Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-10-01

or these nlSn SCHOOLS. SOIne onc 10
ready to ask about the isolated boy
who is unable to get to one Of these
high schools, should it be located six
or eight miles from his home. The an
swer is, that in these common schools
of seven grades, well supplied with
efficient teachers, he will get more
teaching than he now gets in his So
called nine grades, frequently taught
by single teacher.
Training For the Farmers Son.
These rural high schools would have
from 25 to 75 pupils each. employing
from two to four teachers each. AS
the rural schools are now organized 1t
is very difficult to find school with
fifteen high school pupils in 1t, and
to undertake to support a high school
with fewer than fifteen pupils would
be waste Of money and energy. The
courses of study in the consolidated
high schools should be constructed to
meet the demands of the school. 1t
would be a fatal blunder to put In
them city school programmes. however
excellent they might be. The basic
culture studies must have place In
these programmes, for the farmer boy
and the farmer girl need the culture
subjects as much as any other class
of pupils. But in addition to these,
first class courses fitting for country
life should be given, for large ma
jority of these pupils will never reach
school Of higher grade. II they are
to became efficient men and women, to
become active citizens and productive
workers, they must receive their train
ing in these high schools. The boys
of these schools are to be the farmers,
the mechanics, the skilled laborers.
the business men, the thinkers and
projectors and men Of action Of the
next generation. Their training must
fit them; the city school course az or
ganized today will not fit them. The
efficiency Of the rural high school can
easily be made to outrank the city
high school as q means Of education, In
that the rural high school pupils can
more easily be trained to combine
brains and muscle. In these schools
the dignity Of labor can be infused Into
the life Of our young men and women.
Honest toll can again be given the
homage due 1t. Successful farmers
have said to me that they do not In
tend that their sons shall plough.
Not all ought to plough; we need
trained men in other vocations. But
the plough is not to be deserted sim
ply because it Is plough, nor Will II
be deserted or reluctantly followed
when farming shall have been made
profitable, and when the man between
the handles shall have unhitched his
little 700-pound mule, put two heavy
horses in its stead, mounted himself
upon that plough to plough and think
as he rides. Farming will not be
Stunned when labor has been dignified
by an infusion of insight into the
world Of thought and feeling. When
the farmer has received the training
that makes him the master Of the soil
"a prosperous man, man OF anairs'
man the equal Of his fellows In
the so-called learned professions, then
will he glory in his vocation.
What a Rural School Should Teach.
Farming is an art based upon several
sciences. Briefly speaking, the TAR
mer's school in addition to the culture
subjects already referred to, should
teach chemistry, botany, physics, COM
merciaI geography, economies and
farm accounts: The girls need to be
taught the chemistry Of cooking, the
laws Of sanitation and household ac-
counts, along with the necessary SUD
iects for culture and refinement BUS
iness men are sadly needed on the
farm, and business women are sadiy
needed in the home. The unbusiness-
like farmer, who leaves his tools IN the
field from one season to the next,
needs less to be taught how to increase
his yield Of cotton than he does the
common sense care Of tools. The
housewife who does not know how
much 1t takes to run her household
affairs per day or per week usually
lets her household run her.
Such a system Of rural schools as
I have outlined can be established and
maintained, If the people desire them.
Not a few will say that the expense
for their maintenance would be too
great. Such a system can be support
ed. II the people are willing to reduce
the present number of rural schools by
consolidation to 1000 return their
property for taxation at 75 per cent OF
its sale value and levy 2-mill tax IN
every district. It cannot be done 30
long as selfishness and jealousy at
tempt to put school house at the
door of every influential citizen, nor
so long as the country districts de-
pend upon the constitutional 3-mlii
school tax, nor so long as our people
return land for taxation at eight DOL
lars an acre, while the owner refuses
thirty dollars in the market.
In the minds Of hundreds OF our
country people has been cultivated the
idea that the country is supporting
the town schools. That is not true
and anyone desirous Of the facts can
easily obtain them. I have ALREADY
said that the towns build their school,
houses by issuing bonds, and that they
keep open their schools by local tax
alton. Let us examine the truth OF
the latter statement. There were last
year $50 special school tax districts
in the state, and 25S town school dis
tricts, nearly every one Of which mas
a local school tax. In round numbers
there were 300 country districts with
local levies, while more than l,26o
country districts depended entirely up
on the constitutional 3-mill tax. The
constitutional 3-mill tax is a county
tax, that is, it all goes into the coun-
ty school fund, then it Is apportioned
to the districts not as paid by them,
but according 70 enrolment in the dis
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