The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1898-11-22
No. AZ

mind to, in the high school. What I
mean is that you can get, If you wish,
more practical education than the
majority OF town boys actually secure.
If you will conduct the experiment for
me in the way that will suggest, it
certainly can do you no harm. am
absolutely certain that it will do you a
great deal of good.
The greatest good that schools and
teachers ever do any body is first to
wake the boy up thoroughly, to ill
him with ambition, to Undue him with
a noble purpose, and the second is to
practice him in the use of whatever de-
gree of intellect he may possess. These
ere the only two things that any school
can do for a boy. The rest he must do
for himself. Schools are not knowledge
factories, or at least should not be.
The French have a noted and high
priced dish called pate de foi-gras,
which in plain EAglish is goose liver.
In o1dar to produce livars of enormous
size, because diseased, the geese are
fastened to the Fl oor and are stuffed
to their utmcs5 capacity with food that
creates this abnormal and diseased
liver which our frog eating friends
across the water regard as such agreRt
luxury. Sometimes I think that the
boys in our schools are treated like
these geese, stuffed with facts, knowl-
edge, rules, definitions, etc, to over
loading and are much like q foundered
horse. The boy gets the notion that
the object Of his going to school is to
acquire knowledge. He is mistaken.
The object in going to school is to come
in contact with superior minds in the
persons Of the teachers and the bright
est pupils and get thoroughly walked
up, and furthermore TO exercise his
body in football and other games; in
other wOrde, to develop the mind and
stimulate it and fil it with noble ambi-
tion ia the main object in going school.
The acquisition of facts, knowledge,
rules, ETC., is merely incidental.
had q call last week from an old
schoolmate whom had not seen for
forty nine years. / was greatly inter
ested in him. He left school when he
was fifteen years of age and was
thirteen. He has never had any op-
portunity OF education and yet be is q
very well informed and intelligent
man. He has acquired large weslth
by legitimate metnods and in acquir-
ing wealth ne has acquired an educa.
tion Of more practical value than many
college graduates. You can do the
same. You can, however, never do it
unless you resolve at the start that
| you will never undertake study, be
it grammar, arithmetic geography, or
what not. with out the determination
to master it thoroughly and know
everything there is to be known about
it in the book or from the teacher. If
you will cultivate this habit of thor.
Oughness, it will be worth thousands
Of dollars to you 10 after life.
You have some advantages which
the town boy has not. Your father
has work for you from the time you
can pick up chips or cobs. You are
trained to habits Of industry, if your
parents have done their duly by you.
You have plenty Of exercise going to
and from school, aud you have, il your
father does his duty, plenty of good
books to read. l advise you not to
read many books and only OF the best
and read them over and over again un
til they become like the iron in your
blood. Books SKINNED over do the
boy no good. Avoid novels as a rule,
but read the best. Begin from the
very first to put your thoughts into
writing. Write imaginary letters;
write real onas. Study how to express
yourself in plain, simple English. That
in itself is an education which many
college graduates never get. Remem-
Der that neither Shakespeare, our
greatest dramatist, nor Burus, t.. nst
Of universal humanity, nor Abto,tsdy
Lincoln ever had any education :, Ia
| yoLd d common echoOl-nct to mel.
Eion great names nearer home. You
| can get an education if you but will
without leaving home. Read article
in this paper carefully three or four
| times over, then lay the paper aside
and without looking at it try to ex-
press he same thoughts In your own
language without using the same
phrase Ny theory is that if you will
do as [ have suggested you Will get a
bester education than the majority of
boys get at high school or than some
of them get at college do not say
thai you should not go to high school.
If you are to be farmer you should go
to the agricultural college, but it will
be waste Of time and money for you
to go until you are thoroughly walked