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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/29600-8.txt b/29600-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cd375e7 --- /dev/null +++ b/29600-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5242 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Rural Life and the Rural School, by Joseph Kennedy + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Rural Life and the Rural School + +Author: Joseph Kennedy + +Release Date: August 3, 2009 [EBook #29600] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RURAL LIFE AND THE RURAL SCHOOL *** + + + + +Produced by Peter Vachuska, Val Wooff and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + RURAL LIFE + AND THE RURAL SCHOOL + + BY + + JOSEPH KENNEDY + + DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION IN THE + UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA + + + + AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY + NEW YORK CINCINNATI CHICAGO + + + + + RURAL LIFE AND THE RURAL SCHOOL + W. P. 2. + + + + +PREFACE + + +This volume is addressed to the men and women who have at heart the +interests of rural life and the rural school. I have tried to avoid +deeply speculative theories on the one hand, and distressingly practical +details on the other; and have addressed myself chiefly to the +intelligent individual everywhere--to the farmer and his wife, to the +teachers of rural schools, to the public spirited school boards, +individually and collectively, and to the leaders of rural communities +and of social centers generally. I have tried to avoid the two extremes +which Guizot says are always to be shunned, viz.: that of the "visionary +theorist" and that of the "libertine practician." The former is +analogous to a blank cartridge, and the latter to the mire of a swamp or +the entangled underbrush of a thicket. The legs of one's theories (as +Lincoln said of those of a man) should be long enough to reach the +earth; and yet they must be free to move upon the solid ground of fact +and experience. Details must always be left to the _person_ who is to do +the work, whether it be that of the teacher, of the farmer, or of the +school officer. + +I am aware that there is a veritable flood of books on this and kindred +topics, now coming from the presses of the country. My sole reasons for +the publication of the present volume are the desire to deliver the +message which has come to fruition in my mind, and the hope that it may +reach and interest some who have not been benefited by a better and more +systematic treatise on this subject. + +By way of credential and justification, I would say that the message of +the book has in large measure grown out of my own life and thought; for +I was born and brought up in the country, there I received my elementary +education, and there I remained till man grown. Practically every kind +of work known on the farm was familiar to me, and I have also taught and +supervised rural schools. These experiences are regarded as of the +highest value, and I revert in memory to them with a satisfaction and +affection which words cannot express. + +If there should seem to be a note of despair in some of the earlier +chapters as to the desired outcome of the problems of rural life and the +rural school, it is not intended that such impression shall be complete +and final. An attempt is made simply to place the problem and the facts +in their true light before the reader. There has been much "palavering" +on this subject, as there has been much enforced screaming of the eagle +in many of our Fourth of July "orations." I feel that the first +requisite is to conceive the problems clearly and in all seriousness. + +If these problems are to be solved, true conceptions of _values_ must be +established in the social mind. Many present conceptions, like those of +the _personality_ of the teacher, _standards_ for teaching, +_supervision_, school _equipment_, _salary_, etc., must first be +_dis_-established, and then higher and better ones substituted. There +will have to be a genuine and intelligent "tackling" of the problems, +and not, as has been the case too often, a mere playing with them. There +will have to be some real statesmanship introduced into the present +_laissez-faire_ spirit, attitude, and methods of American rural life and +rural education. The nation in this respect needs a trumpet call to +action. There is need of a chorus, loud and long, and if the small voice +of the present discussion shall add only a little--however little--to +this volume of sound, there will be so much of gain. This is my aim and +my hope. + + JOSEPH KENNEDY + + THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + +CHAPTER I. RURAL LIFE 9 + + A generation ago; Chores and work; Value of work; Extremes; Yearly + routine; Disliked in comparison; Other hard jobs; Harvesting; + Threshing; Welcome events; Winter work; What the old days lacked; + The result; The backward rural school; Women's condition + unrelieved; The rural problem must be met; Facilities. + +CHAPTER II. THE URBAN TREND 19 + + Cityward; Attractive forces; Conveniences in cities; Urbanized + literature; City schools; City churches; City work preferred; + Retired farmers; Educational centers; Face the problem; Educational + value not realized; Wrong standard in the social mind; Rural + organization; Playing with the problem. + +CHAPTER III. THE REAL AND THE IDEAL SCHOOL 28 + + The building; No system of ventilation; The surroundings; The + interior; Small, dead school; That picture and this; Architecture + of building; Get expert opinion; Other surroundings; Number of + pupils; It will not teach alone; The teacher; A good rural school; + The problem. + +CHAPTER IV. SOME LINES OF PROGRESS 38 + + Progress; In reaping machines; The dropper; The hand rake; The self + rake; The harvester; The wire binder; The twine binder; Threshing + machine; The first machine; Improvements; The steam engine; + Improvements in ocean travel; From hand-spinning to factory; The + cost; Progress in higher education; Progress in normal schools; + Progress in agricultural colleges; Progress in the high schools; + How is the rural school? + +CHAPTER V. A BACKWARD AND NEGLECTED FIELD 49 + + Rural schools the same everywhere; Rural schools no better than + formerly; Some improvements; Strong personalities in the older + schools; More men needed; Low standard now; The survival of the + unfittest; Short terms; Poor supervision; No decided movement; + Elementary teaching not a profession; The problem difficult, but + before us; Other educational interests should help; Higher + standards necessary; Courses for teachers; The problem of + compensation; Consolidation as a factor; Better supervision + necessary; A model rural school; The teacher should lead; A good + boarding place. + +CHAPTER VI. CONSOLIDATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS 63 + + The process; When not necessary; The district system; The township + system; Consolidation difficult in district system; Easier in + township system; Consolidation a special problem for each district; + Disagreements on transportation; Each community must decide for + itself; The distance to be transported; Responsible driver; Cost of + consolidation; More life in the consolidated school; Some grading + desirable; Better teachers; Better buildings and inspection; Longer + terms; Regularity, punctuality, and attendance; Better supervision; + The school as a social center; Better roads; Consolidation coming + everywhere; The married teacher and permanence. + +CHAPTER VII. THE TEACHER 77 + + The greatest factor; What education is; What the real teacher is; A + hypnotist; Untying knots; Too much kindness; The button + illustration; The chariot race; Physically sound; Character; Well + educated; Professional preparation; Experience; Choosing a teacher; + A "scoop"; What makes the difference; A question of teachers. + +CHAPTER VIII. THE THREE INSEPARABLES 88 + + The "mode"; The "mode" in labor; The "mode" in educational + institutions; No "profession"; Weak personalities; Low standard; + The norm of wages too low; The inseparables; Raise the standard + first; More men; Coöperation needed; The supply; Make it + fashionable; The retirement system; City and country + salaries--effects; The solution demands more; A good school board; + Board and teacher; The ideal. + +CHAPTER IX. THE RURAL SCHOOL CURRICULUM 100 + + Imitation; The country imitates the city; Textbooks; An + interpreting core; Rural teachers from the city; A course for rural + teachers; All not to remain in the country; Mere textbook teaching; + A rich environment; Who will teach these things?; The scientific + spirit needed; A course of study; Red tape; Length of term; + Individual work; "Waking up the mind"; The overflow of instruction; + Affiliation; The "liking point"; The teacher, the chief factor. + +CHAPTER X. THE SOCIAL CENTER 114 + + The teacher, the leader; Some community activities; The literary + society; Debates; The school program; Spelling schools; Lectures; + Dramatic performances; A musical program; Slides and moving + pictures; Supervised dancing; Sports and games; School exhibits; A + public forum; Courtesy and candor; Automobile parties; Full life or + a full purse; Organization; The inseparables. + +CHAPTER XI. RURAL SCHOOL SUPERVISION 127 + + Important; Supervision standardizes; Supervision can be overdone; + Needed in rural schools; No supervision in some states; Nominal + supervision; Some supervision; An impossible task; The problem not + tackled; City supervision; The purpose of supervision; What is + needed; The term; Assistants; The schools examined; Keep down red + tape; Help the social centers; Conclusion. + +CHAPTER XII. LEADERSHIP AND COÖPERATION 139 + + The real leader; Teaching _vs._ telling; Enlisting the coöperation + of pupils; Placing responsibility; How people remain children; On + the farm; Renters; The owner; The teacher as a leader; + Self-activity and self-government; Taking laws upon one's self; An + educational column; All along the educational line. + +CHAPTER XIII. THE FARMER AND HIS HOME 152 + + Farming in the past; Old conceit and prejudice; Leveling down; + Premises indicative; Conveniences by labor-saving devices; Eggs in + several baskets; The best is the cheapest; Good work; Good seed and + trees; A good caretaker; Family coöperation; An ideal life. + +CHAPTER XIV. THE RURAL RENAISSANCE 160 + + Darkest before the dawn; The awakening; The agricultural colleges; + Conventions; Other awakening agencies; The farmer in politics; The + National Commission; Mixed farming; Now before the country; + Educational extension; Library extension work; Some froth; Thought + and attitude. + +CHAPTER XV. A GOOD PLACE AFTER ALL 169 + + Not pessimistic; Fewer hours of labor than formerly; The mental + factor growing; The bright side of old-time country life; The + larger environment; Games; Inventiveness in rural life; Activity + rather than passivity; Child labor; The finest life on earth. + + + + +RURAL LIFE AND THE RURAL SCHOOL + + + + +CHAPTER I + +RURAL LIFE + + +It is only within the past decade that rural life and the rural school +have been recognized as genuine problems for the consideration of the +American people. Not many years ago, a president of the United States, +acting upon his own initiative, appointed a Rural School Commission to +investigate country life and to suggest a solution for some of its +problems. That Commission itself and its report were both the effect and +the cause of an awakening of the public mind upon this most important +problem. Within the past few years the cry "Back to the country" has +been heard on every hand, and means are now constantly being proposed +for reversing the urban trend, or at least for minimizing it. + +=A Generation Ago.