The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1915-08-19
tBy b. c. dEasum.
CONTINUED from last week. J


Of rural schools Please remember,
too, that ] am talking about rural
schools and not about town schools,
which have problems and troubles Of
their own.
The rural school must be q rural
school and not copy OF the poor city
schools Of many years ago and poor
copy at that. A recent writer 10
The Saturday Evening Post declares
that the rural schools OF America are
not 50 good as they we're hfty Years
ago. Like most sSeeping statements,
am Inclined to think that that
statement needs tonlng down consid-
erably. He says further that they
are poorer 10 comparison with the
schools OF the towns and cities. That
also needs watering down, though 1t
seems to be confirmed by the fact
that many well-to.do farmers send
their children to town schools.
The rural school teacher OF fifty
/ HHhIh 0kg was - ulhAtl h6dAO ."
the community than now. The rural
teachers In most Of the European
nations are people of standing In the
places wnere they live. They have
homes not boarding houses. They
take prominent parts In the social
and political life of their communi-
ties. The teaching profession Is
their life worK--not a stepping stone
10 something more remuneTatlve.
But 1t 10 useless TO discuss this until
the majority Of the American people
realize that they cannot expect to get
WORTH while teachers unless teaching
Is made worth while work. So long
as Indifferent com munltles are salts.
lied to have half-baked teachers, they
will have them. 1t is tire simple law
OF demand and supply.
The rural school is for the children
OF parents who live In the country
and WIN, as rule, make their living
In agricultural pursuits. Statistics
are duh things, but sometimes they
tell tale. In the year 1920, SO per
cent Of the population of the United
States was engaged In farming. The
percentage has been rapidly decreas-
ing and ia 1910 1t Dropped to 30 per
cent. There are several causes re.
sponsible for this drop, and the rural
school Is believed to be one of them.
III the farmers go on strike 1t is q
poor look out for any country.
A few years ago, certain county
superintendent of schools In lows
slipped question Into an examina'
tion paper given to the children In
his county The question was,
"What do you expect to do as life
work farming, or something elseP'
Eighty-fve per cent OF the boys, ant
almost all OF the girls, declared tina
whatever they might or miglt not d,
as life work, they certainly woulC
not do any farming. Two years late
the same county superintendent
Benson, by name put the same ques
tIon and this time IS per cent of tn,
girls, and almost all of the boys stat
cd that they meant TO live and die Of
the farm. In those two years Ben
son had ruFallzed his rural schools.
L Take the case, too, of an0the
county superintendent Miss Jessi
Field, mentioned by Herbert Quick
the writer. In the Saturday EyenIn
Post FROM whom | am quoting llbel
ally. Mr.. Quick speaks OF visiting
Farmers Insl itule at which l5C
country people were present. Mis-
Field was Ia the chair, aud all II
things usually debated we're undo
discussion. but the outstanding feai
ure was the way In which Il
schools, the rural teachers aud Il
: country children dominated thing
There was half an acre or so ,
. school exhibits. There were exhibit
Of practical sewing and cookery /
the girls; the boys showed grain
vegetables. road drags, samples {
their Sork with tools. In matht
matics, these children made invel
tories OF farm property. They hgu
ed profits and losses ON farm crop,
They made tests OF dairy cows an
calculated prohls and losses on iud
yidual cows. In English languAg
trlanlng they wrote on really rur,
topics.
Our own Lemhi County Fair has
departments Of school exhibits, an
some meritoVlnus work was show
last rear. Every school In the eouT
~ should he represented at the Eai
but, Ia achieve this result, parents
trustees, children aud teachers uu,
cooperate. OSing q the Shol
terms OF our rural schools and TO n
TACT that teachers are a wanderiu
tribe, 10 IL not TO be expected ths
the schools should be solely respons
bile for the exhibits sent In nv m