Daily Kennebec journal., 1910-12-23

periods of the year, the compensation
! is ample, but in too many cases, the
! teacher who is well paid for six or
! eight months of the year, must take
up canvassing, working her board or
! visiting her country cousins for the
remaining three or four months of the
! year in order to make both ends
meet In making demands. as the
order of Patrons of Husbandry is
prone to do. let us demand that our
teachers be paid living salary for Il
years work and demand of them ef-
ficiency, ability and value received for
the money we pay them.
| The curriculum of our public schools
is a problem for careful consideration.
1t must be comprehensive and vet not
overloaded. We are agreed on GER
tain fundamental studies for the de-
velopment of the intellect and for the
preparation of the child for an active
business life. but as to what shall con-
stitutc the work necessary to the
rounding out OF an education as we
have defined the term. as to what is
needed to blild Il foundation for Il
noble manhood and womanhood
which shall bring To Il high degree of
perfection the noblcr attributes inher-
ont in mankind. this work must be de-
termincd by educators and will vary
/ with the school and its environments.
Let this work in our rural schools
be spch as will develop in the child 4
love OF the beautiful and the good as
1t exists in the country such as will
bring the student in closer touch with
, nature. and the beauties and privi-
leges of rural life. Let this work in
oar country schools be made such that
every child coming under its influence
viii have broader view of life, a
higher and purcr type of enjoyment by
the introduction into his mind of ideas
pertaining to and arising from q fuller
knowledge of the intricate working of
the mysterious forces of organic life,
and the no less mysterious forces of
{ chemical and physical action in the in
organic world We may teach that the
germ OF the buried seed wakes to new
life: that the mysterious alchemy of
heat and moisture transforms the
shrivclcd kernel into a thing of life
blooming. fragrant, nourishing; that
the fields become white unto the har
vest and that We arc fed and clothed
with the usury Of the soil.
What more beautiful or elevating
material could be woven into the de-
vcloping mind of the child than Il
gradual knowledge and understanding
OF tn" mysteries Of vegetation. Every
step in plant life is full of inspiration,
interest and charm to the rejecting
mind and VIC sec the divine agency in
the modest lichen of the frozen North
as well as in the stately palm of the
tropical zone. Tho ephemeral cX-
iStcncc of the simplest form of vcgeta
ton affords as interesting a study as
the sturdy development of an oak of a
century's GroWth-in both, we read of
the infinite goodness of an Omnipotcnt
Creator. Teach the child TO observe
closely the unfolding of the buds in
the springtimc whence comes SO
quickly the verdant mantle that en-
vclops the woodland: the weaving of
the carpet by invisible hands that
cover our hills and valleys; the bloom
OF the fruit tree and the blush of the
ripcned fruit.
Teach them that all these are CO.
existent with rural life on the farm
and with agriculture: that the whis-
perinc oG the pines, the chirpinS of
the cricket and the melody Of the
icathcled songsters are essentially 4
pa, / Of tie farmers life.
We Go not believe in the introduce
tion "l any part of the so-called
scientific agriculture into our public
schools, rs whatever part of the
science OF agriculture that is available
in practical and successful farming
may be and should be acquired in our
IL nee I,os do
cided to take UP the profession of
farming. Pupils in our rural schools
should not be required to study the
science and art OF agriculture as it
pertains to the actual duties of farm
work any more than the pupils of the
city schools should be required to
study the mechanism and details of
the manufacture Of cotton cloth or
shoes. or the rudimentary technicali-
les of Il professional life Already too
many children have acquired a
knowledge of agriculture by expert
cnce, that most efficient Of teachers,
and the toll and drudgery of actual
farm work by hands too young and
minds unframed to see and ap-
preciate the beauties and advantages
of rural life have driven too many of
our children 10 tne transient SILtel
and temptation of city life. and too Of
| ten to poverty. suffering and sin.
The teaching Of the history OF aGri-
culture in our schools would be a
subject Of much interest and value for
| the knowledge it would impart relative
to the habits, customs and mode of life
of the different races and nations
which have ut different times stood at
| the head of the food producing pow
| crs. We find Il period of time extend
| ing over thousands of Years replete
with valuable and entertaining history
of an industry that has fed the world
since the days of the creation of man.
Even in these days of an over pro-
duction of text books we strongly rec
ommend an agricultural history to be
used as Il text book in our public
schools At one time ancient Egypt
furnished Rome 200 million bushels of
corn annually. The Israelites were
among the great agricultural nations
of antiquity, and Bible history tells US
! that at one time an invading army OF
coo. 900 soldiers with their wives and
| children were fed for months ON the