=--Rural life, as it existed a quarter of a century or +more ago, was extremely severe and indeed to our mind quite repellent. +In those days--and no doubt they are so even yet in many places--the +conditions were too often forbidding and deterrent. Otherwise how can +we explain the very general tendency among the younger people to move +from the country to the city? + +=Chores and Work.=--The country youth, a mere boy in his teens, was, and +still is, compelled to rise early in the morning--often at four +o'clock--and to go through the round of chores and of work for a long +day of twelve to fifteen hours. First, after rising, he had his team to +care for, the stables were to be cleaned, cows to be milked, and hogs +and calves to be fed. + +After the chores were done the boy or the young man had to work all day +at manual labor, usually close to the soil; he was allowed about one +hour's rest at dinner time; in the evening after a day's hard labor, he +had to perform the same round of chores as in the morning so that there +was but a short time for play and recreation, if he had any surplus +energy left. He usually retired early, for he was fatigued and needed +sleep and rest in order to be refreshed for the following day, when he +very likely would be required to repeat the same dull round. + +=Value of Work.=--Of course work is a good thing. A moderate and +reasonable amount of labor is usually the salvation of any individual. +No nation or race has come up from savagery to civilization without the +stimulating influence of labor. It is likewise true that no individual +can advance from the savagery of childhood to the civilization of adult +life except through work of some kind. Work in a reasonable amount is a +blessing and not a curse. It is probably due to this fact that so many +men in our history have become distinguished in professional life, in +the forum, on the bench, and in the national Congress; in childhood and +youth they were inured to habits of work. This kept them from +temptation, and endowed them with habits of industry, of concentration, +and of purpose. The old adage that "Satan finds some mischief still for +idle hands to do," found little application in the rural life of a +quarter of a century ago. + +=Extremes.=--Even with all its unrecognized advantages, the fact remains +that farm life has been quite generally uninteresting to the average +human being. There are individuals who become so accustomed to hard work +that the habit really grows to be pleasant. This, no doubt, often +happens. Habit accustoms the individual to accommodate himself to +existing conditions, no matter how severe they may be. A very old man +who was shocking wheat under the hot sun of a harvest day was once told +that it must be hard work for him. He replied, "Yes, but I like it when +the bundles are my own." So the few who are interested and accustomed by +habit to this kind of life may enjoy it, but to the great majority of +people the conditions would be decidedly unattractive. + +=Yearly Routine.=--The yearly routine on the farm used to be about as +follows: In early spring, before seeding time had come, all the seed +wheat had to be put through the fanning mill. The seed was sown by +hand. A man carried a heavy load of grain upon his back and walked from +one end of the field to the other, sowing it broadcast as he went. After +the wheat had been sown, plowing for the corn and potatoes was begun and +continued. These were all planted by hand, and when they came above +ground they were hoed by hand and cultivated repeatedly by walking and +holding the plow. + +=Disliked in Comparison.=--All of this work implies, of course, that the +person doing it was close to the soil; in fact, he was _in_ the soil. He +wore, necessarily, old clothes somewhat begrimed by dirt and dust. His +shoes or boots were heavy and his step became habitually long and slow. +Manual labor too frequently carries with it a neglect of cleanliness. +The laborer on the farm necessarily has about him the odor of horses, of +cows, and of barns. Such conditions are not bad, but they are +nevertheless objectionable, when compared with the neatness and +cleanliness of the clerk in the bank or behind the counter. We do not +write these words in any spirit of disparagement, but merely from the +point of view at which many young people in the country view them. We +are trying to face the truth in order to understand the problem to be +solved. It is essential to look at the situation squarely and to view it +steadily and honestly. Hiding our heads in the sand will not clarify our +vision. + +=Other Hard Jobs.=--The next step in the yearly round was haymaking. +Frequently, the grass was cut with scythes. In any event the work of +raking, curing, and stacking the hay, or the hauling it and pitching it +into the barns was heavy work. There was no hayfork operated by +machinery in those days. When not haying, the youth was usually put to +summer-fallowing or to breaking new ground, to fencing or splitting +rails,--all heavy work. No wonder that he always welcomed a rainy day! + +=Harvesting.=--Then came the wheat-harvest time. Within the memory of +the author some of the grain was cut with cradles; later, simple reaping +machines of various kinds were used; but with them went the binding, +shocking, and stacking, all performed by hand and all arduous pieces of +work. These operations were interspersed with plowing and threshing. +Then came corn cutting, potato digging, and corn husking. + +=Threshing.=--In those days most of the work around a threshing machine +was also done by hand. There was no self-feeding apparatus and no +band-cutting device; there was no straw-blower and no measuring and +weighing attachments. It usually required about a dozen "hands" to do +all the work. These men worked strenuously and usually in dusty places. +The only redeeming feature of the business was the opportunity given for +social intercourse which accompanied the work. Men, being social by +instinct, always work more willingly and more strenuously when others +are with them. + +=Welcome Events.=--It is quite natural, as we have said, that under such +conditions as these the youth longed for a rainy day. A trip to the city +was always a delightful break in the monotony of his life, and a short +respite from severe toil. Sunday was usually the only social occasion in +rural life. It was always welcome, and the boys, even though tired +physically from work during the week, usually played ball, or went +swimming, or engaged in other sports on Sunday afternoons. Living in +isolation all the week and engaged in hard labor, they instinctively +craved companionship and society. + +=Winter Work.=--When the fall work was done, winter came with its own +occupations. There were usually about four months of school in the rural +district, but even during this season there was much manual labor to be +done. Trees were to be cut down and wood was to be chopped, sawed, and +split for the coming summer. Land frequently had to be cleared to make +new fields; the breaking of colts and of steers constituted part of the +sport as well as of the labor of that season of the year. + +=What the Old Days Lacked.=--There was little or no machinery as a +factor in the rural life of days gone by. In these modern times, of +course, many things have made country life more attractive than +formerly. Twenty-five years ago there was no rural delivery, no motor +cycle, no automobile; even horses and buggies were somewhat of a luxury, +for in the remote country districts the ox team or "Shanks' mares" +formed the usual mode of travel. + +=The Result.=--It is little wonder that under such circumstances +discontent arose and that people who by nature are sociable longed to go +where life was, in their opinion, more agreeable. Even with all the +later conveniences and improvements, the trend cityward still continues +and may continue indefinitely in the future. The American people may as +well face the facts as they are. It is difficult if not impossible to +make the country as attractive to young people as is the city; and +consequently to reverse or even stop the urban trend will be most +difficult. Indeed, some of the things which make rural life pleasant, +like the automobile, favor this trend, which probably will continue +until economic pressure puts on the brakes. Even now, with all our +improvements, the social factors in rural life are comparatively small. +Here is one of our greatest problems: How to increase the fullness of +social life in rural communities so as to make country life and living +everywhere more attractive. + +=The Backward Rural School.=--Although the material conditions and +facilities for work have improved by reason of various inventions in +recent years, the rural school of former days was frequently as good as, +if not better in some respects than, the school of to-day. Formerly +there were many able men engaged in teaching who could earn as much in +the schoolroom as they could earn elsewhere. There were consequently in +the rural schools many strong personalities, both men and women. Since +that time new opportunities and callings have developed so rapidly that +some of the most capable people have been enticed into other and more +profitable callings, and the schools are left in a weakened condition by +reason of their absence. + +=Women's Condition Unrelieved.=--With all our improvements and +conveniences, the work of women in country communities has been relieved +but little. Farm life has always been and still is a hard one for women. +It has been, in many instances, a veritable state of slavery; for women +in the country have always been compelled to do not only their own +proper work, but the work of two or three persons. The working hours for +women are even longer than those for men; for breakfast must be prepared +for the workmen, and household work must be done after the evening meal +is eaten. It is little to be wondered at that women as a rule wish to +leave the drudgery of rural life. Under the improved conditions of the +present day, with all kinds of machinery, the work of women is lightened +least.[1] + +[Footnote 1: There is an illuminating article, entitled "The Farmer and +His Wife," by Martha Bensley Bruère in _Good Housekeeping Magazine_, for +June, 1914, p. 820.] + +=The Rural Problem Must Be Met.