Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1914-05-08

some respects. it is. think it was twenty
years ago when first began writing about
the teaching of agriculture in the rura
public schools. believed then, and be
lieve now. that the way to make the rural
schools good, is to ruralize them. be-
lieve that the right way to make the rural
school interesting, is to base the teaching
upon the interesting things which surround
the boys and girls Of the country.
Now, nearly all Of the States of the Union
have since that time passed laws requir-
ing the teaching of agriculture in the rural
public schools. But do not find that in
very many places we have done any more
than to put another dry. hard, uninterest-
ing book into the hands of the children.
You cannot teach agriculture out of a
book. 1t reminds me of a story of a boy who
was in the bleachers at a baseball game,
and wasn't pleased with the way the
pitcher was delivering the ball. He yelled,
Take him out Take him out He can't
pitch He learned to pitch out of book T.
Well. the boy selected with diabolical
skill the most contemptuous thing he
could have said in his attack upon the
pitcher. If true, it was the worst, abso-
lutely the worst, indictment to be i'm
agined: but let me tell you, it isn't any
worse than the indictment against agri-
cultural teaching to say that it is done
solely out of book.
You know that no man can really learn
to farm out Of book He should use the
book in farming, but the book can only
supplement farming practice. 1t cannot
take the place of it.
So no teacher can teach agriculture out
of book. and will say to you that while
believe that the introduction of agrcul-
ture into the public schools even as book,
is better than nothing in the way of agricul-
tural teaching. there is surely better thing
than to teach the dry. hard books. In
States which have merely introduced the
agricultural book in the rural schools. we
have not given ourselves this better thing,
and we are not teaching our children as
they should be taught
We have added a lot of things to the
rural school curriculum since this little boy
went to school in central Iowa. They did not
use to teach algebra when went to school,
A great many additions to the old curricu-
lum of the Three RS have been put in.
Some are good, some bad. but whether or
not the school Of to-day is any better than
that of forty years ago, is. | think, grave
question. In the first place, in those days
the teachers stood higher in their commu-
mites than the average rural teacher stands
now. The job of teaching country school
ranked higher in the scale Of vocations
than it does now. A man could then teach
school for $25 month, and stand pretty
we'll But you couldn't get man to do it
now. He couldn't live. to say nothing of
living proudly. believe that in its dig
nifty and in its emoluments, compared with
the society in which they work. the rural
teachers of Kansas in 1914 are not as well
off as they were in 1870
You have people, no doubt. that are do
ing better work In some things than they
did in those days, but as compared with
what we know ought to be done, as COM
pared with the intellectual progress the
State has made, II the rural schools of
Kansas are as good comparatively as in
1870. then you have better schools here
then any State know of for in the great
column of occupations, rural school teach
ing stands lower to-day than il did forty
years ago in the United States. 1t is more
temporary. more Of a make-shift. Il doesn't
take hold as much upon the lives of the
people engaged in teaching as ii did forty
years ago. And this last is, after all. the
real test-what a worker thinks of his work.
Let me tell you one or two things that have
happened. You don't believe much. most
Of you. in things that are merely theoret-
ical. AS matter of fact. anything that
is true in theory, is also true in practice.
II theory is adopted. and an attempt is
made to work it out. and the attempt fails.
you should not condemn the theory until
you have investigated your practice Work
ability is a matter Of proper theory and
proper practice. If it is true in theory, il
is true in proper practice. But a man who
gets his living from the soil. and has seen
so many things offered to him as panaceas
and found that the fellow who offered
them would rather talk about something
else after fifteen or twenty years, wants a
practical illustration before he adopts a
new theory. will now give you practical
Illustrations OF my theory.
In Wright county. Iowa. we had Coun
ty Superintendent named Benson. Mr..
Benson sent out printed slip asking the
children in the rural schools to answer a
great many questions. Among these ques-
tons. and hidden in the rest, because per-
haps he did not want them to understand
that this was the important question, was
something like this What do you pro-
pose to do as your life work r. This went
out to some five or six hundred pupils in
the rural schools Over ninety-fve per
cent. of the girls and over eiehty-hve per
cent. of the boys, II remember the figures
correctly. declared that whatever they did
they would have nothing to do with farm
Ing when they began working for them
selves.
Think Of that, ladies' and gentlemen
Think Of the instability Of society in
which ninety per cent. Of the children have
already made up their minds against the
thing they are doing. and have fully de
termined to do something else What il
the object Of your farmingH What is there
in il for you. to till farms, and make homes
and work hard all your lives when Their,
are nine chances out Of ten that the verl
people for whom you wOrked-your chill
dran unttr daa raot Iouad nnao ,.,iIl d.aa.