Charlevoix county herald., 1910-11-19

eQuCatlOn Tor the tarln. Ieacn nlm
the interesting and important things
OF farm life. and he will generally
! choose the farm as his home"
III nearly 500 communities. chiefly
in Indiana. Massachusetts, Ohio. Flor
ida and North Dakota. the new
schools are besieged daily by the
scores CT children tumbling from the
incoming carryalls. Several thousand
OF the little district schools, unable
to offer reasonable excuse for cx-
istence in the face OF the new COM
petition. have yielded their preroga-
lives to the united institution, and
have been gathered under It's spa
cious roofs.
It Is u powerful force that is
aligned against the little school
house in the lane" Prof. Willet NJ.
Hays, assistant secretary of agricul.
turo and "a leader in the new educa-
| ton movement says:
The desolate rural school. stand
ing on the bleak plain, is too un-Amer-
lean TO endure the changes of the
| times. it must he transformed into a
part OF our beautiful outdoors. and
It must be made more efficient in
general studies. I'm culture. and IN
vocational training for country life"
Soil Analysis and Stock Judging.
So education seems to have taken
| on n new meaning for the parents Of
the country children. The new sys-
| tenn teaches all that the old one did.
all the important studies that the
| city school offered; all the phases OF
| literature, art, history and science
needed to round out the American
, citizen.
But it does much more. 1t adds to
these sudies. the vocational training
| for the farm" The new schoolhouse,
instead OF standing on barren lot
| at a wind-swept four corners, is sur.
rounded by Il carefully plated farm
OF ten acres or so. III the more ad-
vanced OF the schools experimental
buildings have been erected. small
| fruit and forest tracts laid out, minia-
ture dairy and poultry plants con
structed, and experimental work OF
all kinds launched.
The boys are taught stock judging,
| breeding, crop rotation, scientific
analysis OF the soil. the keeping OF
farm accounts, and kindred subjects
Contests are organized between rival
groups OF students to see what results
can be obtained in the experimental
plats, and also in practical work on
| for af hnO
away from the school not n confused
mass OF Information that he cannot
apply to his daily affairs. but spc
cific idea that certain things can be
evolved from the piece OF land hc
has been working on for years. He
becomes intensely interested in his
work and studies, and his eyes are
opened not only to the knowledge
OF the world in the ordinary sense bu,
TO the great possibilities OF the land
with which he is most familiar and In
daily contact.
The new school has 200 pupils, in
stead of 20 1t has a lecture hal
where spelling bees. class programs
and amateur plays are carried out
and where the neighboring farmers
families gather for community
meetings, lectures, and entertain
;ments.
The whole neighborhood, often EN-
bracing 200 farms. becomes m I'm
mense laboratory for the school. Ir
the experimental farm surrounding
the building plats are laid out to re
semble the leading farm OF the neigh
borhood.
Great cooperative enterprises. sucl
as creamcries. bakeries, laundries. n,
we'll ms the churches and the TOWNSHIP
buildings, IL is predicted. will I'm tn,
near future be located about tn,
school grounds.
In many sections the farmers anc
their children furnish the conveyarco
to carry the neighbors' children [,
school; but in the majority OF dis
: lish regular carryall service. main
tained at public expense.
Indiana leads the way AT presen
in the progress CT the new schoc
movement In almost every count
in the state the school wagons nr
bringing crowds OF children daily {
, the central buildings. and the 'Hoos
, ier schoolmaster" Is OF dltfeFen
| type than generation ago.
= Massachusetts is second. Ohio thirC
; and Florida and North Dakota col
, test for fourth place. In almost ever
| state. with the exception OF some q
!. the sparsely settled western ones. th
/. farming districts are either cxper
mcuting with the new system. OF aay
g proven IL complete success