=--I have given a short description of +rural life in order to have a setting for the rural school. The school +is, without doubt, the center of the rural life problem, and we are +face to face with it for a solution of some kind. The problems of both +have been too long neglected. Now forced upon our attention, they should +receive the thoughtful consideration of all persons interested in the +welfare of society. They are difficult of solution, probably the most +difficult of all those which our generation has to face. They involve +the reduction of the repellent forces in rural life and the increase of +such forces and agencies as will be attractive, especially to the young. +The great problem is, how can the trend cityward be checked or reversed? + +What attractions are possible and feasible in the rural communities? In +each there should be some recognized center to provide these various +attractions. There should be lectures and debates, plays of a serious +character, musical entertainments, and social functions; even the moving +picture might be made of great educational value. There is no reason why +the people in the country are not entitled to all the satisfying mental +food which the people of the city enjoy. These things can be secured, +too, if the people will only awake to a realization of their value, and +will show their willingness to pay for them. Something cannot be secured +for nothing. In the last resort the solution of most problems, as well +as the accomplishment of most aims, involves the expenditure of money. +Wherever the people of rural communities have come to value the finer +educational, cultural, civilizing, and intangible things more than they +value money, the problem is already being solved. It is certainly a +question of values--in aims and means. + +=Facilities.=--Many inventions might be utilized on the farm to better +advantage than they are at present. But people live somewhat isolated +lives in rural communities and there is not the active comparison or +competition that one finds in the city; improvements of all kinds are +therefore slower of realization. Values are not forced home by every-day +discussion and comparison. People continue to do as they have been +accustomed to do, and there are men who own large farms and have large +bank accounts who continue to live without the modern improvements, and +hence with but few comforts in life. A greater interest in the best +things pertaining to country life needs to be awakened, and to this end +rural communities should be better organized, socially, economically, +and educationally. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE URBAN TREND + + +In the preceding chapter we discussed those forces at work in rural life +which tend to drive people from the farm to the city. It was shown that, +on the whole, up to the present at least, farm life has not been as +pleasant as it should or could be made. Some aspects of it are +uncomfortable, if not painful. Hard manual labor, long hours of toil, +and partial isolation from one's fellows usually and generally +characterize it. Of course, there are many who by nature or habit, or +who by their ingenuity and thrift, have made it serve them, and who +therefore have come to love the life of the country; but we are speaking +with reference to the average men and women who have not mastered the +forces at hand, which can be turned to their service only by thought and +thrift. + +=Cityward.=--The trend toward the cities is unmistakable. So alarming +has it become that it has aroused the American people to a realization +that something must be done to reverse it or at least to minimize it. At +the close of the Revolutionary War only three per cent of the total +population of our country lived in what could be termed cities. In 1810 +only about five per cent of the whole population was urban; while in +1910 forty-six per cent of our people lived in cities. This means that, +relatively, our forces producing raw materials are not keeping pace with +the growth and demands of consumption. In some of the older Atlantic +states, as one rides through the country, vast areas of uncultivated +land meet the view. The people have gone to the city. Large cities +absorb smaller ones, and the small towns absorb the inhabitants of the +rural districts. Every city and town is making strenuous efforts to +build itself up, if need be at the expense of the smaller towns and the +rural communities. To "boom" its own city is assumed to be a large and +legitimate part of the business of every commercial club. This must +mean, of course, that smaller cities and towns and the rural communities +suffer accordingly in business, in population, and in life. + +=Attractive Forces.=--The attractive forces of the city are quite as +numerous and powerful as the repellent forces of the country. The city +is attractive from many points of view. It sets the pace, the standard, +the ideals; even the styles of clothing and dress originate there. It is +where all sorts of people are seen and met with in large numbers; its +varied scenes are always magnetic. Both old and young are attracted by +activities of all kinds; the "white way" in every city is a constant bid +for numbers. In the city there is always more liveliness if not more +life than in the country. Activity is apparent everywhere. Everything +_seems_ better to the young person from the country; there is more to +see and more to hear; the show windows and the display of lighting are a +constant lure; there is an endless variety of experiences. Life seems +great because it is cosmopolitan and not provincial or local. In any +event, it _draws_ the youth of the country. Things, they say, are +_doing_, and they long to be a part of it all. There is no doubt that +the mind and heart are motivated in this way. + +=Conveniences in Cities.=--In the city there are more conveniences than +in the country. There are sidewalks and paved streets instead of muddy +roads; there are private telephones, and the telegraph is at hand in +time of need; there are street cars which afford comfortable and rapid +transportation. There are libraries, museums, and art galleries; there +are free lectures and entertainments of various kinds; and the churches +are larger and more attractive than those in the country. As in the case +of teachers, the cities secure their pick of preachers. Doctors are at +hand in time of need, and all the professions are centered there. Is it +any wonder that people, when they have an opportunity, migrate to the +city? There is a social instinct moving the human heart. All people are +gregarious. Adults as well as children like to be where others are, and +so where some people congregate others tend to do likewise. Country life +as at present organized does not afford the best opportunity for the +satisfaction of this social instinct. The great variety of social +attractions constitutes the lure of the city--it is the powerful social +magnet. + +=Urbanized Literature.=--Most books, magazines, and papers are published +in cities, hence most of them have the flavor of city life about them. +They are made and written by people who know the city, and the city +doings are usually the subject matter of the literary output of the day. +Children acquire from these, even in their primary school days, a +longing for the city. The idea of seeing and possibly of living in the +city becomes "set," and it tends sooner or later to realize itself in +act and in life. + +=City Schools.=--The city, as a rule, maintains excellent schools; and +the most modern and serviceable buildings for school purposes are found +there. Urban people seem willing to tax themselves to a greater extent; +and so in the cities will be found comparatively better buildings, +better teachers, more and better supervision, more fullness of life in +the schools. Usually in the cities the leading and most enterprising men +and women are elected to the school board, and the people, as we have +said, acquiesce in such taxation as the board deems necessary. Cities +endeavor to secure the choice of the output of normal schools, +regardless of the demands of rural districts. Every city has a +superintendent, and every building a principal; while, in the country, +one county superintendent has to supervise a hundred or more schools, +situated too, as they are, long distances apart. + +=City Churches.=--Something similar may be said with respect to the +churches. In every city there are several, and people can usually go to +the church of their choice. In many parts of the country the church is +decadent, and in some places it is becoming extinct. Even the automobile +contributes its influence against the country church as a rural +institution, and in favor of the city; for people who are sufficiently +well-to-do often like to take an automobile ride to the city on Sunday. + +=City Work Preferred.=--Workingmen and servant girls also prefer the +city. They dislike the long irregular hours of the country; they prefer +to work where the hours are regular, where they do not come into such +close touch with the soil, and where they do not have to battle with the +elements. In the city they work under shelter and in accordance with +definite regulations. Hence it is that the problem of securing +workingmen and servant girls in the country is every day becoming more +and more perplexing. + +=Retired Farmers.=--Farmers themselves, when they have become reasonably +well-to-do, frequently retire to the city, either to enjoy life the rest +of their days or to educate their children. Individuals are not to be +blamed. The lack of equivalent attractions and conveniences in the +country is responsible. + +=Educational Centers.=--As yet, it is seldom that good high schools are +found in the country. To secure a high school education country people +frequently have to avail themselves of the city schools. Many colleges +and universities are located in the cities and, consequently, much of +the educational trend is in that direction. + +=Face the Problem.=--The rural problem is a difficult one and we may as +well face the situation honestly and earnestly. There has been too much +mere oratory on problems of rural life. We have often, ostrich-like, +kept our heads under the sand and have not seen or admitted the real +conditions, which must be changed if rural life is to become attractive. +Say what we will, people will go where their needs are best satisfied +and where the attractions are greatest. People cannot be _driven_--they +must be attracted and won. If "God made the country and man made the +town," God's people must be neglecting to give God's country "such a +face and such a mien as to be loved needs only to be seen." Where the +element of nature is largest there should be a more truly and deeply +attractive life than where the element of art predominates, however +alluring that may be. How can country life and the country itself be +made to attract? + +=Educational Value Not Realized.=--People generally have never been able +to estimate education fairly. The value of lands, horses, and money can +easily be measured, for these are tangible things; but education is very +difficult of appraisal, for it is intangible. Yet it is true that +intangible things are frequently of greater worth than are tangible +things. There are men who pay more to a jockey to train their horses +than they are willing to pay to a teacher to train their children. This +is because the services of the jockey are more easily reckoned. The +effects or results of the horse training are measured by the proceeds in +dollars and cents on the racetrack, and so are easily realized; while +the growth in education, refinement, and culture on the part of the +child is difficult indeed to measure or estimate. And yet how much more +valuable it is! The jockey gives the one, the teacher the other. + +=Wrong Standard in the Social Mind.