Bryan morning eagle. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1898-1909, 1908-12-24

/ w - AfAhef SUM g. HAfr
tense OF system OF agricultural edu-
cation is so inadequate as to be sim
ply absurd.
What now should be done?
Before anything is done, complete
plan should be formerly, embracing all
grades of agricultural education. SO
that each institution as it is estab-
lished will be a component part of
one broad, co-ordinated system. What
principles now ought TO guide us in
planning our agricultural education for
the state?
!. In providing for education i'm
agriculture we should make use as
far as possible of the institution al
ready established. both those for agri.
cultural and those for general educa
uion so as not to waste the states
funds in needless duplication OF work.
,. Our several institutions for agri-
cultural education should not be lot
OF disconnected unco.ordinated schools.
but should form unified whole, the
several parts co-ordinated well with
each other and with the other educa-
tional institutions of the state. Only
thus can we have an efficient system
by a reasonable outlay of money. If
these principles are kept in mind, it
will be possible at a very moderate
expense to have in Texas within a
few years a co-ordinated system of
agricultural education by which ach
year hundreds of thousands o child.
rem shall get i.al M Iu ele-
mentary agriculture, tens of thous-
ands shall learn secondary agriculture.
thousands shall learn college grade
agriculture. and the always small
group of rarely gifted students and
professors who are competent for such
work shall pursue the highest uni
versity grade of scientific investiga.
tion of the most important unsolved
problems of agriculture
Starting at the bottom, the first
thing the state ought to do is to pro-
vide means of training the rural
school teachers in elementary agri.
culture, so that they can teach it eff
fectively in the regular rural schools.
The teachers could learn this as |
part OF their normal school course |
II department of elementary agri |
culture were established at these |
schools. Five thousand dollars for |
each of our three normals would |
meet this need and assure us. for the |
future, teachers trained in elementary
agriculture. For the training of our
present teachers there should be es.
tablished summer courses in elemen-
tory agriculture for teachers at the
three normals the College of Indus
trial Arts, the A. and NJ. College ard H
the University. These would cost
about $500 eaca. tits for total of
$4,000 year the state could have
elementary agriculture properly taught
to its 100000 rural school children.
Secondary agriculture requires lab.
and agricultural college
graduates for instructors. Further.
more, the students must have. along
with the high school agriculture. also
good general high school course of
study 1t has been proposed to es-
ablish one such agricultural high
schools. Georgia and Alabama have
several. The schools would cost
$4,000 per year each. for mainten-
nee AT this rate sixteen schools
would cost 100000 per year. The Wis.
onsin schools so far turn out about
en- graduates a year At this rate
We should have 100 graduates in
'eXas apiece. The number is wholly
inadequate TO the needs of the state.
nd the cost of this plan needlessly
Ugh. The plan has other serious
ELECTIONS to it. The only economic
nd democratic way to get an AIDE.
uH'' huulbSI VI AGRICULTURAL ll.n | Il
nhoos is to do what the state did
hen 1t introduced manual training
nd domestic economy into the cit S.
IS, l. e., make use of the existing local =
Ugh schools and merely add an agri-
lltural department to such schools.
hen all students who wish to do so
IN take these agricultural courses.
here are now hundred fairly good
Oh schools in the small villages OF r,
is state into which the state could nj
troduce teacher of agriculture and We
Divide facilities for work in labora. Oh
ries and in experiment and demon SC
ration plots. In addition, if tn next ca
5islature passes, as it probably will. we
bill making possible country rural SUI
Oh schools, there would be soon a
ndred county rural high schols in ele
Xas into which secondary agricul- of
e could be similarly introduced. If tur
state would grant a subsidy of
GOO per year each, to such county leg
] village high schools as would es. edt