Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-04-21

rGcuItute, II HAY OS vi IuISF CS1 ~
readers OF the Star-Bulletin TO pie
sent a general statement OF the mean
ing and nature OF extension Work, 10
ether with something CT the attitud
OF the College OF HaW ali toward such
work.
The definition work IN
agT iculture comprises all educational
efforts at the homes and on the prem
ises of the country and plantation
people the conducting Of local dem
constructions and schools, the holding
of conventions in the localities and
at the college itself, such admilistra-
! tion at the institution as the Organl-
cation of the work required, and such
other efforts as center directly in in
terest away from the college. The
! farm and laboratories CT the college
must be used for the working out of
many OF the problems that are
! brought back from the farms and es-
Adjustments of the people, for very
many OF the questions that arise in
the extension work in the field can
be settled only by working them out
under conditions of control.
Extension work is welfare work.
and is properly a part Of the college
that is maintained by the people for
the service Of the people. The early
stages of extension work are now
past; it is not exhortation, nor the ad-
vertising of the college, nor publicity
work for the purpose OF securing stu
dents. 1t is a plain, earnest, and con
tinuons effort to meet the needs OF
the people on their own places and in
their own localities.
Extension work should aid the peO-
ple in the solving of their own prob
, lens of farming and also Of the so
cial, economic and educational prob
, lens of farming communities. 10
this end, it is necessary that trained
, men and women be available in many
different lines Of agricultural work.
Persons must be specially trained for
this work, as well as trained for reg
ular teaching or for research CT ad-
ministration.
The Motive. - The temptation is to
use extension work as means OF
publicity of q college or organization.
This Will fail in the end, and it will
reast unfayorably on the college it.
self The whole motive must be sin
eerely to help the. people, not to push
or advertise the institution, nor to
make publicity for any person.
Ii the colleges Of agriculture, and
other rural institutions and agencies,
ever come to be dominated by the de-
sire to aggrandize themselves or to
exploit the people for the sake of APP
preparations, they will fail of their
purpose and be repudiated by the
people Only so long as they have
the spirit of service and of substan-
tiaI, disinterasted work will they have
reason permanently to exist.
The Nature of the Work.--It is pro-
per that every public institution that
is doing good work at home should
extend itself to the people: but 1t is
well to bear in mind that the institu-
ton should not begin the process I'M
til it has something, to extend Elk
tension efforts should be the result
of work rather than the beginning of
work -.
One is likely to make the mistake
of beginning the extension work first,
whereas the extension work should
grow gradually as the college grows
and be the natural expression to the
people of the work that arises in the
college itself. 4.
The people should not be too anx-
ious to have extension work issue
from any particular department of the
college. The extension work should
come in the process of time, as the
work ripens, and under such condi-
tions It. will be substantial when it
comes and will produce real results.
What Hawaii gets in extension work
should depend directly on what it
wants and what it puts into the work
The rapidly growing farm-bureau
work on the mainland is an illustra-
ton of the fact that farmers are now
taking the initiative I'm work in the
localities, often supplying even good
part Of the funds. At this day. ex-
tension should meet demands rather
than make demands.
Extension enterprises are of many
kinds-of any kind whereby a depart
ment or institution or organization
may extend and apply itself to its
constituency. Some of the extension
methods in agriculture are itinerant
lectures, institutes, extension schools,
short courses, farmers weeks, read
mg-courSes, travelling libraries, pub
iication, farm trains. tests on farms
and in gardens. follow-up work of
many kinds, demonstration fa,rnt3,
farm bureaus or agencies, organized
correspondence. Actual demonstra-
ton, and work directly with persons
en- their special problems, are in the
end the best form of extension work.
In the end there must be sustained
teaching in the localities.
The widespread extension effort is
one of the most hopeful applications
of the time. 1t may also be one OF
the most inefficient. depending on
how it is done and particularly on the
motive that propels it. We have now
passed the early experimental stages