The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-04-16
Farm Miscellany.
AGRICULTURAL TEACHING IN THE
COMMON SCHOOLS.

GOmMON GhOOL
As is we'll known, HOard's Dairy
man has been for years, earnestly at
work to establish the teaching of the
elements of agriculture in the public
schools, and especially in all country
schools. Two great and serious oh
stacleI stand in the way: (1) The
farmers themselves, whose children
are to be benefited, do not see how
the thing can be done, and so they
make no effort to have it done.
(2) The teachers of the land upon
whom depends this important work
cannot yet see how to do it.
And so, between farmer and
teacher, nothing is done. The pres
ent generation of farm boys will
come up just as their fathers have
done, and the district school will
pass by them without anything be-
ing done to make that school of any
service to them in the work of the
life that is before them.
Ii any of the teachers attempt to
face the question, it is with such eX
aggerated ideas, such notions of out
lay in preparation and training, such
u far away look and concept of the
work, as it is, that we see hut little
hope OF its practical solution by the
men and women who do the teach
ing.
The fact is, the profession of
teaching, like all other professions,
drifts into ruts, to the extinction of
a true understanding of the need of
the situation, and a reduction of
original power and resource to meet
those needs. The people have given
up the whole question of developing
their children in the ways of knOwl-
edge, and their future efficiency in
the use of that knowledge, to the
teachers. They let the teacher think
for them they have no voice in the
establishment of Il r. of study,
because they take no interest in it.
Not one time in "a thousand do we
hear of the question being discussed,
in our annual school meetings, as to
the character of the studies that
shall be pursued in the schools. Nine
hundred and ninety nine out of every
thousand of the people will say 81
don't know anything about it. What
do we have the teacher for, If it isn't
to know what the child should be
taught:"
Yet the parent can see all the
time hat the school does but little
to equip his boy or girl to meet the
problems of daily life that are before
them. The problem before the farmer
is, how his boys may be aided in be
coming better farmers than he is.
The State and Nation have also IL
deep interest in that problem, for on
it depends whether the resources of
the State shall he increased or
wasted. The great class of farmers
are suffering great loss to day, be-
cause of a lack of knowledge con
corning the practical botany Of the
farm plants. .
Take the red clover plant for in
stance: 10 any of the millions of
farm boys n this land ever hear, in
their schools, u word that shall en-
tighten them on the laws which gov
ern the growth and preservation o.
that most valuable of plants?
How easy and simple it would be
to have Il short course of study on
the botany Of the clover plant. How
simple it would be to teach the farm
boy that red clover Is Il biennial {;
that if we allow the seed to form,
that ends, 20 all practical purposes,
the life of that clover plant that, it
we wish to keep up our clover fields
we must cut tho clover before the
seed forms. Then nature will renew
her eff ri to produce seed, aud the
plant Is thus kept alive, provided
each subsequent crop Il cut before
seed forms Simple as this lesson Is,
simple "a it wOnld he to teach it,
there is absolutely no effort made to
teach It, and thousands uoOn thou
sands of farmers are ign0rt mt If