Newark post., 1915-05-19


sor in close touch with and ap-
preciation Of life. Which will give
the boy more culture, which will
put him closer to an understand
ing of Nature, which will give
him more appreciation of life it
self-a thorough knowledge of
Latin and the other so-called class .
les, or an intimate and fundament-
al knowledge of the soil and all
that springs therefrom? No one
doubts the cultural value of lit +
erature, history, physics, chemis-
try, or biology; no one questions
their place in the high-school pro-
gram. There must surely be a
place for the science with which
all these are correlated and upon
which all these subjects are based
the science of agriculture.
The clippings from Mr.. East
mans forceful plea for the agri-
cultural high school follow:
Time was when every boy was
an apprentice to his father or to
| some neighbor to learn the art of
| farming or some other trade.
Great care was taken to show the
boy how to do things, while every
kitchen was laboratory in domes-
tic science where the girl was
taught real home making. That
time seems to be past. The boys
education, both at home and in
school, seems to educate him away
from the farm, and the modern
girl cannot be bothered by such
commonplace tasks as washing
dishes and sweeping floors.
This is the age of delegated re-
sponsibility by the home. The re-
ligious training of the child is
delegated entirely to the church; !;
the task of amusing the child is
delegated to the public; while his
education must be provided en-
tirely by the school. The school
has realized this lack of home
training, and in trying to see that
the child gets the training some
where it has crowded its curricu-
lum.
| do not believe, however, that
agricultural instruction will add
, to the burden. | am sure it should
be on the program, even if it has
to displace some less important
work already there. During the
past four or five years agricultur,
al has been coming rapidly into
curriculums of the rural high
; schools.
These courses have proved Sc
! successful and so necessary in al
: most every instance where they
! have had fair trial. that the tim,
is not far distant when peopl,
, will demand that agriculture shall
=, be fundamental study in the ma
o jority of country high schools
why should it not be there? Cal
you think of anything more incon
siStent than the curriculum o.
o the average rural school twenty
. five or even ten years ago?
-, There was the school, set in tn,
midst of all the beautiful ant
. wonderful things of the country
4 surrounded by Natures question
=, and information, which if studet
:. would give the child only a prac
o tical working knowledge that h
: could use all his life, but ais
-. would give him a true culturs
=, education. Yet not word O
=. thought was given to all thi
=, knowledge. No effort was mad
\ to use this natural, cultural il
! formation that was available frs
;, hand.
D. True learning is supposed t
10 proceed from the known to the III
known, yet all the things the bo
had been learning from Natur
since he could use his senses wer
-, ignored. Even the study of geos
- Apply was as likely to begin wit
a a map of Asia as it was with tn
+ woods, creeks, fields or anima
n about the pupils home.
u Problems in arithmetic seldoI
referred to anything that the farm
II er would be called upon to sol,
G in his business. Composition
as were usually foraipn +o coupt,