=--In some rural communities the idea +exists that a teacher is worth about fifty dollars a month--perhaps not +so much. This idea has been encouraged until it has been too generally +accepted; and in many places the notion prevails that if a teacher is +receiving more than that amount, she is being overpaid, and the school +board is accused of extravagance. The rural school problem will never be +solved until the standard of compensation is readjusted. There are many +persons in the cities, who, for the performance of socially unimportant +things, are receiving larger salaries than are usually paid to +university professors and college presidents. Thus, the relative values +of services are misjudged and the recompense of labor is not properly +graded and proportioned. Unless there is, quite generally, a saner +perspective in the social mind and until values are reëstimated, the +solution of the rural school problem and indeed of many problems of +rural life is well-nigh hopeless. Before a solution is effected +sufficient inducement must be held out to more strong persons to come +into the rural life and into the rural schools. These persons would and +could be leaders of strength among the people. + +=Rural Organization.=--Until recently there has been little or no +organization of rural life. Communities have been chaotic, socially, +economically, and educationally. Real leaders have been wanting--men and +women of strong and winning personality. The rural teacher, if he were a +man of power and initiative, often proved to be a real savior and +redeemer of social life in his community. But leaders of this type +cannot now be secured without a reasonable incentive. Such men will +seldom sacrifice themselves for the organization and uplift of a +community except for proper compensation. If teachers--or at least the +strong ones--were paid two or three times as much as they are to-day, +and if the standards were raised accordingly, so as to secure really +strong personalities as teachers, country life might be organized in +different directions and made so much more attractive than at present, +that the urban trend would be arrested or greatly minimized. + +=Playing with the Problem.=--The possibilities of the organization of +rural life and rural schools have not yet been realized; as a people we +have really played with this problem. It has taken care of itself; it +has been allowed to drift. Rural life at present is a kind of easy +social adjustment on the basis of the minimum of expense and of +exertion toward a solution. We have not realized the value of genuine +social, economic, and educational organization with all the activities +in these lines which the terms imply. We have not grappled with the +problem in an earnest, scientific way; we have never thought out +systematically what is needed, and then decided to employ the necessary +means to bring about the desired end. It may be that the problem will +remain unsolved for generations to come; but if country life and country +schools are to be made as attractive and pleasant as city life and city +schools, the people will have to face the problem without flinching and +use the only means which will bring about the desired result. The +problem could be easily solved if the people realized the true value of +rural life and of _good_ rural schools. Where there is a will there is a +way; but where there is no will there is no possible way. Country life +can be made fully as pleasant as city life, and the rural schools can be +made fully as good as the city schools. Of course some things will be +lacking in the country which are found in the city; but, conversely, +many things and probably better things will be found in the country than +could be found in the city. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE REAL AND THE IDEAL SCHOOL + + +This chapter will have reference to the one-room rural school as it has +existed in the past and as it still exists in many places; it will also +discuss the rural school as it ought to be. It is assumed that, although +consolidation is spreading rapidly, the one-room rural school as an +institution will continue to exist for an indefinite time. Under +favorable conditions it probably should continue to exist; for, as we +shall see, it has many excellent features which are real advantages. + +=The Building.=--The old-fashioned country schoolhouse was in many +respects a pitiable object. The "little red schoolhouse" in story and +song has been the object of much praise. As an ideal creation it may be +deserving of admiration, but this cannot be asserted of it as a reality. +The common type was an ordinary box-shaped building without +architecture, without a plan, and, as a rule, without care or repair. +Frequently it stood for years without being repainted, and in the midst +of chaotic and ill-cared-for surroundings. The contract for building it +was usually awarded to some carpenter who was also given _carte blanche_ +to do as he pleased in regard to its construction, the only provision +being that he keep within the amount of money allowed--probably eight +hundred or a thousand dollars. The usual result was the plainest kind of +building, without conveniences of any kind. If a blackboard were +provided in the specifications (which were often oral rather than +written), it was perhaps placed in such a position as to be useless. In +the course of my experience as county superintendent of schools, I once +visited a rural school in which the blackboard began at the height of a +man's head and extended to the ceiling, the carpenter probably thinking +that its one purpose was to display permanently the teacher's program. + +=No System of Ventilation.=--No system of ventilation was provided in +former days, and in some schoolhouses such is the condition to-day. +Nevertheless, within the past fifteen years, there has been a gratifying +improvement in this direction. It used to be necessary to secure fresh +air, if at all, by opening windows. In some sections, where the climate +is mild, this is the best method of ventilation; but certainly, in +northern latitudes where the winters are long and cold, some system of +forced or automatic ventilation should be provided. It may not be amiss +to assert that it would be an excellent plan to decide first upon a good +system of ventilation and then to build the schoolhouse around it. +Without involving great expense there are simple systems of ventilation +and heating combined which are very efficient for such houses. In +former times, and in some places even yet, the usual method of heating +was by an unjacketed stove which made the pupils who sat nearest it +uncomfortably warm, while those in the farther corners were shivering +with cold. With new systems of ventilation there is an insulating jacket +which equalizes the temperature of the room by heating the fresh air and +distributing it evenly. + +It is strange how slowly people change their habits and even their +opinions. Many are ignorant of the fact that in an unventilated +schoolroom each child is breathing over and over again an atmosphere +vitiated by the air exhaled from the lungs of every child in the room. +The fact that twenty to forty pupils are often housed in +poorly-ventilated schools accounts for much sickness and disease among +country children. Whatever it is that makes air "fresh," and healthful, +that factor is not found under the conditions described. Changes in the +temperature and movement of the air are, no doubt, important in securing +a healthful physiological reaction, but air contaminated and befouled by +bodies and lungs has stupefying effects which cannot be ignored. +Frequent change of air is essential. + +=The Surroundings.=--The typical country schoolhouse, as it existed in +the past, and as it frequently exists to-day, has not sufficient land to +form a good yard and a playground appropriate for its needs. The farmer +who sold or donated the small tract of land often plows almost to the +very foundation walls. There are usually no trees near by to afford +shelter or to give the place a homelike and attractive appearance. Some +trees may have been planted, but owing to neglect they have all died +out, and nothing remains but a few dead and unsightly trunks. There is +usually no fence around the school yard, and the outbuildings are +frequently a disgrace, if not a positive menace to the children's +morals. If a choice had to be made it would be better to allow children +to grow up in their native liberty and wildness without a school +"education" than to have them subjected to mental and moral degradation +by the vicious suggestions received in some of these places. Weak +teachers have a false modesty in regard to such conditions and school +boards are often thoughtless or negligent. + +=The Interior.=--Within the building there is frequently no adequate +equipment in the way of apparatus, supplementary reading, or reference +books of any kind. There are no decorations on the walls except such as +are put there by mischievous children. The whole situation both inside +and out brings upon one a feeling of desolation. Men and women who live +in reasonably comfortable homes near by allow the school home of their +precious children to remain for years unattractive and uninspiring in +every particular. Again this is the result of ignorance, +thoughtlessness, or negligence--a negligence that comes alarmingly close +to guilt. + +=Small, Dead School.=--In many a lone rural schoolhouse may be found +ten to twenty small children; and behind the desk a teacher holding only +a second or third grade elementary or county certificate. The whole +institution is rather tame and weak, if not dead; it is anything but +stimulating (and if education means anything it means stimulation). It +is this kind of situation which has led in recent years to a discussion +of the rural school as one of the problems most urgently demanding the +attention of society. + +=That Picture and This.=--Let us now consider, after looking upon that +picture, what the situation ought to be. In the first place, there +should be a large school ground, or yard--not less than two acres. The +schoolhouse should be properly located in this tract. The ground as a +whole should be platted by a landscape architect, or at least by a +person of experience and taste. Trees of various kinds should be planted +in appropriate places, and groups of shrubbery should help to form an +attractive setting. The school grounds should have a serviceable fence +and gate and there should be a playground and a school garden. + +=Architecture of Building.=--No school building should be erected that +has not first been planned or passed upon by an architect; this is now +required by law in some states. A building with handsome appearance and +with appropriate appointments is but a trifle, if any, more costly than +one that has none. Art of all kinds is a valuable factor in the +education of children and of people generally; and a building, beautiful +in construction, is no exception to the rule. Every person is educated +by what impresses him. It is only within the last few years that much +attention has been given to the necessity of special architecture in +schoolhouses. + +Men of intelligence sometimes draw up their own plans for a building and +then, having become enamored of them, proceed to construct a residence +or a schoolhouse along those lines. If they had shown their plans to an +architect of experience he would probably have pointed out numerous +defects which would have been admitted as soon as observed. Neither the +individual nor the district school boards can afford, in justice to +themselves and the community they represent, to ignore the wide and +varied knowledge of the expert. + +=Get Expert Opinion.