Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1915-09-02

young people have been leaving our
rural communities because they have
been educated away from Them The
graduates of a good many of our
smaller college preparatory high
schools have not had very much to
sell in the way of service except their
manual labor. The city with its cler-
ical and Office positions lures them
and they are lost in many cases for
the smaller town or for the farm.
AS matter of fact, they are prob
ably leaving their best opportunity.
In most cases, the present crowded
city conditions do not by any means
offer the opportunity that the farm
does, and scientific study of agri-
culture would help prove this.
| AS to the nature of agriculture
work in the school, we are already
doing something toward providing
it here, but considerably more should
be done. Just half years text
book work is insufficient. Along with
more time given to the subject and
with more laboratory work, there
should also be an opportunity to
deal with actual farm conditions. For
this work. an experiment plot would
be needed. The pupil must learn not
merely by looking on and listening,
but by intelligent participation and
direction of his own work. Incident
ally, there would in this way be some
| little opportunity for extending
school influence through the sum-
mer months and ofcourse, this would
be desirable.
In the upper grades, the princi-
pals of gardening could be studied
and then applied, under the direc-
tion of teacher, to gardens at home.
In the high school, If two classes
were provided for each year, and
then the work in those classes al
ternated from year to year, four
| year course in the subject would re-
suit. OF course during any one of
the years, agriculture would be only
one subject of four that would take
the time of the pupil. Without dis
cussing each topic in detail, the var
ious things to be taken up from year
to year would probably be the fol-
lowing: farm crops involving the judi
ging, terminating, and Analysing of
seeds, soil management, insects, gen.
eral handling of field crops, etc.,
| farm soils, horticulture; animal hus-
bandry; dairying and farm manage
ment. The manual training work Of
the high school could be made more
Vocational, and could relate to the
construction and repairing of farm
buildings, and to the repairing of
tools and implements. Forge work
and work with gasoline engine and
dynamo would further be included.
Cement mixing and the principles of
silo construction, cement foundations
bridges, ETC., would also be studied
In the drawing work, planting. plans
and plans for the erection of build
ings would be taken up. In general
it would be the plan to relate all of
this work to the activities of farm
| life. Agriculture work such as this
in our schools, would help wonder
fully in making for permanence in
rural life, and in bringing the best
things from the outside world to
rural communities.
Domestic Science Work
The need of domestic science work
has long been granted by most
schools. and has been provided for
by most of them. Our own school
has done some work along this line,
but here again, we have not had the
facilities or the opportunity to do as
much as is done in most schools. 1t
would be desirable to plan more of
this work for both the grades and
the high school. In the high school,
we have been able to do only years
work in the subject when 1t would
be desirable to arrange for three or
four years. BY alternating the work
in two classes from year to year as
suggested for agriculture, this could
be very we'll done in small school.
Detailed work concerning subjects
such as the following could then be
provided for: textiles, principles of
garment making. drafting patterns,
use of commercial patterns. element
cry cooking. composition of foods.
food principles. tests of food, food
costs, selecting and buying of foods
dressmaking. house planning, house
decoration and furnishing, house
hold sanitation and hygiene. elements
of nursing, and advanced cooking and
dietaries. Work such as this has
been provided for in good many of
our schools.
commercial work
II is desirable to have at least
some commercial work in high
schools such as ours for reasons sug-
gested earlier in this report. A work
ing knowledge of bookkeeping, short
hand. and typewriting for instance,
would be very valuable fer good
many of our pupils, and the learning
of such subjects would also give
them good mental training. Outside
of a good deal of regular high school
work. the commercial course should
at least include bookkeeping. bust
ness practice. typewriting, shorthand.
penmanship. commercial geography,
and commercial law. Some OF these
fsubjects are already supplied by our
school In general, commercial
courses similar to the above. have
become quite general in our high
schools.
Health
Increasing interest is being taken
m the health OF school children. The
idea that sound mind can be devel-
oped only in sound body is being
believed in more and more. Prob
ably the most common expression OF
the interest along this line, is in
having medical inspection and in pro-
viding systematic work in physical
| training.
Medical inspection has proven 10
act as preventative TO disease In a