The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1922-04-27

II has always been exceedingly diff
ficult TO persuade educators who put
their faith in culture courses that
there are other things of vastly
greater Importance to people who are
not yet free economically. In their
zeal for scholarship and culture they
often forget that people who live by
toll need to know about the things
they have to do in life a great deal
more than they need to know about
the literature and history Of the long
ago. Meat and bread, homes and
home comforts, clothing and health,
ways of adding to the income are all
due long before culture studies ar
rive And the school or the teacher
who fails to provide first things first
is robbing children Of their educa-
tional birthright.
What are the things that should
have right Of way in the schools for
the working folk of the mountains?
l. The fundamentals, of course.
There are a few things that must be
known before further progress can
be made.
2. The practical problems of citi-
zenship. Schools rather generally
pass this matter by on the assump-
ton that the conventional courses Of
fer the best possible training for cit
izenship. But in the face Of this
crime flourishes, yet the old ideas
Persist and some wEc teach will not
see anything which they have not al
ways been accustomed to.
3. Wood carving and cabinet max.
ing. The mountains ought to be the
center of toy making in America;
but few people know how to do such
work, and the schools are not in
structing them in the art.
4. Weaving and other household
arts. A million hands are idle much Of
the time because of nothing remuner-
alive to do. And hundreds of thou
sands of children are often under
nourished because of insufficient in
comes; yet many teachers insist that
the culture studies must have right
of way, and these same teachers Of
ten consider il poor educational pol
icy to administer to the first element.
al wants of the human race.
5. Forestry and conservation of
natural resources. Over fve-eights
Of the timber supply Of the noun
tains is already exhausted, and most
of the mineral rights have been sold.
Trees are not being replaced, natur-
al resources are being squandered,
and children Of the future are being
robbed of their inheritance. All the
classes that can be taught to noun
tain children will not restore one tree
or bring to one child the income
which it ought to have from the re-
sources of the land.
6. The economics of everyday life.
The need of bigger and better vege-
table gardens; the art Of storing and
preserving food for winter; the or
ganization of cooperative credit So
cieties; the relation of good transpor-
tation to health, education, religion,
satisfaction with country life, gener-
al prosperity; other questions which
are closely related to life should re-
ceive special attention. In most ele-
mentary and high schools, and in
other secondary schools all such mat
ter is subordinated to courses that
prepare the few for longer courses.
The majority must struggle on I'M
7. The history of the Anglo-Saxon
peoples. There is a great wealth of
tradition and accomplishment that
should be known to every child of
Anglo-Saxon blood. His race has
long been the race of empire builders
and the chief exponent Of freedom.
A history of the English race that
reaches out to India, Australia, New
Egypt, Canada, South A.
RIGA. elsewhere on the earth would be
vastly more important than a knowl-
edge Of ancient things. Few schools
offer any history of the mountain
people. There is plenty of it to Of
fer-if teachers only knew it them
selves.
Whatever contributes to race pride
should be encouraged; whatever
meets the elemental wants Of the
people should be emphasized. The
,ulture courses should wait until
,ther needs are met.
John F. Smith
1OORAYl THE RED WAGONS /