=--Expert opinion should govern in the matter of +heating and ventilating, in the kind of seating, in the arrangement of +blackboards, in the decorations, and in all such technical and +professional matters. Every rural school should have a carefully +selected library, suited to its needs, including a sufficient number of +reference books. The pupils should have textbooks without delay so that +no time may be wasted in getting started after the opening of school. +The walls should be adorned with a few appropriate and beautiful +pictures. + +=Other Surroundings.=--On this school ground there should be a shop of +some kind. The resourceful teacher would find a hundred uses for some +such center of work. The closets should be so placed and so devised as +to be easily supervised. This would prevent them from being moral plague +spots, as is too often the case, as we have already said. There should +be stables for sheltering horses, if the school is, as it should be, a +social center for the community. There should be a flagpole in front of +the schoolhouse, from the top of which the stars and stripes should be +often unfurled to the breeze. + +=Number of Pupils.=--In this architecturally attractive building, amid +beautiful surroundings both inside and out, there should be, in order to +have a good rural school, not less than eighteen or twenty pupils. Where +there are fewer the school should be consolidated with a neighboring +school. Twenty pupils would give an assurance of educational and social +life, instead of the dead monotony which often prevails in the smaller +rural school. There should be, during the year, at least eight, and +preferably nine, months of school work. + +=It Will Not Teach Alone.=--But with all of these conditions the school +may still be far from effective. All the material equipment--the total +environment of the pupils, both inside and outside the building--may be +excellent, and still we may fail to find there a good school. Garfield +said of his old teacher that Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and a +pupil on the other made the best kind of college. This indicates an +essential factor other than the physical equipment. + +I remember being once in a store when a man who had bought a saw a few +days previously returned it in a wrathful mood. He was angry through and +through and declared that the saw was utterly worthless. He had brought +it back to reclaim his money. The merchant had a rich vein of humor in +his nature and he listened smilingly to the outburst of angry language. +Then he merely took the saw, opened his till and handed the man his +money, quietly asking, with a twinkle in his eyes for those standing +around, "Wouldn't it saw alone?" + +Now, we may have a fine school ground, or site, with a variety of +beautiful trees and clumps of shrubbery; we may have a playground and a +school garden; we may have it all splendidly fenced; the schoolhouse may +have an artistic appearance and may be kept in excellent repair; it may +be well furnished inside with blackboards, seats, library, reference +books, good textbooks, and all else that is needed; it may be +beautifully decorated; it may have twenty or even more pupils, and yet +we may not have a good school. It will not "saw alone"; the one +indispensable factor may still be lacking. + +=The Teacher.=--"As is the teacher, so is the school." Mark Hopkins on +the end of a log made a good college, compared with the situation where +the building is good and the teacher poor. The teacher is like the +mainspring in a watch. Without a good teacher there can be no good +school. Live teacher, live school; dead teacher, dead school. The +teacher and the school must be the center of life, of thought, and of +conversation, in a good way, in the neighborhood. The teacher is the +soul of the school; the other things constitute its body. What shall it +profit a community to have a great building and lack a good teacher? + +If we were obliged to choose between a good teacher and poor material +conditions and environment on the one hand, and excellent material +conditions and environment and a poor teacher on the other, we should +certainly not hesitate in our choice. + +=A Good Rural School.=--Now, if we suppose a really good teacher under +the good conditions described above, we shall have a _good_ rural +school. There is usually better individual work done in such a school +than is possible in a large system of graded schools in a city. In such +a school there is more single-mindedness on the part of pupils and +teacher. These pupils bring to such a school unspoiled minds, minds not +weakened by the attractions and distractions, both day and night, of +city life. In such a school the essentials of a good education are, as a +rule, more often emphasized than in the city. There is probably a truer +perspective of values. Things of the first magnitude are distinguished +from things of the second, fifth, or tenth magnitude. This inability to +distinguish magnitudes is one of the banes of common school education +everywhere--so many things are appraised at the same value. + +=The Problem.=--We have tried in this discussion to put before the +reader a fairly accurate picture, on the one hand, of the undesirable +conditions which have too often prevailed, and, on the other, of a rural +school which would be an excellent place in which to receive one's +elementary education. The reader is asked to "look here, upon this +picture, and on this." The transition from the one to the other is one +of the great problems of rural life and of the rural school. +Consolidation of schools, which we shall discuss more at length in a +later chapter, will help to solve the problem of the rural school, and +we give it our hearty indorsement. It is the best plan we know of where +the conditions are favorable; but it is probable that the one-room rural +school will remain with us for a long time to come. Indeed there are +some good reasons why it should remain. Where the good rural school +exists, whether non-consolidated or consolidated, it should be the +center and the soul of rural life in that community--social, economical, +and educational. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +SOME LINES OF PROGRESS + + +=Progress.=--The period covering the last sixty or seventy-five years +has seen greater progress in all material lines than any other equal +period of the world's history. Indeed, it is doubtful if a similar +period of invention and progress will ever recur. It has been one of +industrial revolution in all lines of activity. + +=In Reaping Machines.=--Let us for a few moments trace this development +and progress in some specific fields. Within the memory of many men now +living the hand sickle was in common use in the cutting of grain. In the +fifties and sixties the cradle was the usual implement for harvesting +wheat, oats, and similar grains. One man did the cradling and another +the gathering and the binding into sheaves. Then came rapid development +of the reaping machine. + +=The "Dropper."=--The most important step was probably the invention of +the sickle-bar, a slender steel bar having V-shaped sections attached, +to cut the grass and grain; this was pushed and pulled between what are +called guards, by means of a rod called the "Pitman rod," attached to a +small revolving wheel run by the gearing of the machine. This was a +wonderful invention and its principle has been extensively applied. The +first reaping machine using the sickle and guard device was known as the +"dropper." A reel, worked by machinery, revolved at a short distance +above the sickle, beating the wheat backward upon a small platform of +slats. This platform could be raised and lowered by the foot, by means +of a treadle. When there was sufficient grain on this slat-platform it +was lowered and the wheat was left lying in short rows on the ground, +behind the machine. The bundles had to be bound by hand and removed +before the machine could make the next round. This machine, though +simple, was the forerunner of other important inventions. + +=The Hand Rake.=--The next type of machine was the one in which the +platform of slats was replaced by a stationary platform having a smooth +board floor. A man sat at the side of the machine, near the rear, and +raked the bundles off sidewise with a hand rake. A boy drove the team +and the man raked off the grain in sufficient quantities to make +bundles. These were thrown by the rake a sufficient distance from the +standing grain to allow the machine to proceed round and round the +field, even if these bundles of grain, so raked off, were not yet bound +into sheaves. + +=The Self Rake.=--The next advance consisted in what is known as the +"self rake." This machine had a series of slats or wings which did both +the work of the reel in the earlier machine and also that of the man +who raked the wheat off the later machine. This saved the labor of one +man. + +=The Harvester.=--The next improvement in the evolution of the reaping +machine--if indeed an improvement it could be called--was what is known +as the "harvester." In this there was a canvas elevator upon which the +grain was thrown by the reel, and which brought the grain up to the +platform on which two men stood for the purpose of binding it. Each man +took his share, binding alternate bundles and throwing them, when bound, +down on the ground. Such work was certainly one of the repellent factors +in driving men and boys from the country to the city. + +=The Wire Binder.=--Another step in advance was the invention of the +wire binder. Everything was now done by machinery: the cutting, the +elevating, the binding, and even the carrying of the sheaves into piles +or windrows. There was an attachment upon the machine by which the +bundles were carried along and deposited in bunches to make the +"shocking" easier. + +=The Twine Binder.=--But the wire was found to be an obstruction both in +threshing and in the use of straw for fodder; and, as necessity is the +mother of invention, the so-called twine "knotter" soon came into +existence and with it the full-fledged twine binder with all its varied +improvements as we have it to-day. + +=Threshing Machine.=--The development of the perfected threshing machine +was very similar. Fifty years ago, the flail was an implement of common +use upon the barn floor. Then came the invention called the "cylinder"; +this was systematically studded with "teeth" and these, in the rapid +revolutions of the cylinder, passed between corresponding teeth +systematically set in what is known as "concaves." This tooth +arrangement in revolving cylinder and in concave was as epochal in the +line of progress in threshing machines as the sickle, with its +"sections" passing or being drawn through guards, was in reaping +machines. + +=The First Machine.