The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1903-01-02
talks ON COUNTRY SCHOOLS.
state Teachers Association at Topeka
Hears Good Advice from Henry
sabin on Rural schools

Hears GOOD ADVICE rom henry
sabin on Rural schools
The State Teachers association is in
session at Topeka this week. About
1000 Kansas teachers have taken pOss-
ession of the capitol city and are max
ing things hum.
The best treat enjoyed by the coun-
try school ma'ams yet was an address
by Henry Sabin, ex-state suPerintend-
ent of Iowa schools, on "The Rural
School Curriculum" He said in part:
IL do not know Of a school in the
/ United States which offers a distinct
and separate course intended to fit
teachers for their work in rural
schools.
There is. need Of such a course
which can be accomplished IN one or
two years and which must be especial
ly adapted to a course Of study de-
signed to be pursued by the boy or
girl from the farm VINO wishes to teach
sch sol.
SIN speaking of the rural school cir
riculum let 1t be understood that those
branches, every day branches, which
made the old time school so service
able to the boys aud girls Of that gen
Grafton have not yet lost their power
to inform and discipline. I prot est
against erovding these studies into
the background and against any act
ion the tendency of which is to lessen
them in the estimation of parents or
pupils.
again It viii not need a IabOred ar
gument to prove that to improve the
curriculum is not necessarily to i'm
prove the school The best Curriculum
parts from its purpose in the hands of
the incompetent teacher. This is just
as true in the country as IN the city.
son the other hand a poor cirricul-
um may be made to do fairly good
work when manipulated by a superior
teacher. In word there eau be no
substitute for the live, energetic, wei
informed teacher.
'The improved Curriculum viii need
an improved teacher to handle it. For
/ this reason I contend that we need
| teachers fitted by special training for
our rural schools. A highly trained
city teacher would be as much at a
loss what to do 10 the rural sc hool as
the rural teacher would be in the
closely graded city school.
'The new cirriculum viii require
that the successful teacher for the ru-
raj school should be able to adapt her
| self to conditions. She must know
what eau and what cannot be done in
the country schools. The things that
render rural life attractive should be
magnifed before the children.
There are two ques. ions Of para
MONT interest: How to make the
knowledge obtained at school of use
on the farm aud how to make farm
life an incentive to more earnest work
on the part Of pupils of school. Book
keeping as applied TO farm accounts
-rsAsUld be taught. The small margins
4 that are saved constitute the great
y sum of profits in every business. The
i studying Of elementary geometry and
n surveying so that he may run a line
4 would be very useful to the farmers
I boy. The study of plants, the select
ion Of seeds, some knowledge of soils,
the cultivation Of all kinds Of fruit. es-
peciaIly those which will best grow in
that part Of the state, how to make
good roads, the care aud scientific feed
) ing of animals, are but few Of the
many subjects which ought to be made
more prominent in the rural school
Curriculum The time is at hand when
the farmer must open up new sources
of revenue 1t viii not do for him 70
. much longer depend upon corn aud
wheat alone. Dairying, the raising of
poultry for market, the cultivation of
small fruits, how TO get the best posi-
BILE results from the cultivation of an
acre Of ground are forging their way to
the front very rapidly The school
which produces most TO the beneftting
the farm is best for a rural community
The product of the country school
should be the intelligent expert farm
er. We must remove from agricultur-
al pursuits the stigma that it requires
less intelligence to manage a farm of
100 acres than it does to keep a corner
grocery"