Life — May 25, 1911 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Colleges and Education" - Life Magazine Commentary This page critiques the expansion of American colleges in the early 20th century. The text argues that while colleges are proliferating, children are learning in four years what previously took longer, questioning whether increased college numbers genuinely improves education quality. The satirical cartoon at top depicts "LIFE" as a literal institution with various activities—suggesting colleges mirror real life rather than transcending it. The illustration below, captioned "FARMER BROWN GAVE HIS FIVE BOYS A COLLEGE EDUCATION," appears darkly ironic. It shows rural children at play/work rather than in formal academic settings, mocking the gap between promised "college education" and actual rural educational reality—suggesting that merely naming something education doesn't make it so.