Monroe City Democrat. (Monroe City, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-04-28
AGRICULTURE IN THE SCHOOLS.
THE DISTRICT SCHOOL TEAcHER's PROBLEM

AGRICULTURE IN THE SCHOOLS.
THE DISTRICT SCHOOL TEAcHEBs PROBLEM.
In the District School perhaps the greatest
problem for the teacher is to keep the pupils
interested in the work Of the school. The
whole thing seems so unnatural to the pupil,
to the boy in particular. The boy is right
The life he Is expected to lead during school
hours is so artificial and unnatural as COM
pared to his activities outside of school
hours that it is little wonder that he grows
restless and loses interest in the work of the
school, if indeed his interest in it is ever
awakened at all. The remedy for this con-
dition of affairs Is to be found in making
the conditions of school life more like those
Of the home and of the community.
WHY AGRICULTURE SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN
RURAL SCHOOLS.
Now for the boy from the farm this much
needed change can be most easily and ef-
fectively brought about by the introduction
of Elementary Agriculture as one Of the sub
jects Of study in school, and especially by
the establishment of the School Garden.
The boys interests in farming operations
have already been awakened at home; and
If the school will but utilize these interests
and show the relation of farming to other
industries, to trade, and to progress in all
that makes for mans comfort, it will be
quite easy to interest him in such other
subjects as history, geography, and arith-
metic. These subjects will come to mean
something to him because he will see their
relation to the farm activities in which he
is already interested. Besides, the boys
observations outside of school have already
introduced him to the elements of many
sciences; and instead of putting him at
work in school on subjects entirely foreign
to his education up to the time he entered,
these elements of knowledge should be made
the starting point of his school work. His
early knowledge should be deepened and
made more accurate and extensive It
would be much more valuable than many of
the puzzles in arithmetic and memorized
lists of dates and names.
THE SCHOOL GARDEN.
The School Garden can be of great service
by way OF making this instruction more con-
crete and practical, but 1t is especially val
liable as a field for the natural activity of
the boy Children are not predominantly
intellectual but active and the school should
recognize these natural impulses to activity.
Instead Of trying to teach everything by
means of book study and class instruction
the child should be given an opportunity to
learn by doing. Habits of accurate observa-
ton, clear thinking, and industry can be en-
couraged Francis w. Parker said: mo
where on earth has child such advantages
for elementary education as upon a good
farm, where he is trained to love work and
to put his brains into work. The
child on the farm is made responsible for
something, for some care-taking, and out of
this responsibility grow trustworthiness,
habits of work, and a feeling of personal
power in all the essential elements of char.
acter." The School Garden in the hands of
a properly equipped teacher can be made to
combine for the pupils all the advantages of
farm life and school study and discipline.
AGRICULTURE Is NEEDED IN HIGH ScHooLs.
Should the boy from the farm be fortu.
nate enough to get into High School, here
again he finds that the subjects taught have
little relation to his interests and needs, I'M
less he has decided to abandon the farm and
prepare himself for some profession like
law or medicine. In fact four years spent
In high school as courses are usually ar
ranged may wean the boy away from the
farm, even II at the outset he entered sim
ply with the view of increasing his intelli-
gence and preparing himself in a general
way for any sort of life work. This defect
in present courses of study In the high
schools can best be remedied by the intro
duction of courses in Agriculture, Horticul-
ture, and Manual Training, and by making
them solid courses in the hands of a
teacher, who, in addition to good general
scholarship, possesses a sound knowledge of
the Science of Agriculture, or is himself pro-
fcient in the use of tools. Such courses
could include the study of soils, of plant
growth, horticulture, climatology and like
subjects. These courses, besides containing
much OF general scientific value, would nat