New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-08-02

normal workers Farming that. is, working
farm laborers, particularly truck farms-ofers
a partial solution of this problem. 1t is re-
ported that last year the truck farmers of Long
Island had TO leave a portion of their crops to
rot in the fields for want Of laborers TO harvest
them Such being the case, here is obviously an
opening for boys who can be equipped for the
work.
Two years ago, before these boys were placed
in the ungraded classes, they were the despair
of their parents and teachers alike. They were
truants; they made themselves nuisance and
retarded the progress of the other children when
they did 60 to school; most Of them lied and
many Of them stole. In short they were useless
10 themselves and worse than useless to others'
and hence, of necessity, very unhappy lot
To-day they arc working, achieving and happy.
You could scarcely keep them away from their
work with gun This is the more remarkable be
cause fair share of their time is devoted to
the hated reading writing and arithmetic. But
when your arithmetic consists in estimating your
proft per bushel on real potatoes which you are
actually growing and selling, your writing IN
composing real business letters to actual seed
stores or customers, your reading in absorbing
the necessary information about the planting
and harvesting Of your actual crops, these live
and vital processes very different matter
from the hated computation Of the profits and
losses Of A, and c, the writing of stilted i'm
sginary letters to non-existent business firms
or the weary deciphering of highly moral stories
in the Fifth Reader.
4 CITY TRUANT WHO HAS BECOME A FARM
FOREMAN.
One Of these boys has shown capacity enough
10 become a farm foreman. This city truant, who
three months age didn't know shovel from
hoe will, in all probability become next year fore
man Of a truck farm on Long Island. This boy
before he was faced in ungraded class, had
b,en terribly beaten by his father, who attributed
his failure to keen up with his classes to pure
cussedness," and who thought he was doing his
parental duty by licking the boy literally within
Al inch Of his life One might conclude that
this father was an unlettered, foreign born long
shoreman Of incorporate habits. Instead he was
a moderately we'll educated American born citizen
O good habits, successfully engaged in business.
when he was finally convinced that his boy was
not normal, and hence in way responsible fo-
his backwardness, his remorse at the way he had
treated him was tragic, and that the boy is
making good at this new work his pride and
Measure arc correspondngly keen. There is a.
other boy working happily, if not successfully,
on this farm who had for years been beaten by
his parents and disgrseed by his teachers because
he did not learn TO read. When examined by one
of thu physicians attached TO the department Of
unRraded classes he was found to be too blind TO
see the letters on the printed page and too defec-
tive mentally to realize what was the matter
Many such mute tragedies come almost daily TO
light
CHILDREN OF THE CITY WHO ARE THRILLED
BY CAMPING OUT.
Added 70 the solid satisfaction Of learning how
10 make things grow, these youths have the thrill
Of camping out. There are tents where the boys
the three teachers and the supervising farmer
prepare and eat their midday meal and where GER
tain number Of boys By arrangement with their
psrents have the supreme JOY Of actually living
dsy and night The first night come of them tried
10 keep awake all night not to lose any OF
the thrill Of spending the night in the open under
canvas. The experiment was not very successful
as some of the more enthusiastic youngsters ai-
mitteI with ehagrin
Plans are now being made TO send one hundred
more boys from the ungrsded classes out to the
land Al Hunters Island and, provided the expert
nent continues TO succeed, more and more will
undoubtedly be sent out until finally the entire
Tort, acres Of the island. which now lie idle shall
be so used This project is being pushed for the
Board Of Education (Which PEoYidGs the teach