Newark post., 1910-07-20
CONTINUED from last week. J

To do this it will maybe be necessary
to remodel nearly our whole scheme of
education. 1t is top heavy now, uil-
practical, mischievous much of it worse
than useless, The kindergarten should
get the child early in life The next
grade should continue the kindergarten
spirit. The child should never again
find thought separate from action.
Education should not mean words TN
r lated to deeds. The child should be
led step by step from one DELIGHTFUL
task to another, learning nature study
learning OF soils and plants and ami
mails in the country schools, in the
good centralized rural schools that are
surely coming some day and that soon
They should learn at the same time to
work in wood and to forge iron, to
graft trees. to lay bricks. The girls
should learn nearly all that the boys
learn. adding the art of making bread
and the delights and mysteries of
needle work
Thus is the inquiriug mind of the
child led easily along from step to step,
never anywhere a task to be dreaded
at each step, instead of a task delight
fully fascinating problem. something
that the young mind will explore with
the eagerness that it does the wild
, woodland that it penetrates or the
first time. There is little or 40 value
i'll pursuing study that is a tedious
and painful task. If thing is worth
while, if it is related to life. if it is
presented in the right way. it is only a
delight to pursue it to the end
Other lands have made beginnings,
taught lis the way. In France it is said
that there are 10000 schools where
the elements Of agriculture are taught.
schools with grades attached to them
Is America the most advanced Of
Nations? Do we produce the most
aw-ablding, industrious. beauty-loving,
kindly. reverent common people. Do
you know that the despised Italian, the
''dago' at home lives in a neatly white
washed cottage over which are trained
flowers. He has no weeds about him.
he keeps his garden as God meant man
should keep garden The Hungarian
and Polish peasants dwell in neat,
clean. cleaning white cottages with
flowers and vines, they are law-abiding,
sober, honest, kindly people They are
clean, moral, industrious. Life in
become uncivi. rude, cold. selfish.
grasping. Is our civilization all that it
ought to be when it spoils the good
that is in men who come to our shores?
In Denmark the scholmaster is the
great man. the honored man of the
village He is second father to every
child They hold him in peculiar es-
TEEN and reverence. The school houses
are good. The schoolmaster takes his
little flock with him on excursions now
and then. the State furnishes transpor-
tatiun free for the school, providing a
special car for them. They go to visit
the seashorc. to visit forest, to visit
A farm or dairy. At their destination
the Master marshais them in orderly
array. like little soldiers they march
along the highway or through the
streets. The Master bids halt, he
explains to them the significance OF
this interesting thing or that wherever
they may be. At night he marches
them back to their car and they go
home again, as happy as chill
we'll be. and wiser for their davs out
ing. Do we put men Of high character
at the head of our schools' Do we
give peculiar respect and honor to the
schoolmaster
Now. TO sum up: what is it that |
suggest is worth doing for country
people? First. to teach them to make
their lands fertile That problem of
fertility is not a difficult one. is easily
solved. 1t requires only energy. faith
and some money. \ good step in this
process would be to establish plenty Of
country banks such as are already in
use in parts of Maryland, and to teach
the farmers to use the money freely in
their business 1t needs money to
build soils rapidly and assuredly there