The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1912-03-28
Delivers Practical Address Before
Authorities of Stearns County
Rural Schools
WANTS HANDS TRAINED
Sets Forth Reasons Why Practical
Education Should be Intro
duCed in the Schools


the Sank Centre public schools, adj
dressed the rural school officers Sec
ton of the Northern Minnesota Edu-
cational Association. which met in st.
Cloud last week. AS Introductory
Supt. Aygarn said:
During the middle of the eighteen
tn century a change took place in our
industrial world which altered the
conditions of the working class for all
time to come. New inventions with
its magic wand sprang into existence
which multiplied thousand fold the
power Of the human hand. The
whole economic world was revolu-
toned. The little private homes and
cottages that had been used as fac
tories were abandoned. The money
of the capitalists was concentrat-
ed in the larger cities for the building
of huge industries. The common
people threw up their hands in ave.
and before they had recovered left
their farms and were streaming to
the cities for work andSthey have been
Hooking there ever MELVILLE new
. inventions, enlarged enterprises, in
creased prosperity, organization, con-
-centration of capital and cooperation
have made the commercial and manu-
featuring forces the all-powerful fac
tors in our economic world. Land
marks of great struggle stand along
the paths of history.
1.-The sole cause that has unified any
people has been economic necessity.
Necessity knows no law but itself.
1t is this same force of necessity
that will sooner or later alter farming
conditions for all time to come,-and
make the agricultural interest hold
the same rank and relation in bust
ness as other industries hold,-that is
farming must be made as agreeable,
attractive and profitable as other
work. granted that men possess bus
mess skill and a technical education"
Supt. Aygarn emphasized the i'm
portance of giving the boys and girls
the advantages of an industrial edu-
cation. He recognized three obsta-
cles in the way of bringing about this
result, namely:
The difficulty of securing modern
school houses.
The difficulty of securing and es-
tablishing higher mental efficiency in
the community.
The difficulty of providing facilities
and proper instruction for this work.
Supt. Aygarn made vigorous plea
for the boy and the grill in the modern
school, He held that the training of
the hand is of as great moment as
the training of the brain, for both
boys and girls. Organization and CO.
operation among the people of the
rural communities will, he held, give
the farmer boys and girls practical
education.
Supt. Aygarn named the organiza-
tion of farmers clubs as potent fac
tor in bringing about better methods
of instruction of the young. After
getting the people interested, he held
that the next step is to get course
of study and provide proper facilities
to accompany it. Proceeding, Supt.
Aygarn said:
Briefly, the course could be:
First, nature study or the science
of living things,-the study of birds,
insects, fungus growth and insectiv-
orous animals.
Second, practical agriculture the
study of plants, soil preparation of soil
for seed, seed selection, study of COM
mon weeds and study of farm re-
sources as orchards, corn, grain, pota-
toes and other farm product. Domes-
tic economy including cooking and
sewing: sanitary science and hygiene,
also practical problems In elementary
chemistry and physics.
Every school could begin this work
with very little effort and the cost
would be very small. Are you willing
to think about itP
Supt. Aygarn expressed the hope