Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-27

| lH HHfe3i arranging TO 0Olu IT'S stlIliueli
- III sessions in Indianapolis, be-
lna.zz1-g ginning March 1 and contin-
uing four days. Upon this
body of men devolves the work OF
planning the most effective admints-
tration of the laws of the states as
| they relate to the schools. Expert
/ administration or superintendent is
a comparatively new thing. The Of
| fee of county superintendent long has
been political more than educational.
Today the aim is to have every teach
er backed up by a strong superintend-
ent. Even in the rural communities
these superintendents are being select
ed more for their availability as
trained school workers than as poll
ticians to be rewarded for service.
Perhaps the most important move
ment in the school world, from ma
tional standpoint, is the effort to teach
scientific agriculture in the country
schools. OF course this was impossible
so long as the little red school house
remained the expression of American
educational tendencies. No teacher
could impart even a smattering of ag-
riculture in an ungraded school where
he had to run the gamut of instruction.
But the recent success of the effort to
consolidate the rural schools, and to
transport the children to and from
them, has been followed by a move
ment to teach agriculture in them.
Assistant Secretary Hays of the de-
partment of agriculture says there are
100000 little red school houses in the
United States, two-thirds of which
are situated in communities where
farming is the principal occupation.
He believes that the 100000 situated
among farmers could be consolidated
;-,+o hot cainnfifiP opriplll-
ture could be taught in each of them.
In these times of high prices it is
interesting to note what effect such a
consolidation and course of instruction
would have upon the production of
staple crops in America. 1t is con-
servative estimate that the technically
trained farmer can get one-half more
out of his soil than the man who oper-
ates his farm by main strength and
awkwardness. But suppose he got only
one-fourth more out of his operations?
He would add more than 250 100000 to
the annual wheat crop, 800 000,00
to the corn crop and more than 3,000,-
900 bales to the cotton crop. The total
increase on these three crops alone,
therefore, would be worth more than
billion dollars at current prices-and
these do not constitute more than half
the products of the farm. And it is
inevitable that such increases would
force prices down, so that the world
could live without spending every
thing it makes on its living.
The growing demand for teachers of
agriculture has meant a corresponding
demand for higher courses in that
branch of study, and many of the col
leges and universities are beginning
to make a feature of courses in it. DR..
T. o. Heatwole of the University of
Maryland is seeking to have estab-
lished in Baltimore a great school of
technology, modelled after the Massa-
chusetts institute, where southern
youths may be trained in the higher
branches of technical education.
Among these branches, of course, is
agriculture. He takes the view that
if the south Is to develop to its full
industrial possibilities it must have
a great school where its men can be
fitted for leadership in the solution of
it's Industrial problems.
While the possibilities of agricultural
education are so great, it is interesting
to note that the people spend $29 per
capita for tobacco and liquor and only
$3.50 for education. They spend 81, ,000,-
900 for perfumery, $4,000, 900 for
anu SOud WdIeIS, s4ol,UUU,UUU
confectionery, and only 2,000 900 for
school books What might be the result
if the nation were to reverse the pro-
portion and spend $3.50 per capita for
drinks and tobacco and $29 for edu-
cation?
Open-air schools for tubercular chill
dren are among the new developments
in the educational world, eight cities
now having such schools The chill
dren who are found to be suffering
from tuberculosis are segregated and
sent to these schools just as many
days as the weather viii permit. 1t has
been found that the little sufferers
themselves are immeasurably benefited
and that at the same time it serves as
great protection for other children.
Nearly all important cities are be-
ginning to consider the health of the
children. Statistics recently We're
gathered from 800 leading American
cities, with a population of 22,000,0o0
and an enrolment of 100000. OF these
211 have examinations to discover the
presence of transmissible diseases, 234
make examinations for defective vision,
III for breathing troubles and 119 for
bad teeth. The legislature of Washing
ton has passed a law providing that no
school shall be built hereafter on
site which affords less than sixty square
feet of playground for each pupil.