The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-07-30
WHY NORTH DAKOTA
y SHOULD TEACH AGRICUL TURE
Second Prize Essay in the State Bankers Contest on Subject
Of What Should Be Taught to Those Who
VIII Leave School in Grades

Ernest A. Francis Of the Williston
high school was the winner of the sec
ond prize given Dy the executive COM
mittee of the North Dakota Bankers
association for the best essay on the
subject, What Course of Study Will
Give the Best Practical Results for
the IS Per Cent of Students in Our
Public Schools Who Never Pass the
Eighth Grade.
This was also Mr.. Francis gradua-
ton grafton at the Williston high
high school, 1t is as follows:
4 The chief occupation of the people
of this state is agriculture. The pop
tulation is mainly engaged in farming.
North Dakota, although having some
coal lands, will never be classed as a
mining region. Because of her topo-
graphical position her manufacturing
industries will not attain to much i'm
portance. But her broad and fertile
prairies are a great grain producing
area. The eastern part of the United
States is thickly populated and crowd
ed with manufacturing establishments,
the climate of the south is adapted to
fruits, cotton, and tobacco; other
northern states are suited to mineral,
timber, and stock raising. Our state
is destined to be the great food pro-
ducing region for the whole continent.
North Dakota is purery an agricultural
state.
So a great majority of the school
children of today win eventually take
up the vocation of farming as their
chosen profession. Therefore the COM
mon school grades must adapt their
course of study to meet the
needs OF farming popula-
ton. Eighty-five per sent Of the boys
OF the state never graduate from the
eighth grade. Now the object of an
education besides obtaining general
knowledge should be to At pupils for
some occupation that is to be their
life work. The branches taught in the
common schools are necessary in their
place but they do not contain the
whole sum of an education. A student
should specialize in that subject in
which he is particularly interested and
so if he is to become farmer he
should be given chance to specialize
in agriculture.
AS conditions are today hundreds of
boys are leaving school yearly and en-
tering the profession of farming who
have never been given the opportunity
to study in school that which would
properly fit them for their profession
as farmers. In this respect the COM
mon schools Of the state have failed.
The students leaving these schools are
not competent to fight life's battles.
We have an agricultural school at
Fargo but only few have the means
necessary to obtain a course of in
struction there. Besides the equip
ment will accommodate only small per
cent of those who should have the in
struction. Many pupils are not adj
vanced far enough in school work to
enable them to take up the work at
the agricultural college. So this course
of study In agriculture, 10 do the most
good, should be adopted by the com
mon grades.
Great stress should be laid on arith-
metic and its application in a business
way to farming. Farming is never
successful unless 1t is conducted as
any other business In a systematic
manner. When farming is put upon a
paying basis, when it is run in a bust
ness like way, there will be no occupa-
tion that will give more pleasure and
profit than agriculture.
During President Roosevelt's admin
Istration, a country life commission
was appointed which was to study the
conditions of country life and the
problem Of how to make 1t more attrac-
tive Recently too there has been
much discussion on inducing the coun-