The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-11-07
PROPER CLUBS
IN THE SCHOOLS
SUPT. EDWARD ERICKSON OF
WALSH COUNTY SCHOOLS
SPOKE ON KIND OF oRGANIZA-
TONS COUNTY sUPERTNTENp-
ENTs SHOULD PRooTE.

superintendent section this after
noon. 1t was the effort of Superin,
tendent Erickson of Grafton on thu
sort Of organizations to be encourages
in the schools.
'Supt. Edward Erickson of the WALSH
county schools, said regarding the or
ganization which county superintend,
ents should promote:
L h question which this sub.
Ject presents, that is: What organiza,
tlons should county superintendent:
promote? / wish to quote as answer
this sentence from an address giver
by theodore Roosevelt: Every thing
by Theodore Roosevelt: 'Eeverythins
growth in the open farming country Of
SUCH institutional and social move.
ments as will meet the demand of the
best type Of farmer
we all know that the movement OF
the population has been and is from
the country to the towns and cities
When u nation began it's independ-
ent existence the bulk of the popula'
ton resided in the farming districts
what Few towns there WERE, we're mere
s~ea-coast towns, trading and fishing
ports. The chief industry of the coun-
try was agriculture. Now, only about
o~ne-third Of the people remain on the
farm.
There has been an overdevelopment
of the cities and a consequent aban-
donnent of the country.
This, however, we know from his
tory, has been true Of every nation in
the past. Each civilization has. at one
stage Of it's development comprised a
large portion of rural people. But
soon the urban movement begins, until
all are living in villages, towns and
| pJfi6G Tlr oil a m ~ EnrnrN IN n ,,,nr
azine article entitled Is Extravagant
America Riding to a Roman Fall,
says:
There never was in history a
richer, more knowing, more powerful,
more daring period than ours.
Therefore, to many it will seem
strange to think that in the midst of
such %splendors there may be ~re-enact-
ed that terrible ancient story Of the
last centuries of the Roman empire,
which was one of. the darkest and
most deplorabIe episodes in the his
tory Of the world.
"'And, yet, it is beginning to be re-
enacted. The SNOWY wealth and the
clamourous triumphs Of modern civil
ization do not conceal, on the contrary
they reveal, to him who studies in
philosophiC spirit the fall Of the Ro-
mai empire, this r~c-beginning of his
tory. In truth there are between the
two civilizations and the two epochs
enormous differences. But among
these differences, there are some sim
ilarities, the most important is the
malady that unmade the great body
of the empire, and that slowly, surely,
subtly, insiduously, begins to infest the
world Of today-the excess of urban
ISM
This historian sees the analogy
between the first two centuries of the
Roman empire and the world of to-
day. The germs of disease hat de-
stroyed the Roman empire are infest-
ing the world of today, also.
This malady, however, is better
understood now than formerly. The
germs of the disease have been iso-
lated, the proper serum has been dis
covered and the maladH, cal be check
ed In the past all education has beer
for city life. There has been aroused
a hatred for rural life rather than a
love for it and there has been a want
Of social and economic opportunities
in rural life.
my neighbor's boys had to have one
of his legs amputated on account Of
tuberculosis. The first thing he said
after recovering from the anaesthesia
was, We'll, now l know for sure ]
won't have to be a farmer He said
it with a smile, too. 1t seemed to him
better to have only one leg and five
in town than to have two legs and
live in the country. This perhaps was
an extreme aSe but in a. general way
1t illustrates what love the boys have
for farm life.
There must first be aroused in the
children while in school a love foI
rural life. William Penn says in
Fruits Of Solitude: The country life
iS 70 bn NrofArrn1. F1~ fh4-~
the works of God; but in cities little
else than the works of men; and the
one makes a better subject for oul
contemplation than the other. Al
puppets are to men and dolls to chill
dren, so is mans workmanship t
Gods: We are the picture. He thu
reality.
"tGod's works declare his power
wisdom and goodness; but man!
works for the most part, his pride
folly and excess The one is for use
the other. chiefly for ostentation ant
lust. ."' I..'
1.-The country is both the philo,
sophers garden and his library il
which he reads and contemplates the
power, wisdom and goodness of God.
ut is his food as well as study,
and gives him life as well as learning
A sweet and natural retreat from
noise and talk. and allows opportuni
ty for reelection, and gives the hes
subjects for it,"
IF an attitude of mind like this to
wards the country could be aroused
in the children while in school tn,
country life problem would be largel.
solved.
william Penn also criticised on
course Of study about 200 years ago
He. wrote: We are in pain to max,
them scholar not men,. " TIL
first thing obvious to children is wha
Is sensible, I'M that we make no par
of their rudiments. We press thei
memory too soon, and puzzle then
with words and rules; to know gram
mar n rhetoric and a strang,
tongue or two, that it is ten to on,
may never be useful to them; leaVin,
their natural genius to mechanical
and physical or natural knowledge
uncultivated and neglected; which
would be Of exceeding use and pleas
ure to them through the whole cours
Of their life. To be sure, language
are not to be despised Or neglected
But things arc still to be preferred
tools and Instruments of play, shap
ing, drawing, framing, and building
etc, than getting some rules Of pro
priety of speech by heart; and thos
also would follow with more judg
ment and less trouble and time.
Mankind is very slow to learn. I
takes us a long time to catch UP witt
and realize what great leaders hay
thought and said.
1.-THE rural school must become
center Of agricultural effort. The edu
cation of the country boy or girl o
today must be something not of re
4 t-~L - 49, L. ~ -IEs~ ~ A- 49, n ..1 F. 49, =.