=--The earliest of these threshing machines +containing a cylinder was run by a treadmill on which a horse was used. +It was literally a "one-horse" affair. Of course the first type of +cylinder was small and simple, and the work as a rule was poorly done. +The chaff and the straw came out together and men had to attend to each +by hand. The wheat was poorly cleaned and had to be run through a +fanning-mill several times. + +=Improvements.=--Then came some improvements and enlargements in the +cylinder, and also the application of horse power by means of what was +known as "tumbling rods" and a gearing attached to the cylinder. All +this at first was on rather a small scale, only two, three, or four +horses being used. But improvements and enlargements came step by step, +until the ten and twelve horse power machine was achieved, resulting in +the large separator that would thresh out several hundred bushels of +wheat in a day. The separator had also attached to it what was called +the "straw carrier," which conveyed both the straw and the chaff to +quite a distance from the machine. But even then most of the work around +the machine was done by hand. The straw pile required the attention of +three or four men; or if the straw were "bucked," as they said, it +required a man with a horse or team hitched to a long pole. In this +latter case the straw was spread in various parts of the field and +finally burned. + +=The Steam Engine.=--Then came the portable steam engine for threshing +purposes. At first, however, this had to be drawn from place to place by +teams. The power was applied to the separator by a long belt. Following +this, came the devices for cutting the bands, the self-feeder, and +finally the straw blower, as it is called, consisting of a long tube +through which the straw is blown by the powerful separator fanning-mill. +This blower can be moved in different directions, and consequently it +saves the labor of as many men as were formerly required to handle the +straw and chaff. About the same time, also, the device for weighing and +measuring the grain was perfected. The "traction" engine has now +replaced the one which had to be drawn by teams, and this not only +propels itself but also draws the separator and other loads after it +from place to place. In all this progress the machinery has constantly +become more and more perfect and the cylinder and capacity of the +machine greater and greater. Not many years ago, six hundred bushels in +a day was considered a big record in the threshing of wheat. Now the +large machines separate, or thresh out, between three and four thousand +bushels in one day. Such has been the development in reaping machines +from the sickle to the self-binder, and in threshing machines from the +flail to the modern marvel just described. + +=Improvement in Ocean Travel.=--A similar story may be told in regard to +ocean traffic and ocean travel. Our ancestors came from foreign lands on +sailing ships that required from three weeks to several months to cross +the Atlantic. I am acquainted with a German immigrant who, many years +ago, left a seaport town of Germany on January 1st and landed at Castle +Garden in New York City on the 4th of July. The inconvenience of travel +under such circumstances was equal to the slowness of the journey. In +those days leaving home in the old country meant never again seeing +one's relatives and friends. If such conditions are compared with those +of to-day we can readily realize the vast progress that has been made. +To-day the great ocean liners cross the Atlantic in a little more than +five days. These magnificent "ocean greyhounds" are fitted out with all +modern conveniences and improvements, so that one is as comfortable in +them and as safe as he is in one of the best hotels of the large cities. + +=From Hand-spinning to Factory.=--Weaving in former times was done +entirely by hand. Fifty years ago private weavers were found in almost +every community. Wool was raised, carded, spun, and woven, and the +garments were all made, practically, within the household. All that is +now past. In the great manufacturing establishments one man at a lever +does the work of 250 or 500 people. This great industrial advancement +has taken place within the memory of people now living. And similar +progress has been made in almost every other line of human endeavor. + +=The Cost.=--Very few people realize what it has cost the human race to +pass from one condition to the other in these various lines. Hundreds +and thousands of men have worked and died in the struggle and in the +process of bringing about improvements. Every calamity due to inadequate +machines or to poor methods has had its influence toward causing further +advancements in inventions for the benefit of mankind. + +=Progress in Higher Education.=--Let us now turn our attention to the +progress that has been made in the field of academic education. It is +true that many of the great universities were established centuries ago. +These were at first endowed church institutions or theological +seminaries; but the great state universities of this country are +creations of the progressive period under consideration. General +taxation for higher education is comparatively a modern practice. The +University of Michigan was one of the first state universities +established. Since then nearly every commonwealth, whether it has come +into the Union since that time or whether it is one of the older states, +has established a university. There has been a great development of +higher education by the states. No institutions of the country have +grown more rapidly within the last thirty or forty years than the state +universities. They have established departments of every kind. Besides +the college of liberal arts there are in most of them colleges or +schools of law, medicine, engineering in its several lines, education, +pharmacy, dentistry, commerce, industrial arts, and fine arts. The state +university is abroad in the land; it has, as a rule, an extension +department by which it impresses itself upon the people of the state, +outside its walls. The principle of higher education by taxation of all +the people is no longer questioned; it is no longer an experiment. The +state university is relied upon to furnish the country with the leaders +of the future--and leaders will always be in demand, for they are always +sorely needed. + +=Progress in Normal Schools.=--While the state universities have been +enjoying this marvelous development, nearly every state has been +establishing normal schools for the professional preparation of +teachers. The normal school as an institution is also modern. As an +institution established and supported by state taxation it is, as a +rule, more recent than the universities. Forty years ago many good +people regarded the normal school idea as visionary and its realization +as a doubtful experiment. Indeed in one western state, as late as the +eighties, its legislature debated the abolition of its normal schools on +the ground that they were not fulfilling or accomplishing any useful +mission. To-day, however, no such charge of inefficiency can be made. +The normal schools, like the universities, have proved their right to +exist. They have been weighed in the balance and have not been found +wanting. It is now generally recognized that those who would teach +should make some preparation for that high calling; and so the normal +schools in every state have demonstrated their "right of domicile" in +the educational system. It is now generally recognized that teaching, +both as a science and as an art, is highly complicated, and that, if it +is to be a profession, there must be special preparation for it. +Consequently the normal schools of the country have had a wonderful and +rapid development from the experimental stage to that in which they have +well-nigh realized their ideals. School boards everywhere look to the +normal schools for their supply of elementary teachers. + +=Progress in Agricultural Colleges.=--Similar statements may be made +concerning the agricultural colleges of the country. They are modern +creations in the United States; and with the aid of both the state and +the national government they have come to be vast institutions, devoting +themselves to the teaching and the spreading of scientific farming among +the people. Here there is a vast work to be done. On account of the +trend of population toward the cities, and on account of the vast tracts +of country land lying idle, scientific agriculture should be brought in +to aid in production and thus to keep down the cost of living. The +agricultural colleges of the country have a large part to play in the +solution of the problems of rural life. + +=Progress in the High Schools.=--A similar development characterizes the +high schools of the country. Education has extended downward from above. +Universities everywhere have come into existence before the +establishment of secondary schools. Not only are the universities, the +normal schools, and the agricultural colleges of recent origin, but the +high schools also are modern institutions, at least in their present +systematized form. The high schools of the cities constitute to-day one +of the most efficient forms of school organization. At the present time +the better high schools of the cities are veritable colleges--in fact +their curricula are as extensive as were those of the colleges of sixty +years ago. Vast numbers attend them; their faculties are composed of +college graduates or better; they have, as a rule, various departments, +such as manual training, domestic science, agriculture, commercial +subjects, normal courses, etc. In addition to the traditional curricula, +the high schools, like the universities, normal schools, and +agricultural colleges, have kept pace, in large measure, with the +material progress described in the first part of this chapter. + +=How Is the Rural School?=--We have described the progress that has +been made in various fields of the industrial world and also in several +kinds of educational institutions. At this point the question may, with +propriety, be asked whether the rural schools have generally kept pace +in their progress with the other and higher institutions which we have +mentioned. We believe that they have not. The rural schools have too +often been the last to attract public interest and to receive the +attention which their importance deserves. + +[Illustration: A neglected school in unattractive surroundings] + +[Illustration: A lonely road to school. No conveyances provided] + +[Illustration: A better type of building with some attempt at +improvements] + +[Caption for the above illustrations: THE ONE-ROOM SCHOOL] + + + + +CHAPTER V + +A BACKWARD AND NEGLECTED FIELD + + +=Rural Schools the Same Everywhere.