The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1903-07-22
Producers Club.

A Herald reporter found Supt, w. +.
Johnson of the city schools engaged with
the boys of the Producers Club in their
garden east of DR., Wrights hospital the
other day, and stopped long enough to
look over the garden and interview the
superintendent upon the plan and
feasibility of the scheme of directing the
energy of boys during the summer vaca-
ton.
When approached, the superintendent
stopped. leaned upon his hoe, wiped the
perspiration from his brow, and gazed
with admiration upon the little fellows
whose hoes were plying around the corn
hills. 1T is pretty warm SAID the re-
porter ~ do not know replied the
superintendent 'You see when the mind
is engaged, when ones attention is fixed
upon what he is doing, when he is inter
ested then ons is not affected by the heat.
You see that little fellow over there whose
head is bobbing just above the corn. He
hoed over an hour and l doubt if he knows
the sun shines, and cares less, doubt
not, however, if you were to ask the ques-
ton of those fellows under the shade trees
down town with their minds unoccupled,
| that you would get unanimous expression
that it is hot.
10 you experience duy tlOuDlC III SS'-
ting the boys to work.
practically none, Out of number OF
boys in the Producers Club there is only
one who has been too busy to come out
when called, In fact, parents tell me
that while they experience trouble in get
ting their boys into the home garden at
any time, that the boys always urge the
necessity of responding to the call of the
club, The psychological reason for this
lies in the fact that boys naturally obey
the law association They like to be to
gether. And for the additional reason
that whatever is raised here belongs to the
boys. The secretary keeps time on the
| boys and results are divided prorata.
Have you other gardens than this?'
Not where we are doing cooperative
work. We have. however, about two
hundred boys doing individual gardening.
These are scattered all over the city. We
we're offered much better lots than these,
where the ground had been under Guilt
walton last year and had been kept free
from weeds; but as you know these lots
have not been under cultivation for some
time old cans, refuse from the city were
dumped here for several years. and the
lots had grown up to rag weeds Conval
! escents from yonder hospital for years
have viewed this unsightly place of ground
located as it is in the most beautiful part
# the city. After talking the matter over
with the Producers Club, we came to the
conclusion that the selection of these lots
would serve a double purpose-that is
truly educational. You see we have made
corn cabbage, tomatoes grow where weeds
grew before.
! apart from the commercial, what
educational value do you place upon this
work?'
The longer l have-been in educational
work the more profoundly | have been
impressed with the non-utillitarian tend
encies of education. Boys and girls grad
uate from onr schools by the thousands
full of ideas, but, who when called upon
cannot express themselves either m lnually
or lingually. They have been educated
along lines of the least resistance, They
have never been directed along lines o.
research and their minds act as recePta
Gle for what others have performed ane
nothing more A sort of a waste baske
SO to speak. There are fundamental ele
ments underlying individual progress, ant
the principal one is industry, In the pas
educators, and samong educators l elias
parents, have waited until the boy ap
preached manhood before attempting t
| develope industrial habits. This, l. thin
is where the fault lies. The process j
very difficult to plant an industrial habit
where vicious and idle onehas hourishe'
SO long, My little girl. now five. hs
washed dishes and done it well for tn
past two years, and she now goes to he
duty, daily without complaint simply
habit We converse while we work of thu
things we do, and this gives me an excel
] lent opportunity tc note the defects 0
lingual expression among the boys, hi
is an experiment with me and out of it
hope to evolve plan by which the vita
energy of boy can be directed in wa.
that will not only be a pleasure but {;
source of profit to him. l am convinced
that more people rust out to-day thar
work out. "You throw the pores open il
boy skin and you furnish an egress TO-
a lot of meaness."
"Do you not think that it would b'
better to arrange work that is not SO irk
some?"
have considered that myself and have
thought of securing park where the boy!
could do flower gardening. where the
ground could be beautiful, where fancy
flower beds could he arr. nged This would
develope the aesthetic nature of the boy
and thereby serve double purpose"
'sWhat do educators think of the plan?'
II have letters of approval and encour
agement from school men all over Iowa
The Chicago Chronicle of recent date in {