Word: flounder
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Dates: during 1910-1919
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...University with no strong preference for any definite pursuit. The intellectual stirring which they receive in their Freshman year destroys their preconceived ideas. And henceforth they suffer most from a lack of knowledge, not only of the nature of various occupations, but also of their own special aptitudes. They flounder about from one study to another, immersed at the same time in a welter of distracting undergraduate activities, with no guiding purpose. On graduating some, merely following the line of least resistance, become teachers, without regard for the special qualifications needed for high success in that profession. Others drift into...
...outstanding feature of most undergraduate discussion of war and armaments is the lack of specific knowledge which is displayed. Most men are possessed of a delightful store of generalities, some pertinent, some vague; but when pinned down to the hard facts with which to substantiate their ideas, they flounder hopelessly...
...trouble lies in the fact that most students do not know how to study. As Freshmen they are plunged into seas of work, without receiving any careful instruction on methods of doing it. They flounder for a time, until they evolve inefficient, make-shift ways for themselves. Some, not so fortunate, do not learn the rough-and-ready lessons of experience soon enough, and their college careers find early ends...