The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1907-06-28
POSSIBILITIES OF THE A6RI-
CULTURAL HIGH SCHOOL.
Extracts From prof. w. j. Spill
mans Speech At Calvert Agri-
cultural High School Clos
ing Exercises, May %,
1OnT

The fact that 40 per cent OF our population
which actually live on the fam furnish some
thing like 20 per cent o. our efficient leaders in
all lines of activity, taken in conjunction with
the fact that this 40 per cent of our population
have miserably poor school opportunities as com
pared with the 60 per cent who do not live on the
farm leads me to believe that the actual work Of
the farm has enormously high value in the de-
yelopment of intellectual strength, character and
efficiency.
You have a good school here. 1t is young yet
and will grow Let me tell you my plan of an
Agricultural High School:
Throughout the high school course four reel
tations periods are provided for. One of cheese
periods relates to practical agriculture, the other
three to ordinary academic studies. Of these
three one will naturally be devoted largely to
mathematics throughout the course; another to
language, literature and history. In this con-
nection may say that l think our high school
pupils waste great deal of time in the so.called
study of literature so much SO, that our high
school graduates have very little knowledge Of
the English language, having acquired instead Of
it smattering knowledge of English literature
The third recitation period, according to the
plan have in mind, would be devoted to science
and one language. There ought to be oppor-
tunity to give at least two years work in Latin,
German, French or some other language.
The recitation PERIOD ifforty minutes in length,
should be accompanied by at least three hours
practical .work daily Clustered about the high
school should be small industrial plants repre-
senting all the types of farming which it is des-
irable to encourage in the vicinity of the school
These plants should be conducted on a com
mercial basis. During the first two years of high
school work the three hours a day of practical
work should consist of labor in these industries
conducted under the most careful instruction and
done with the object of learning how to do the
various operations in these industries in the most
perfect manner. All of this work should be done
under the immediate supervision of an instructor,
and it should be carefully graded and the grade
should include the interest taken by the student
in his work and the general efficiency OF the
student as workman. During these two years
the student would have an opportunity to do
work in all of the plants.
The class room work in agriculture during this
time should be intimately related to the practical
work the student is doing For instance, while
the student is working on the GARY farm he
should be taught as much as may be of the prin-
cipal involved in feeding and in the care and
management of COWS. He should also be given
instructions ON cropping system for dairy farms.
And while the student is engaged in the other
plants as a aborer the elias room work in agri-
culture should similarly be related to the work OF
those plants
During the third year of the high school the
practical work of the student would be that OF
instructor of the first and second year students
in their practical work. The instructor, would
accompany the student in their work; and while
tot op1 Nv
plain to them the object of the operation per
formed and the best manner of doing it. During
this year the student learns to manage men, an
exercise which rapidly developes efficiency and
self-confdence.
During the fourth year the practical work con-
siss in assuming the responsibility for the entire
management of one of the industrial plants.
There should, of course, be some member of the
faculty charged with the general oversight of
each plant, and the student superintendent
should keep in intimate touch with this member
of the faculty. AS soon the student has clearly
grasped the management of one plant he is trans
ferred to another so that during the year he has
had chance to outline the plans of operation for
each OF the plants connected with the schools
At the end of a four-years course OF this charac
ter the student ought to be well prepared for col
lege while at the same time his training has been
such that he is competent to take charge of a
farm and earn perhaps more than he could earn
under ordinary conditions in the city am con.
strained to believe that course of this kind
W ould be superior to the courses now offered in
our best high schools. am aware that those
who have been brought up on orthodox pedagogy
may hesitate to accept the value OF a course like
that have outlined. 1 think, however, that it
, is an advance on present methods from peda-
gorical stand point
The tendency of our whole educational system
has been so persstently away from manual labor
and education has become so general that we
have almost reached a crisis, especially in the
matter of farm labor Ibeeve that a certain
amount of manual labor is normal and healthfu
and that it ought to be a portion of the school
work to get best results.
W. J. SPLLLMAN,
Agrieulturst, U. s. Depart. of Agriculture.
CALVERT AGRICULTURAL HIGH SCHOOL,