The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1916-02-28
RURAL SCHOOLS
Material Presented by c. r. Bee
man, Supt. Schools, Williams
town, VT.
The New Course of Study.


The new education is simply an at
tempt on the part of the school to adjus
itself to the deep changes in our socia
and industrial life. In the past and even
yet, new things in school have beer
looked upon as the invention of som
crack Drained theorist or impractical ped
agogue. This view is especially likely t
be taken BY country people.
Very often the farmer who has beer
foremost in describing the cradle for tn,
selfbinder, the scythe for the mower anC
the gravity milk can for the cream sep
arator, has been prone to hold back in
educational matters. New things in edu.
cation cost money, just as improved farm
tools cost money, and the returns, while
many times greater, are less evident anc
not at all easy to estimate.
| The farmer who objects to agriculture
domestic science, manual training and
music in the schools on the ground that
| the three RS were good enough for him
and hence are good enough for his chill
dren should, as a matter of consistency,
90 back TO the cradle and scythe of his
boyhood. The enriched course of study
I
the selfbinder and the cream separator
are part of industrial progress. Social
life OF to-day is many times more com
pick than it was so years ago, and the
three RS are no more sufficient to pre-
pare a boy or girl to meet its RESPONSE
bilities than the cradle machinery of so
years ago would be able TO meet the in
dustrial demands of the present.
When we come to look upon the "new
educa ton" as one aspect of social prog
ress, it ceases to be the invention OF a
crack Drained pedagogue and becomes
part of the great change that is going on
around us. The pity of it all is that the
school, and especially the country school,
has not anywhere nearly kept pace with
the other phases OF this development.
The country school is a laggard and has
allowed educational interests of the coun-
try TO fall behind the industrial inter
ests.
OF all classes of public servants, the
most conservative are preachers and
teachers. We are held back by the shad-
ow of the past, and are all too prone to
move along comfortably in the rut of
what has been. We are afraid to be
called impractcable and idealists; but
let us all remember that it takes pow
erful ideal to make even ripple in the
great ocean of the customary and the
commonplace Unfortunately, this nat
ural conservatism of country teachers
has been upheld and allotted by a short
sighted policy of economy in school mat
tiers on the part of country people. Peo-
pie and teachers and school officials need
to get together and make a new start,
based on common belief that an insti
tuition, like an individual, which ceases
to grow, has ceased to live.
do not need to dwell at length on the |
social changes that have made such pro-
found changes on the part of the school
They are written SO large |
that he who runs may read. The appli- |
cation of science resulting in inventions |
that have utilized the forces of nature on |
4 vast and inexpensive scale; the growth |
Of a world wide market as the object of |
of vast manufacturing pro-
ects to supply this market; OF cheap
and rapid means Of communication
reaching to the ends of the earth-all OF
these, even to the feeblest beginnings, I
ave come about within a century, and
he growth of their most important
aspects has fallen within the short space
II those now living.
That the country school has kept pace
With these great changes, even in so far
Is they extended into and touched coun-
ny life, no one would dare to contend.
There have been some additions to the
curse of study, il is true. To the read
ny. writing. arithmetic and spelling of
,ur grandfathers, geography was first
dded, then history and grammar. and
nslly physiology; and now agriculture,
manual training, domestic science and
iusic are knocking for admission. The
ID course Of study has been added TO.
nat it has not digested these new
ranches and adapted them to the needs
I q growing society. In It's main
spects. the course OF study in the coun-
nv schools Is lust what IL was ~ years
go; il is mainly bookish. What we now
eed is a new point OF view. a new en-
basis. In the country school Of the fu
ure we shall not teach less arithmetic
T less spelling than was taught 80 years
90. but we shall teach them from a new
oint Of view, and We hope 10 teach them
etter. The course Of study Of the coun-
" school Of the future viii have it
,ots in the home life and surroundings
the country boys and girls is trunk /
IN D. nature study. agriculture and do
este science. and extending from this
unk ELL be the related branches. farm
Ia home arithmetic language lessons,
dustriai geography history manual
aiming. cooking. hygiene and fine arts.
IExtracts from Prin. = T. Baker's ar
rles on Rural Schools
LET prosperity come % the rural
bcoL7