Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1912-11-22
THE EDUCATION OF TIE FARM


his work, Ct the education Of his boys
and girls in college and in the rural
school. We forget sometimes that the
farm itself gives ar'edueaticn in some
lines that c2nno. be easily surpassed.
We use the word education" in its
true sense, not Of acquired informa-
ton, not Of knowledge impaired or
gained from books, but of the devel-
opment of character itself. For. edu-
cation is not merely or mainly the
acquiring Ct Information, but the de-
velopment cf these traits Of charact
ter that will enable US to acquire in
formation for ourselves and use IL
wisely. In other words, the object Of
education. is primarily the develop
ment of character.
Now, farm life, because it is life on
a farm, tends to develop in the most
striking way some of the essential
elements of the really great charac-
ter. There is no excellence in this
world without labor, and the labor Of
the farm develops industry, the habit
Of work, perhaps not more than some
other callings, but l. develops it at a
time in life that this habit is easily
acquired and becomes permanent. One
, of the greatest things about the farm
is that there is always a job fitted
to the size of the boy, from the time
he is big enough to pick up corn cob
onward.
1t develops the habit. Of economy,
and prevents the opposite habit of ex.
travagance, for two reasons: The
farm boy is not plentifully supplied
with money, as he ought not to be,
and the opportunities for spending it
are rare as compared with the oppor-
tunities furnished even by the little
town, to say nothing of the city.
The farm educates the farm-born in
patience. The Apostle James recog-
nized this long ago when in commend
ing the habit of patience to the early
Christians he pointed to the farmer
an example: Behold, the husband
man waiteth for the precious fruit OF
the earth, being patient over it until
1t receive the early and latter rain"
We have to pillow and wait, sow and
wait, plant and wait. cultivate and
wait, for the sunshine and the rain.
Often we are disappointed. A drouth
may come, and we must study how &c
minimize its effects as much as pos
sible. Untimely frost may come. And
storms and hail may come. In all of
these We acquire the habit of pa
tience and perseverance and endur.
ance, fundamental traits of charao'
ter, which to a greater extent than
any education he has ever received
enable the farm-born to hold his own
in the struggle Of life, and often to
surpass those who have had greater
opportunities, but did not have the
education of the farm.
There is another advantage which
We will briefly outline: In every othel
line of business Of which We have any
knowledge, the present tendencies arr
toward specialization. Take medicine
we have specialists of the eye, Of
the ear, of the throat; We have spe
cialists on adenoids. on lung diseases
on kidney diseases We have special
lists in surgery, and particular branch
es of surgery. The man who becomes
a specialist, while knowing more thai
others about this one particular thing
is very apt TO regard this as tfC
great and only thing, and to lose tha
general culture and broadening habit
of thought which is the popularity Of
the all-around man. Take it in law:
Beginning with a general education
the lawyer specializes. He may take
corporation law, and refuse ID De re-
tanned on anything else. He may take
business law, marine law, or ma!
make a speciality CT passing on land
titles. When he once becomes a spe
cialist, to him that one particular
thing is all.
The tendency of the farm is just
the opposite, for the reason that the
very business Of farming, if It is tC
be successful, requires not specialists
but the opposite. 1t is true that VIZ
have had specialists in wheat farm
ing. Nature allows them to go so fal
and then says, stop; diversity, or
will sooner or later put you off the
farm. We have them in corn grow.
ing. We can to a certain extent con.
centrate our efforts on one particular
crop, or, so to speak, specialize; but