Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1916-05-11
TEACHING AGRICULTURE
IN RURAL SCHOOLS

People were slow in recognizing
the Importance of agriculture as a
school subject When we stop to
think how great our dependence must
always be on products of the farm,
and as our population increases, the
necessity becomes still greater for
scientific agriculture to make the
most from every acre used for any
purpose, we must see that agriculture
in our schools has come to stay and
to be increasing in its demands.
Teachers Needed.
The sudden impetus given quite re-
Gently to popular education in agri-
culture has found very few teachers
prepared and thousands unpTepared
to meet the situation. Laws have
been passed requiring the teaching of
agriculture as common school sub
ject, and teachers have been required
to take examinations in it, yet OPP
portunities to prepare have been
meager Since the only way to reach
the masses of the people with the
newer agriculture is through the
medium of the public schools, teach
ers must prepare and the people must
support the movement This means
teachers in high schools as well as
in elementary schools. 1t means that
more rural high schools must he de-
veloped, and more one-teacher schools
must adapt to the new order
Government Aid.
The United States Government
gave the greatest stimulus to agricul-
ture through various acts and appro-
priations establishing Agricultural
Colleges. This government is now
interested in extending the work to
the public schools. The Smith-Lever
Bill will extend greatly the extension
work already begun through club
agencies, and farm and home econO-
mics demonstrators The pending
bill in Congress, Smith-Hughes Bill,
will go further and add new features.
This bill, or one like it, will sooner or
later pass into law. Communities
ready to avail themselves will be the
first to receive aid. County boards,
county superintendent, and local
boards should not sleep over their OPP
portunities. The teachers must be
prepared, as first step, and COM
munity sentiment must be stirred to
put things in shape. The greatest
help in all this will be prepared teach
ers whose enthusiasm for the work
will increase with their preparation.
Institutes Not Sufficient.
Only a small portion of our teach
ers can come from our Agricultural
College graduates. These are quick
" taken for various leading purposes.
The great number of teachers al
ready in active service, as well as
prospective teachers, must be reach
ed. The teachers institute can do
only very little in this. The most
serviceable agency is the Summer
school. Summer schools have rapid
ly sprung up in every State until
these have taken the place of the old
institute which now takes its proper
place as a teachers meeting with the
Superintendent for directions in local
work.
New Courses for Rural Schools.
The coming session of the Georgia
Summer School for teachers mas plan
ned in advance of any other school
to offer valuable courses for rural
teachers. These have in mind high
school teachers, elementary teachers,
even those in charge of one teacher
schools. In the one-teacher school,
the best agency to use is the boys
and girls club. There is literature
for this to be had from the United
States Department of Agriculture
the State College of Agriculture, and
other sources. This literature is
mostly in the shape of bulletins, some
of which are adapted for use in. the
schools, some are not There are
extension workers, agents of the |
State College in connection with the |
United States Government, who may |
be called upon to aid teachers. The |
teachers can organize the boys and |
the girls into clubs, Corn Clubs, Can. |