Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1873-04-25
Object Teaching by Farmers.

WE are all educators, and yet we are all
learners. Let me tell you how we all
teach The blackboard we think a mod
ern invention, and confined mostly to the
schoolroom, and yet object teaching has
been and will continue to be one of the
most, if not the most successful methods
of giving instruction.
Every one knows how much clearer n
fact or statement becomes if it can be il
lustrated to the eye. A teacher, in order
to impress certain truth in natural geog-
raphy on his pupil, calls him to his
blackboard draws map representing a
continent; it may be perhaps South Amer
lea or the United States, He first gives
the coast lines, then the principal features
of the country, ranges of mountains, riv-
ers, divisions of States, then the chief
towns, and so on until the general truths
of that science, so far as that portion of
the globe is concerned, are seen by the
eye.
If we want to impress upon friend the
beauties of a certain landscape, or any
other scene or place in nature, we take
him to look with his own eyes. How
much has been written about the Alps, the
| White Mountains, the Yosemite Valley,
and other noted places; yet does this sat
| isfy? We must see with our own eyes be
fore we are satisfied. Men make long pill
| grimages, spend large sums of money to
| see things. We may write out as fine and
| full statement of building, yet this
does not satisfy half as well as look at
the edifice itself
So with farming; we may come here
| from week to week to discuss topics
about growing crops, cultivating the soil,
breeding and raising stock, management
of sheep, but this is not, and cannot be so
valuable nor truthful as eye knowledge.
The truth is, we are object teachers.
| Every one who owns and works piece of
ground, be it no larger than square rood
of garden, is giving object lessons.
Let our farms represent a blackboard
We run line around it-this is the boun
Diary fence; dot here represents the house
and outbuildings. Then we run cross
lines dividing the farm into fields Here
is woodland, that is put by itself; there is
piece of marsh or natural meadow OF
pasture, which goes by itself So we pro
ceed till our farm is divided and fenced to
our notion The passer-by looks, studies
criticises-perhaps gets "a hint in the right
directions goes home and puts his learn
ing into practice.
Again, the manner of plowing, seeding,
cultivation, harvesting of crops, are SO
many moves on the blackboard, which
our neighbOrs were all the time watching
A tree planted, the kind place, pruning
etc, has a lesson good or bad. We teach
by our gardens, perhaps nowhere more
cifectually than here. Oftentimes gar
den is very fine index to the culture and
taste of its owner The style of architect
ture of our buildings, the color of the
paint, and the general surroundings of oul
houses are 50 many lessons, perpetual les
sons of instruction, more potent for good
or evil than all the words we car
utter. We plant climbing vine which
runs over our porch or doorway; out there
is plat of llowers--go into the garden
see the grapevines loaded with lusciou,
fruit. What do these things indicate,
Why communities have been revolution
lied (socially / mean(, by means as simple
and yet as cffectua as these.
Is there not power here? Let me tel
you there is tremendous power for gooC
which each one of us possesses. Oul
broad acres, in the management we give
them, should be so many living objec
teachers whereby the public may look or
and receive instructiOns.-BfOm an I'D
dress Of tie President Of the RoSendale (N
| ~ CLub.