=--The one-room country school of +to-day is much the same the whole country over. Such schools are no +better in Michigan, Wisconsin, or Minnesota than they are in the +Dakotas, Montana, or Idaho. They are no better in Ohio or New York than +they are in Minnesota or Wisconsin, and no better in the New England +states than in New York and Ohio. There is a wonderful similarity in +these schools in all the states. + +Nevertheless, it may be maintained with some plausibility that the rural +schools of the West are superior to those farther east. The East is +conservative and slow to change. The West has fewer traditions to break. +Many strong personalities of initiative and push have come out of the +East and taken up their abode in the West. Young men continue to follow +Horace Greeley's advice. Sometimes these young men file upon lands and +teach the neighboring school; and while this may not be the highest +professional aim and attitude, it remains true nevertheless that such +teachers are often earnest, strong, and educated persons. + +Not long ago I had occasion to visit a teacher's institute in a +northwestern state, in which there were enrolled 350 teachers. Some of +these were college graduates and many of them were normal school +graduates from various states. One had only to conduct a round table in +order to experience a very spirited reaction. Colonel Homer B. Sprague, +who was once president of the University of North Dakota, used to say +that it always wrenched him to kick at nothing. There would be no +danger, in such a body of teachers as I have referred to, of wrenching +oneself. I have had occasion many times every year to meet these western +teachers in local associations, in teachers' institutes, and in state +conventions; and from my observations and experience I can truthfully +state that they are fully as responsive and as progressive as the +teachers in other parts of the country. + +=Rural Schools no Better than Formerly.=--Notwithstanding all this, it +is probably true that the rural schools of to-day are, on the whole, but +little better than those of twenty years ago. About that time I served +four years as county superintendent of schools in a western state. As I +recall the condition of the schools of that day I feel sure that there +has been but little real progress. Indeed, for reasons which will be +stated later on, it can be safely asserted that in some parts of the +country there has been a deterioration. + +About thirty years ago I had the experience of teaching rural schools +for several terms. Being acquainted with my coworkers, I met them +frequently in teachers' gatherings and in conventions of various kinds. +If my memory is to be trusted I can again affirm that the teachers of +those days do not compare unfavorably with the rural school teachers of +the present time. And if the teacher is the measure of the school, the +same may be said of the schools. + +Nor is this all. About forty years ago I was attending a rural school +myself. I received all of my elementary education in such schools and I +am convinced that many of my teachers were stronger personalities than +the teachers of to-day. + +=Some Improvement.=--It is not intended here to assert or to convey the +impression that there has been no progress in any direction in the rural +schools. It is the personnel of the country school--the strength and +power of initiative in the teachers of that day--that is here referred +to. Although there has been some progress in many lines it has not been +in the direction of stronger teachers. The textbooks in use to-day in +various branches are decidedly superior to those used in former days, +although some of these older books were by no means without their points +of strength and excellence. Indeed, I sometimes think that textbooks are +often rendered less efficient by being refined upon in a variety of ways +to conform to the popular pedagogical ideas of the day. + +It is no doubt true also that there has been, in the last thirty or +forty years, much discussion along the lines of psychology and pedagogy +and the methods of teaching the various branches. The professional +spirit has been in the air, and there has been much writing and much +talking on the science and art of teaching. But it must be confessed +that, while this is desirable and in fact indispensable, much of it may +be little more than a mere whitewash; much of it is simply parrot-like +imitation; much of it is only "words, words, words." Far be it from me +to underestimate the value of this professional and pedagogical phase of +the teacher's equipment. Nevertheless, when all is said and duly +considered, it is personality that is the greatest factor in the +teacher. A good, sound knowledge of the subjects to be taught comes +next; and last, though probably not least, should come the professional +preparation and training. Without the first two requisites, however, +this last is worth little. It is a lamentable fact that, in almost every +section of our country, there are persons engaged in teaching rural +schools, who are not only deficient in personal power but whose academic +education is not such as to afford an adequate foundation for +professional training. + +=Strong Personalities in the Older Schools.=--As an example of strong +personalities I remember one teacher who in middle life was recognized +as a leader in his community; another one, after serving an +apprenticeship in the country schools, became a prominent and successful +physician; a third became a leading architect; a fourth, a lawyer; a +fifth went west and became county judge in the state of his adoption; a +sixth entered West Point Military Academy and rose rapidly in the United +States army. These instances are given to show that many of the old-time +country teachers were men of force and initiative. They became to their +pupils ideals of manhood worthy to be patterned after. These all taught +in one neighborhood, but similar strong characters were no doubt engaged +in the schools of surrounding neighborhoods. What rural school of to-day +in any state can boast of the uplifting presence of so many men teaching +in one decade? + +A. V. Storm, of the Minnesota Agricultural College, says: + + "But we lack one thing nowadays that these old schools possessed. + Twenty or thirty years ago the country schools were taught for the + most part by men. Such men as Shaw and Dolliver, and a great many + other leading men of to-day, were at one time country school + teachers. They exercised a great influence upon the pupils. They + were the angels who put the coals of fire upon the lips of the + young men, giving them the ambition that made for future greatness. + The country schools now are not so good as they were twenty years + ago. The chief reason is that their teachers are not so capable." + +=More Men Needed.=--To secure the best results, there should be fully as +many men as women teaching in the rural schools. One hundred years ago +both city and country schools were taught by men alone. Now the rural +schools and most of the city schools are taught by women alone. There is +probably as much reason against all teachers being women as there is +against all teachers being men. + +=Low Standard Now.=--Thirty or forty years ago about half of the +teachers were men and half women, both sexes representing the strong and +the weak. Very many of the schools of to-day are under the charge of +young girls from eighteen to twenty years of age who have had little +more than a common elementary education. Some have just finished the +eighth grade and have had a smattering of pedagogy or what is sometimes +called "the theory and practice of teaching." This they could have +secured in a six weeks' summer school, while reviewing the so-called +"common branches." These teachers are holders merely of a second grade +elementary, or county, certificate, which requires very little +education. Almost any person who has taken the required course in +reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, grammar, geography, history, and +hygiene of the elementary school can pass the usual examination and +obtain a certificate to teach. In some states the matter is made still +easier by the issuing of third grade county certificates, and even, in +some cases, by the giving of special permits. Indeed, the standards are +usually so low that the supply of teachers is far beyond the demand. + +=The Survival of the Unfittest.=--Such is the standard which prevails +extensively throughout the country in respect to the qualifications of +rural school teachers. As inferior goods sometimes drive out the better +in the markets, so poor teachers holding the lowest grade of certificate +will sometimes drive out the better, for they are ready to teach for +"less than anybody else." The men and women of strength and initiative +are constantly tempted to go out of the calling into other lines of work +where progress is more pronounced and where salaries or wages are +higher; and so the doors of the teachers' calling swing outward. The +good teachers will desert us, or refuse to come, and the rural schools +will be left with what might be called the survival of the unfittest. + +=Short Terms.=--Add to the foregoing considerations the short terms of +service which prevail in rural schools and we have indeed a pitiable +condition. The average yearly duration of such schools in most states is +about seven months--sometimes less. This leaves about five months of +vacation, or of time between terms, when much that has been learned is +forgotten. Under such conditions how is it possible to give the children +of these communities an education which is at all comparable to that +afforded by the city? + +=Poor Supervision.=--Then, again, there is often little supervision of +country schools. When a county superintendent has under his inspection +from fifty to two hundred schools, it is utterly impossible for him to +give to each the desired number of visits or to supervise and +superintend the work of those schools in a manner that can be called +adequate in any true sense. Sometimes he can visit each school only once +a year, or twice at most, and, even then, there may be two different +teachers in the same school during the year; so that he sees each of his +teachers at work probably only once. What can a supervising officer do +for a school or for a teacher under such circumstances? Practically +nothing. The county superintendent is usually elected to office by the +people and frequently on a partisan ticket. This method of choosing +naturally tends to make him give more attention to politics than he +otherwise would think of giving. So the supervision or superintendency +of country schools is too often slighted or neglected--and who is to +blame? Of course there are many exceptional cases, but the exceptions +only prove the rule. + +=No Decided Movement.=--The whole movement of the rural school, whether +it has been backward or forward, has been too frequently without +definite or pronounced direction. It has moved along the line of least +resistance, sometimes this way, sometimes that, in some places forward, +in other places backward. Time, circumstances, and chance determine the +work. School problems have been settled by convenience and +circumstances. The whole situation has been one of _laissez faire_. It +is only within the past few years that people have become awakened to +the situation. They are beginning to be impressed with the progress that +is being made in all other lines, not only outside of the schools but +also in the fields of higher and secondary education. The rural school +interests have at last begun to ask, "Where do we come in?" + +=Elementary Teaching Not a Profession.