Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1917-03-23

~ ''"6 aS We teacn the same thing
over and over again. year after year,
or allow the teacher to skim all the
branches and leave a subject barren
and uninteresting for the teacher who
Follows the next year.
In one-room schools all children in
the lower grades become as familiar
with subjects taught in the seventh
and eighth grades as do their older
brothers and sisters. BY rotating the
subjects "a new field is opened to the
| pupils each year.
Rotation of subjects means the
teaching of but one class of subjects
each year. such as:
LIST year. Farm crops-corn al
falfa, weeds, seeds, gardens, and for
girls, sewing. etc
End year The making of things
tying and splicing ropes. cement work
making fly traps. screens. canning,
etc.
Bird year. Animals live stock,
feeding, testing milk. diseases and
remedies, cooking, etc.
attn year. Soil and homc-saying
moisture, rotation of crops. soil fer
tiiity, sanitation, flowers. pictures,
etc.
Rotation of subjects:
Enables us to teach more agricul-
ture.
Eliminates repetition.
Gives us new subject each year.
Keeps interest alive and keen.
Does not kill the subject by skim
ming or teaching the same thing over
and over again.
Makes the directing Of the work
much easier for the county superin-
tendent who always has more than he
can do. Instead of having several
lines of instruction to prepare each
year he will have bus one.
Agriculture will ultimately be
taught in all rural schools. In Okla
homa it is required by the state con
stitution, in other states by law, Some
states have tried it, but in a hit and
miss fashion. They have skinned
through books, taught words, not
things repeated the same subjects
every year; killed interest; made az
riculture a dead letter.
way to bring the best results, we
must keep it aliye-must develop in
terest-must rotate the subjects.
Agriculture can not be successfully
introduced in all the rural schools in
any state or any county at the same
time. 1t must grow into the schools.
That is the basis of the plan adopted
in Oklahoma.
They selected 10 county superin-
tendents who are live wires. These
superintendents held three-day
meeting, studied how to teach a few
definite things and collected the
necessary demonstration material.
Each Of these superintendent Sc
lected from four to a dozen of his
best teachers in whose schools agri-
culture is being taught this year
These teachers were given special in
structiOn at the teachers Institutes.
When the school year opened, the
county superintendent and his as
sistants visited one of these schools
and assisted the teacher in starting
the work right Then a second
school was visited, and a third, and
so on. There are only few teach
ers to look after this year The work
of the superintendent is simplified,
concentrated, made more effective.
Next year other counties and other
schools will be added Agriculture
will grow into the schools In four
or five years it will be taught in every
rural school in the state-and
taught in the right way.
We can not put agriculture into all
the schools at once. It's teaching Is
essentially a matter of growth and
development.
We can not vitalize agriculture in
the rural schools except by rotating
the subjects.
And the word agriculture" is used
here to mean anything pertaining to
the life and welfare of the children
and the people of the community
health, sanitation, social conditions,
home conyenlences, community in
terest, as we'll as the things having to
do directly with farming.
DEPARTMENT HEAD ASSISTS