The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1897-10-22
A Suggested Course 81 stady Tor Rural
Schctls.

A course of study for country school
children should be framed with direct
reference to the actual conditions
which prevail in country life and, in
large measure, determine it. Among
the most important points to be kept
in mind are the following:
/. There is general lack of appre-
citation of the immediate surround
ings. This is not peculiar to country
people; it is simply fact in the
country as it is in the city. Education
can confer no reater boon than that
OF showing how the real pleasures Of
life may he derived from ones own
immediate surroundings, and from
/ the work which he is called upon to
perform.
=. There is an almost total lack Of
scientific skill in farm work. The
prejudice against farm machinery has
been extremely strong The treat
ment of the soil is, in the extreme,
unscientific.
3. In the country there Is the great
est dearth of social life. This does
more to deprive the country of its
strength than hard work. Bad roads
are responsible for much of this.
Properly to recognize the foregoing
conditions, therefore, it would seem
that course Of study should cOntem-
plate these lines of interest:
l. In the earlier years, especially
great attention should be given to the
picturesqueness and the natural beauty
of the surroundings. Much outdoor
study therefore ought to be en-
couraged. As an adjunct in this phase
of study, drawing, painting and mod
cling should hold at least equal place
with reading in these early years.
2. To supply the demand for scienti-
iic skill, a good deal of attention should
be given to TAI mechanics. Pupils
should be taught enough of practical
mechanics to enable them to ward off
the legion of fakirs which beset the
farmer with their "labor-saving" de-
vices. ID Manual training. Scarcely
a day in farmers life passes when
there is not some demand made for
skilled hand work with tools. (c)
Mathematics. The farmers suffers
more loss to-day from his ignorance
of this subject than from any other
Bookkeeping as applied to farm ac-
| counts should be carefully taught
Taking the amount of money at stake
on the farm into account, no other
business in the world tries to get along
with so little bookkeeping. AS nat
ural result their is infinite waste in q
hundred ways that are unnoticed
| Nothing would hasten the era OF good
roads more than to show the farmer
how much loss inicash may be charged
to bad ones through loss in harness
vehicles, horseshOes, horses and time
| ~ Biology. To show the splendid
opportunity before every farmer Of
intelligence for study in this field, il
is only necessary to cite the fact that
it was by a close study of domestica
ted animals aud plants that Darwin
was able to probe the mysteries of life
more profoundly than was anyone be
fore him. (e) Meteorology and ply
sizes of the atmosphere. By careful
study of the maps and the other ma
terials supplied by the United State:
weather bureau, every farm boy should
learn something of the nature of the
great storms which are likely to visit
his region. " Mineralogy. The
composition, the origin, and the treat
ment of soils, how their productive
ness may be renewed and conserved
The relation of the soil to the under
lying rock. The origin and the rela
tive value of the native rock. The
| geological history of the country. (g