Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1910-06-18
AGRICULTURE IN
RURAL SCHOOLS
Prize School Art Gle From "PracticaI
Farmer" Awarded to Miss Kitalena
Shaw Walker.

Time was when the conscientious
teacher thought her mission was TO
educate the children away from the
farm; who aspired to see her pupils
enter trades or professions, store or
office, anything rather than remain on
the farm, and thought she was using
the highest incentive when she said:
Are you content to become nothing
but a farmer?" Small wonder that
many Of the boys who remained tillers
Of the soil felt in their hearts that
they were failures, appearing half
ashamed Of themselves or affecting
defiant Indifference.
But to borrow the words of one of
our State instructors, Country peo-
pie have at last demanded that they
shall say what shall be taught their
own children. in their own schools.
built and supported by their own
money" and of all subjects added in
recent years to the rural school cur
riculum, agriculture is the wisest
choice. Most rural teachers Justly
feel that their program is already very
much congested, but the teacher win
some way find time for the subject in
which she is deeply interested. To the
writer this new subject came as an in
spiration. II was near my heart, and
though ! was loath to pose as al
teacher of agriculture, being a little
afraid, Notwithstanding our instruc-
tors statement, that the parents
would look askance upon book farm
ing and think themselves capable of
giving all necessary instruction in that
line. and that my duty was confined 10
other subjects, l still Determined to do
my best. | knew that | could learn a
great deal from those twenty boys
and girls, and together we could seek
out more. One boy especially in
whom no one had ever aroused much
interest in anything commonly dis
cussed in a school room, l hoped TO
impress with a sense of the impor-
lance and dignity due his future life
work, for he was heart and soul a son
of the soil. SO at the first recess af-
ter he appeared-he was a big boy and
entered late-I said:
We'll, Joseph, have you finished dig
ging potatoes?"
How did they turn out?"
Then followed an animated discuss
ion over diner pals of the yield of
every farm in the neighborhood.
Martin Baker had the biggest crop
of ALL someone volunteered.
Eyes, he plowed under a big growth
of clover
"And sprayed three or four times
What mixture did he use?' ] ask
ed. No one knew exactly, nor did
they suspect this as an advance les
son, but they brought me the answer.
At every opportunity we discussed
farm topics, selection of seed, plant
ing, harvesting, neutrality-suspicious.
leaving a question with them, but new
err suggesting that l was aspiring to
teach them farming. At the request
of one of the boys who was getting -
up a club. | added another farm paper
to my list. and by referring frequently
to some of it's articles made sure that
it was being read.
Never a day passed that something
relating to our hobby did not find a
place in one or more r~ecitations. In
arithmetic the problems dealing with
practical farm doings appeal especial
ly to boys, and those which show the
advantage of modern methods, as com
putting cost of spraying and conserva-
tive gain, application of fertilizers, /