Now they had to adjust to a more corporate dining atmosphere, whether in a private boarding facility or at the college dining room.” …show more content…
Students had to realize its importance for their success in life and the only way for this to occur was by accepting and succeeded through the curriculum established by these colleges. However, before they truly understood its importance, Pace makes it clear that, “They attend classes but make no effort to learn anything” (p. 11) Students were more concerned about power and status within society than in academic curriculum that would advance them further in life than ever thought of (p. 11). It was because of this that when introduced to the new curriculum, many could not pass the test and would instead result in failure. “Failure meant that their reputations as men of honor might come into question.” (p. 22) Therefore in order to bypass failure, they students would have to pass these new ways of curriculum tests which came from: recitation, examinations, and oration. “Recitation, oration, and public examinations all held within them the potential for glory or for shame.” (p. 22) If the students could not pass these three forms of curriculum, then they often were either to not be considered as college material or would often realize that their honor was at stake if they failed these tests. Some would believed if they resulted to cheating, that they could maintain their honorable status within their fellow collegians. As Pace proclaims, “Cheating became a serious problem at many other institutions, both large and small,