The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1909-04-09
rural school until it is evolved into
something better.
cd Pun Gives Power.

quate equipment will educate in
agriculture, manual training, and
domestic art In a degree worthy OF
the continued effort necessary
for its establishment. In the mean
time we should do what we can
without such facilities In organiza-
ton and equipment. This brings me
Ito my subject.
Discussion Of education in agricul-
lture, manual training, and domestic
art has been confined largely to spe-
Icial schools of agriculture, manual
training, and home economics or to
high schools provided with special
courses of study, and necessary facili-
ties for carrying on the work. But
these schools are SO few, and for sew
eral decades will be SO few, that
while one rural youth attends such
a school, scores Of his neighbors go
mo farther with their education than
that provided by the home school,
where, from lack of proper facilities,
education for the home life Is neg
Elected. The schools provided with
agricultural laboratories, manual
training and domestic art equipment
will continue to grow in favor and to
one of such schools there are hum
dreds Of rural, town and city schools
where this work, however much de-
sired, is not introduced because of
lack of what is considered necessary
funds and equipment and teachers
especially trained for the work.
AS in the consolidated school prop
osition, we can wait and watch and
work for ideal conditions and thus
aim to shift responsibility, but the
better course is to work for ideal
conditions and at the same time
make the best use of real present day
conditions.
am reminded of a teacher who
taught the rural school over in Floyd
county, Iowa, where, several years
ago, j occupied a pupils desk and
cultivated my ambition to achieve
greatness. She could not utter a
single musical note but she cleared
the way and gave the school an OPP
portunity to sing. And she discov-
cred and brought to light more hid
den music than any former teacher
ever knew existed in the souls of
that score of country boys and girls.
Singing books, charts, instruments
and singing teachers seem to be
necessary adjuncts to prescribed
courses in musical training, but
soul music and heart expression
should not remain bottled up be-
cause of d lack of these helpful
agencies. Give the natural tenden-
cies chance to develop, then the
need for devices and means for full
development will be felt and proper
provision made for supplying them.
Since the one-room rural school
must for yet many years play an inn
portant part in the education of the
people of rural communities; and
since it must be the rural school and
its cooperative agencies through
which a desire for better things can
be created and where that desire
will lead to action that will secure
better things, our part is to bring to-
the rural school those influences
which will reach into present actual
conditions, do good along the way,
and lead to better things.
So long as the people are led to,
or are permitted to, cling tenaciously
to the three RS to the exclusion of
other educative influences, the rural
school in its old form will remain in
the background of modern develop
ment. The rural community can and
will have as good a school as 1t
wants. The capitalization of the
rural school has it's beginning in the
changing of the attitude of the peo-
pie toward their need To see the
way to supply such need is not only
the battle begun, but the battle won.
The teaching of agriculture in
rural schools has not brought the re-
suits hoped for and confidently ex-
pected. There are two strong gen.
eral reasons for this. First, too
many farmers do not feel the need
1f. such instruction.; second, too many
are not prepared to properly
leach agriculture.
A teacher properly supplied with
and the power Of right
application can in one year make
NE study Oh agriculture q tuS luooI
popular educational work in the COM
nunity. Another teacher can in less
han one year, by attempting to teach
agriculture, cause it to become UNI
as an educative force,
as subject, and despised
is a task. |
The unsuccessful teacher of agri-
culture generally makes one or more
# the following mistakes:
\. He fails to have the pupil and the
patron approach the subject with
the proper kind and degree of in
terest.
!. He fails to begin to teach and to
continue to teach in proper order,
the right subdivisions of the sub
ject as applied to the community.
!. His lack of knowledge Of the sub
ject or of skill in it's presentation
invite confusion and failure.
7. He fails to utilize the means at s
hand for doing the things that can Y
be done in the particular locality s
at the particular time. II
What ] have said and shall say APP !
lies as forcibly to domestic art and !
o manual training as to agriculture, :
nd recognizes general conditions, the ,
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