Bridgeton pioneer., 1913-11-20
AGRICULTURE FOR
SCHOOLMA'AM
Necessary For Certificate h
Nineteen States.
DEMAND FOR TEACHERS


Course. In Scientific Farming Ha.
Increased at Rate of Seventy.six a
Month During Last Two Years.
Nineteen states now require that an
examination in agriculture must be
passed before teachers may obtain
their certificates. according to a bul.
letin just issued By the department
of agriculture. entitled Agricultural
Training Courses For Employed
Teachers" This. the bulletin says, is
recently been given to agricultural
education throughout the country. In
the two years ending March. 1912, the
number of institutions giving courses
in agriculture increased at a rate Of
more than seventy-six a month, and
the total number grew from 1853 to
2,575.
Now that nineteen states require, by
law. the teaching Of agriculture in the
common schools. the demand for
teachers of the subject is constantly
growing.
Normal schools" the bulletin says
''are introducing courses Of agriculture,
and many agricultural colleges are Of
fering special lines of work to meet
this demand. Still. there are hardly
enough teachers for the secondary
schools and the special schools Of
agriculture 1t has been the object Of
the Office Of experiment stations to
discover. by investigation. just how
teachers already employed may ac-
quire the training required to enable
them to teach the elementary phases
Of agriculture.
Summer Course Popular.
The most popular as we'll as the
most efficient means of giving this
training is the summer course offered
by a college or normal school. The in
struction is usually of a high class.
and adequate equipment and appara
tus for laboratory and field work are
usually available.
There are also special short courses
in agriculture offered in some institu-
tons during the regular school session
usually the spring term.
The Agricultural and Mechanical
College of North Carolina holds a spe-
cial May school, for teachers. at
which agriculture is taught. After
noon, evening and Saturday classes in
agriculture during the regular school
year are offered at Columbia univer-
sity in New York city.
''The study of agriculture by CORE
spondence has grown rapidly in favor
during the last few years." says the
bulletin. The expense incident to a
correspondence course is usually small,
but this method has its disadvantages.
AS there is considerable danger of the
students getting incorrect ideas on the
more complex questions which arise.
Tnere are at present, however,
throughout the United States and its
territories about twenty-five state in
stitutions and FIVE private schools in
which some regularly established cor
respondence work may be done along
this line. Many of the courses in the
state institutions are free to residents
of the state except for the cost of text
books and postage.
Offer of Reading Glasses.
Reading classes also are offered by
several state agricultural colleges
which do not conduct regular CORE
sp0ndence work. These courses are
intended rather for farmers and farm
ers' housewives than for teachers, al
though teachers are encouraged to en-
roll as WE'LL"
The bulletin announces that the de-
partment of agriculture has prepared
several reading courses of its own free
publications for those who might de-
sire an agricultural reading course, but
who have not the time to seek out
their own material or might wish TO
avoid the expense of purchasing the
books.
The lists of reading for this work
have been compiled in view of the
great increase in demand for agricul-
tural training in the past three years.
They will enable all who have the in
clination and any spare time to follow
out thorough course. the publca-
tions being supplied free by the de-
partment.
Eight courses are offered, which COW
er thoroughly the subjects treated.
They are as follows: Agronomy. ami
NAL husbandry, horticulture. forestry,
agricultural engineering. agricultural
technology, agricultural economics and
agricultural education
Irterested In New Island