The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-04-14
TELLS FARMERS Of
EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
Splendid Address of Leslie ID. Kline.
President of Central Frederick
Club at stephens City.
AMERICA DIsrLLUaoNED.
Joseph w. Everett, of journal of Edu-
cation, Talks on 500 Operation
Meeting OF Interest to Those At
tending

Especial to The Richmond virginian.)
Stephens City, Va, April l3.-The
third annual meeting of the Central
Frederick Farmers Club. which clos
ed the night of April with an ex-
cellent program and a large and en-
thusiastic audience, was in every par
ttcular success.
The meeting was opened at O'Clock
p. NJ. on Thursday of last week with
an appropriate prayer by Rev. X. II.
Kline, of the Lutheran Church of
stephens City. Excellent music was
furnished by the choirs of the Meth
odlst and Lutheran churches of the
town.
Mr. Leslie D. Kline, the president
of the club. delivered the opening
address, on Education for the Work
err" This was a carefully presented
plea for Industrial and rural life edu-
cation. The history of education was
traced from the old classical school
which trained for the professions to
the present-day vocational and coun-
try-life schools, which seek to train
the 90 per cent of those who must
work with their hands, for community
building and home-making. The an
alogy between our governn1 entail and
educational development was pointed
out. and the growth and strengthen
Ing OF the Democratic spirit in each
was shown by numerous illustrations.
America Disiilusioned.
The history OF public education in
Germany was sketched and the in
fluence of German education on Amer
lean schools was carefully outlined.
Mr.. Kline stated that the war in
Europe had served the valuable pur-
pose of waking It's up and that we had
been disillusioned along many lines.
The condition of Prussia after the
Napoleonic wars was pictured. and
the building of the present German
state on the collapsed foundations OF
the old principalities was optlined.
The influence OF the philosophy of
Emmanuel Kant and F'ichte on Ter
man thought and the part played by
such men as Baron Won Stein. Sharn-
horst and Humbolt In the Develop
ment OF their commercial and educa-
tional systems was brought out. 1t
was then clearly shown how the IDEAS
OF conservation and cooperation had
been fostered~ by the schools of Ger
many. and how her present efficiency
had resulted from her carefully
planned system of education Mr..
Kline closed with an argument for
educational surveys, a more flexible
curriculum in the public schools and
for a system which would admit OF
modification to meet loca1 condi-
tons.
Mr.. Everett Speaks
The second speaker on the pro-
gram was Mr. Joseph w. Everett. edi-
tor of the Virginia journal of Educa-
ton. Mr.. Everett's subject was Co
operation" and he laid particular
stress on the Importance of co-opera-
ton between the school teacher and
the patrons. He deplored the fact
that many parents seemed to think
that they had performed their full
duty toward their children's educa-
ton and toward The school after en-
rolling the children as students He
declared that no school could succeed
1t mattered not how well educated
and how efficient the teacher might
be II the teacher did not have the
cooperation of the parent and his
active interest in the school. He
said II was the duty of the parent to
see that the children were properly
graded: that the teacher was doing
his or her duty, and that the school
was comfortable and sanitary in every
particular. and that the teacher should
have the moral support of the patrons.
Mr.. Everett stated that careful In
spection in many communities had
disclosed the fact that few families
provided proper place for the chill
fdren to. prepare their. lessons. that
they were required to study freouent-
~ tin .tps living room of, the house
amid conversation and, confusion.
where concentration and serious study
NC -syy,Y ri
lined valuable work for the school
league and showed how a well-organ-
ICED league could assist In creating
community interest in the school and
In securing the corporations of those
factors necessary to successful school
work 1t was shown by figures furn-
ished by the State Department of
Public Instruction that of the thirty
five hundred children of school age
in Frederick County but seventeen
hundred of them were enrolled In the
public schools. and he stated that
similar conditions existed in other
counties in the State, He declared
that il was nothing less than mex
cusable waste for the State to permit
such conditions TO exist and made an
able and eloquent plea for an effee-
tive compulsory education law Mr..
Everett made an excellent impression.
and his address was highly instruc-
tive.
On Friday morning, April I. Mr..
A. F. Howard. Of the State Dairy De-
partment. made an instructive talk
on. 'Dairying In Virginia" He show
ed by carefuliy-compned figures the
advantages of marketing the farm
products In the most concentrated
form, and used telling illustrations in
driving his arguments home He said
that 1t required far more labor to
convert The grains and roughage int1
dairy products and sell them In these
finished and concentrated forms than
to sell hay and corn, but in the con-
centrated form II was possible to get