St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-07-21
RURAL ACADEMIES.
Hon. A. ID. Stickney,s Address ut
Pan-American Congress.


Pan-American Congress-.
Through a blunder of the Associated
Press in announcing that Hon. A. B.
Stickney was not at Toronto, the
g b yesterday omitted his adj
dress. It is upon Rural Academic -"
1 and it's salient features are as follows:
/ A NEW FIELD.
II The public schools supported by tax
alton, which reach the masses in the
United States, are an evolution from
states. At the beginning of the cen-
fury the state undertook to teach only
reading, writing and arithmetic, either
in the urban or rural districts. Private
enterprise supplemented these meagre
educational facilities by a preparatory
school, usually called an academy, and
the college. Both the academy and the
college were located in villages remote
from the noise and temptations of the
cities. The academy was the connect
ing link between the district school and
the college. In process of time the
free graded school was established in
towns, which were supported by taxa
ton, and which performed the func-
\ tons of both the district school and the
academy. In their incipience the
was simply in the direction of fitting
men for college," there to be fitted"
for the professions, law, medicine or
divinity. But there came a time when
1t seemed to dawn upon the public
mind that only a comparatively few
could be lawyers, doctors and preach
ers. And that the masses who must
pursue other vacations of life would
be better fitted for their life's work by
learning more of history, geography.
mathematics and natural sciences, in
stead of a Smattering OF the Latin and
Greek ,grammars; and quite recently
there have been added the manual
training schools in some of the larger
cities.
Having imperfectly stated the prog
ress made in educat ional facilities for
tne urban population, which embraces
only about % per cent, let US consider
what the century has done for the
rural, which constitutes II per cent of
! the entire population. The district
! school system has been extended. From
an appropriation Of lands by congress.
agricultural colleges have been estab-
!lShed IN several states which are do
ing most excellent work. So far as I
know, this completes the list The
farmers sons and daughters today in
their district schools are taught read
ing, writing arithmetic and geography.
a lew months in the winter term the
In the districts schools of New Eng
| land The New England academy,
which was the connecting link between
the district school and the college at
last generation, and of the generations
/ now passing away, graduated, which
/ We're scattered at convenient intervals
through the rural districts, have been
tltlon of the graded schools supported
al the public expense. The doors of
the graded schools open freely to the
sons and daughters of the residents of
GU co.,es s. put can only be opened to the
! son or daughter of a farmer upon one
coholtlon. viz: That the parents leave
/ the farm and become residents of the
! city. VI 'i'e
i COURSE OF STUDY FOR THE NEW
/ ACADEMIES
10 be successful in this new field
| II Will be necessary to present an at
tractive course of study. The ruraj
population are of a practical turn OF
MIND Ihey realize the stern cond1-
t tlons OF their lives and to offer to
teach them the dead or the modern
languages will be useless. 1t seems
probable that the principal reason why
ene olu-IaShloned academy failed as
soon as the urban patronage was
Withdrawn, was because the course OF
study was unsuited to the wants Of the
I1rural population. These practical peo-
pie demand a useful education. Ian
geagrs nh mathematics I ties, bookkeeping,
taught to reasonable extent. The
progress of the world in the MATES,
! OF civil and religious freedom, in in
/ Ventlors, IN the arts and in the dis
1ssscoveries of science, is of much more
= Importance. A knowledge of the eIe-
| mentary principles of the sciences is
! also of practical utility. The funda~
! mental facts and principles of political
T economy are of great importance to
! the masses, both for their own sakes
fand for the general good of society.
In this nineteenth century, society has
! reached that stage of advancement.
| where the majority rules The ma
I 1or1ty levies taxes, hence the majority
should understand the principles of Jus,
taxation. The majority legisla ties upor,
questions of finance and money, hence
the Importance of the majority undel.-
standing the fundamental principles OF
hnance and money. The majority
makes laws affecting trade, hence it Is
derstand those natural laws which
control trade. The majority is being
urged to make laws affecting labor AMI
capital, hence the Importance of its
capital.
The art of conversation and the spirit
OF true politeneSs should be cultivated
The geentlemanly habit of wearing
ended, and the ladylike habit of an
pearing during the evening at her best,
would add immensely to the attrac-
tiveness as we'll as the dignity of rurai
life. 1t would be well to introduce the
domestic arts of housekeeping and OF
dressmaking lin the simpler forms). al.
well as those indefinable arts, so deas
to US all, of making simple and mex
and the person. The planting of flow
ers in each rural home would be =
great benefaction to the human race,
and the general Introduction of the
standard of rural life. There are some
of the influences which should sur
round the new academy
PRACTICAL SCHOOLS OF AGRf-
CULTURE.
1t might be desirable in connection.
tablish practical schools OF agriculture.
In my ideal school, l would have the
various theories of methods and pre-
cesses explained and discussed during |
free to exercise his own Judgment as |
to which is best. When spring came |
L would divide the farm into as many :
small farms as there were pupils to !
cultivate them ard ailot to each pupil |
farm to be cultivated for that year, |
according to his own judgment at hi: |
own expense, and to his own profit !
or Ices as the result might be. Evil !
fifty pupils there would be fifty ex- |
peTimentss and each experiment WoulG
not he a trial Of the theory, but of the !
students understanding of the theory, |
his capacity and industry being I'M |
portant factors. All the farms being III |
close proximity, each pupil would be I
able TO see and judge Of the COM |
parative success Of each and in his own
mind come to conclusion as to how
much the comparative success or fail |
IRE was fairly attributable to the
theory and how much to extrinsic cir |
cumstances or conditions. An en-
perienced teacher in general superin- !
tendenca would be able to point out |
mistake and errors of judgment, ow-
ing to departures from the theory or
otherwise, which the inexperience OF
- mi n
These experiments could be addressed
80 the best methods OF producing {.
!ecertain crop or to the respective profit
s5ableness of various crops, or tC, the in
!troduction of new crops, and the same
principle of exercising independent
judgments and self-reliarce might
lSperhaos, but probably with greater
t4dificUlty. be extended to the breeding
Send rearing of domestic animals ana
'sthe. other operations of diversified
forming.
= TIE present theory of farming, esrec-
sially in the West, is to obtain 2 small