The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-10-18
Do H0I TEACH FARMING
PROF. LEWIS THINKS RURAL
81 HeoLs SHOULD TEACH
AGRICULTURE
HIS VIEWS ON THE SUBJECT
In letter to Prof. TaeAer He
Suggests That Agriculture
he AddedSto the Cur
ricsslum.

Prof. j. A. Lewis, superintendent of
to Prof. +. D. Tucker of, ST. Anthony
Park, adv eating, that a course in agri-
culture be added to the curriculum In
lows:
There is a general and well founded i'm
preston in this state that our public
rural, graded and high schools Quicken
the hopes and aspirations and create
Ideals j the minds of our children that
can be realized only in Industrial and
profess onal careers in the cities That
our sci ools are educating our boys and
girls from rural into urban life. That
our cites are overcrowded with multi
tude of young men and women elzing out
a pare existence, whose culture and edu-
callon, II applied in agricultural pursuits.
would lead to much happier and more
useful careers
1t is A notorious fact that rural schools
afford conditions and environments for
the education of our youth far superior
TO those that can be furnished in the
city: In proof of this, we are pointed To
dhe fact that from so to s95 per cent Of
the successful business and professional
men and women in the citieS-the men
and women who are a power in the COM
Hlun1ty, owe their success to the inSpir-
alton received and to the training that
was given them by some rural school
teacher.
Is it not time that our rural schools
should begin TO do something to improve
conditions on the farm, as they have been
dolng IN the past in building up grear
Ing institutions? L believe that the
trouble lies in the fact that our rural
-school teachers do not know how to use
the abundant material at hand for the in
struction of children Our rural school
teachers will go into the graded schools
OF our cities, and by the ust OF pressed
and dried botanical specimens attempt to
instruct the children in botany. From
their preserved and dried specimens In
biology and zoology they attempt to IN
Struct the children in these subjects while
faa 0hnr
nature great labora tory in botanical and
geological gardens in a helpless condi-e
ton, utterly unable to use the abundance
OF material on every hand. The best
city schools are those that have the most
successfully initiated the best features of
{ our rural schools.
rake for example manual training.
manual training can be given our city
children only at such great cost that few
cltles are attempting to furnish manual
training. But the teacher in the rural
school has in the farm life of the children
all the advantages that the school CT
manual training in the city can furnish
the children.
The early age at which the children in
the country must assume responsibility
an the domestic duties and in the care
OF stock, and in the handling of the COM
plcated machinery with which the farm
ing is done, make them the best ma
terial that5the teacher can hope to have
with which to work
Now, L believe that a course of study
might be provided for our children in our
country schools that would make farming
life attractive. That would cultivate
habits of observation and make them in
telligent, skillfu1 investigators. A course
OF study that would make the school life
OF children fuller, richer and better
than it is. I believe that the essential
principles of agriculture, horticulture
dairying and stock raising, could be in
troduced in our country schools in such
way as to lead our boys and girls into
higher appreciation or country life, and
womb alrn 41ot,. -
roundings more attractive
with this end in view, let me ask you to
formulate for this department. course
of study for our country schools along
the lines above indicated In doing So ,
you viii kindly make the course to CON
form to present conditions. I would not
attempt too much. Large results are
more apt to follow from small beginnings
tnan by starting out With too ambitious
a programme l would not make it so
formidable that our teachers would
SHRINK from undertaking to carry it into
effect. The course suggested by YOU.
should be made to take the place Of some
of the less essential work that is now
done in the way of nature study, so
called.
If YOU have time to undertake this
work and are willing to do So [ would
suggest that you confer with two or three
OF our most experienced and progressive
county superintendents. The course of
study to- be successful should be of such
character as to irlist the support and
SOFOkSA e1I1O1A VI lI6 parents AOI- OUR farm
boys and girls. The interest that our
Fathers have taken and the benfits that
they have received from farmers in
stitutions affords promise of their hearty
sympathy and cooperation in the ex-
ecuton of such a movement.
l. DelleVe that q course should be sllg-
gested that would provide vacation work
that would add very materially to the in,
terest and profit of farming in this state
The one discouraging feature is the
fact. that so few of our teachers are
qualified to take up the work intelligent
~. But believe that If the work is once
begun it will become a part of the
normal school work, and fit teachers
in the normal schools of our state to be-
come both interested and interesting
teachers, and that in time. our normal
teachers, instead of seeking positions in
the grades of our cities as they are now
doing, would rather seek employment in
the large field of usefulness that the
rural schools afford
/ would like to have this course of study
prepared and submitted to the county
superintendents at their annual meeting
in December with the view, if accented
by the teachers, of beginning he work
next year.