The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-02-07
INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION.
The True Mission of the Agricultural
College.

I
College.
To the Editor of The Herald:
Recent comments on agricultural col
leges is the immediate cause for this
article Editors are generally supposed
TO be well informed, but evidently. like
politicians, they sometimes get things
mixed; they do not know everything.
II a few years ago the politicians Of
this state had known what an aSrlcul-
tural college was. they would not have
located it out on the northern border
of the state; neither would they have
later advocated uniting it with the
State university. And if the editors
knew what an agricultural college was
they would not comment as they do.
What is the purpose Of an agrlcul-
tural college? 1t is 10 better fit the
young men and women of the country
for the active duties of life, be il on
the farm, in the home, in the shop or
wherever it may be. 1t aims to be the
school of the producing masses Then
why called agricultural? Because the
founders, looking into the future, saw
that agriculture was the foundation of
a very large part of the industrial
wealth Of the country. and that upon
its scientific direction. its development
and success in the future largely de
pended. They wished. therefore, to
give agriculture first place; wished To
keep it prominently before the young
people of the country that agriculture
was a subject of study, and one that
would pay well for the time bestowed
upon it.
But some of the colleges don't like
their name, and for several reasons.
In the first place. it is in q large meas
ure u misnOmer Industrial colleges
would better describe their purposes.
Again, in the place complained Of-New
England-the education has for gen
eratiOns been along the academic line.
and, as a rule. men so trained can see
nothing in industrial education, and
have no sympathy with the farmer
and mechanic, except in the attitude
Of a condeScending plutocrat. Is il
likely that such men would use their
energies in building up those courses
of study for which they have absolute
~ no sympathy? Unfortunately. too
many men of this stamp are found at
the head of our agricultural colleges.
l have seen the line drawn clearly and
distinctly between the academic trained
and the industrial trained man at
meetings of the Association of Agricul-
tural Colleges, the one having no faith
in industrial education. no faith in the
results; the other strong in the belief
that it meant the material salvation
and uplifting of the industrial classes.
In the next place, from the stand
point of the student, in many of the
states agriculture is the least popular
and least patronized of any of the col
lege courses. For this several reasons
might be given. Frequently the acad-
emic trained teacher. or teachers. boost
the other courses, and this one becomes
unpopular; the billiards are turned over
to it. This has killed more than one
or two agricultural courses, and ii is
particularly SO when the agricultural
colleges and universities are united
In the next place. the farmers them
selves could see nothing in agriculture
to study To them agriculture was.
and is, naught but work. work. work
and frequently the son and daughter
have the most disagreeable end of that
work. The founders of those colleges
were generations ahead of those they
desired to benefit.
Again, industrial education is new
Its rapid expansion in the United
States, under the stimulus of govern
ment aid, has been without a parallel
There were but few teachers fitted for
the work; the most of them had to be
made. A lot of original courses had
to be mapped out, and il has only been
within the past two years that definite
efforts have been made to give those
studies pedagogic form.
bNl AIOul an educational point of
view, what is the purpose of an agri-
cultural college2 Is il to make of its
students automatons. machines. with
trained muscles only? 1 trow not: but
to make of them educated men and
women, citizens, patricians in this
modern republic. fitted to execute skill I
fully and intelligently those duties
which life shall call upon them TO per-
form; fitted TO think and act along any
line which his citizenship shall point /
out. be that political. social or moral, [
and be able to hold his own with the [
brightest in other callings