=--There has been as yet no real +profession of teaching in the rural or elementary field. In about one +third of the schools there is a new teacher every year; so that every +three years the teaching force in any given county is practically +renewed. A _profession_ cannot be acquired in a day, or even in twelve +months. The work to be done is regarded as an important public work, and +the public is concerned in its own protection. Hence in every true +profession there is a somewhat lengthy period of preparation and a +standard of acquirements which must be attained. In other words, a true +profession is a closed calling which it is impossible for everyone to +join, and which only those can enter who have passed through a severe +preparation and have successfully met the required standard. School +teaching in the country is too frequently not a profession. It can be +entered too easily; the required period of preparation is so short and +the standard is placed so low that young and poorly prepared persons +enter too easily. + +=The Problem Difficult, but Before Us.=--What shall be done? The problem +is before the American people in every state of the Union. The people +themselves have become aroused to the situation, and this itself is +encouraging. Much has been done in some states, but much will be left +undone for the attention of coming generations. The masses of the +people can be aroused only with difficulty. The education of an +individual is a slow process. The education of a family, of a community, +or of a state is slower still. The education of a nation or of a race is +so slow that its progress is difficult of measurement. Indeed, the +movement of the race as a whole is so imperceptible that it leaves room +for debate as to whether humanity is going forward or backward. + +=Other Educational Interests Should Help.=--The higher institutions, +including the state universities, the agricultural colleges, the normal +schools, and the high schools, should all join hands in helping to +remedy conditions. Society has already, in large measure, solved the +problems in the higher educational fields; those institutions have been +advanced to such an extent that they have almost realized their ideals. +The rural population has helped them to attain to these high standards. +As one good turn deserves another, rural communities now look to these +interests for aid in the struggle to overcome the difficulties which +confront them. + +=Higher Standards Necessary.=--But before the rural schools can ever +hope to make the desired progress, higher standards must be set by +society, and the teachers in those schools must attain to them. The +United States, as a nation, is far behind foreign countries in setting +such a standard. In Denmark and elsewhere a country school teacher must +be a normal school graduate. A few national laws in the way of +standardization both in higher and lower education would produce +excellent results. The old fear of encroachment upon state's rights by +the national government has too long prevented national legislation of a +most beneficial kind in the educational field. + +=Courses for Teachers.=--In every normal school in the United States +there should be an elementary course of study extending at least three +years above the eighth grade, and the completion of this course should +be required as a minimum preparation for teaching in any school in the +country. This is certainly not asking too much. Pupils who complete the +eighth grade at fourteen or fifteen years, and then go to a normal +school, would complete this elementary course at the age of seventeen or +eighteen; and no person who has not reached this age should assume the +responsibility for the care and instruction of children in any school. + +=The Problem of Compensation.=--Were such a standard adopted as a +minimum, salaries would immediately rise. (We do not often call them +"salaries" but _wages_, and probably with some discrimination.) If it is +said that teachers of such qualifications cannot be secured, the answer +is that in a short time things would so adjust themselves that the +demand would bring the supply. Salaries in the country must be higher +before we can hope to secure any considerable number of teachers as well +equipped and with as strong personalities as those found in the cities. +It may be necessary for us to pay more than is paid in the city; for if +a teacher has two offers at $65 a month, one from a city and one from +the country, she will, without doubt, accept the city offer every time. +True, she will have to pay more for room and board in the city; +nevertheless she will prefer to be where there are the most +opportunities and conveniences, with probably a better prospect for +promotion. And who can blame her? It is probable that, in many +instances, country districts will have to pay five or ten dollars a +month more than the city if they wish to secure equally strong teachers. +A country district can really afford to pay more than the city in order +to get a good, strong teacher; for taxation in the country is usually +lighter than it is in the city. In the city there is taxation for +lighting, for paving, for sidewalks, for police protection, and for +various other conveniences and necessities. The country is free from +most of such levies, and it could, therefore, afford to pay a little +more school tax in order to secure its share of the best teachers. + +=Consolidation as a Factor.=--In the solution of the school problem +consolidation will do much. This is being tried in almost every state of +the Union and is working in the direction of progress with great +satisfaction. We shall treat of this more at length in a later chapter. + +=Better Supervision Necessary.=--Not only must we have better teachers +in the country, but we must have more and better supervision. There is +no valid reason why country superintendents should be elected on a +political platform. It is the custom everywhere to choose city +superintendents from among the best men or women anywhere in the field, +inside or outside of the state. Such should also be the practice in +choosing county superintendents. Then, too, a county should be divided +into districts and more assistance given the county superintendent in +the supervision of schools. In other words, supervision should be +persistent, consistent, and systematic; visits should be more frequent. +In the city a superintendent or principal has all his schools and +teachers either in one building or in several buildings at no great +distance apart. In the latter case he can go from one to another in a +few minutes, staying at each as long as he thinks necessary. Little time +is lost in travel. The opposite condition is one of the difficulties of +rural supervision, and it must be overcome in some satisfactory way. + +=A Model Rural School.=--It would be a good plan for the state to +establish in each county one model rural school. Such schools might be +maintained wholly or in part by the state, and they would become models +for all the neighboring districts. Children are always imitative, and +people are only children of a larger growth. Most people learn to do +things better by imitation; and so these model state schools would serve +as patterns to be studied and copied by others. + +=The Teacher Should Lead.=--The school should be the mainspring of +educational and social life in the community; hence, only such teachers +should be employed as are real originators of activity in rural schools +and in rural life. The teacher should be a "live wire" and should be +"doing things" all the time. He should be the leader of his community +and his people. + +=A Good Boarding Place.=--A serious difficulty connected with teaching +in the country is that of securing a good boarding place and temporary +home. This may not be a troublesome problem in the older and +well-established communities, but in the newer states and sparsely +settled sections the condition is almost forbidding. Half the enjoyment +of life consists in having a comfortable home and a good room to +oneself. This is absolutely necessary in order to do one's work well, +especially the work of the teacher. Some of the experiences which +teachers have been obliged to go through are almost incredible. Almost +every teacher of a country school could give vivid and pathetic +illustrations and examples of the discomforts, the annoyances, and the +trials to which a boarder in a strange family is subjected. The question +of a boarding place should be in the mind and plan of every school board +when they employ a teacher for their district. It is they who should +solve this problem for the teacher by having a good available home +provided in advance. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +CONSOLIDATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS + + +Much has been said and written in regard to what is generally known as +the "consolidation of schools." Men and women interested in the cause of +popular education have come to feel that the rural schools throughout +the country are making little or no progress, and public attention has +therefore been turned to consolidation as one of the possible means of +improvement. + +=The Process.=--As the name implies, the process is simply the bringing +together and the fusing of two or more schools into one. If two or more +communities, each having a small school of a few children, conclude that +their schools are becoming ineffective and that it would be advantageous +to unite, each may sell its own schoolhouse, and a new one may be built +large enough for all and more centrally located with regard to the whole +territory. They thus "consolidate" the schools of the several districts +and establish a single large one. In many portions of the country the +rural schools have, from various causes, grown smaller and smaller, +until they have ceased to be places of interest, of activity, and of +life. Now, a school, if it means anything, means a place where minds +are stimulated and awakened as well as where knowledge is communicated. +There can be but little stimulation in a school of only a few children. +The pupils feel it and so does the teacher. Life, activity, mental +aspiration are always found where large numbers of persons congregate. +For these reasons the idea of consolidating the small schools into +important centers, or units, is forcing itself upon the people of the +country. Where the schools are small and the roads are good, everything +favors the bringing of the children to a larger and more stimulating +social and educational center. + +=When Not Necessary.=--It might happen, as it frequently does, that a +school is already sufficiently large, active, and enthusiastic to make +it inadvisable to give up its identity and become merged in the larger +consolidated school. If there are twenty or thirty children and an +efficient teacher we have the essential factors of a good school. +Furthermore, it is rather difficult to transport, for several miles, a +larger number than this. + +=The District System.=--There are two different kinds of country school +organization. In some states, what is known as the district system is +the prevailing one. This means that a school district, more or less +irregular in shape and containing probably six to ten square miles, is +organized into a corporation for school purposes. The schoolhouse is +situated somewhere near the center of this district and is usually a +small, boxlike affair, often located in a desolate place without trees +or other attractive environment. This school may be under the +administration of a trustee or of a school board having the management +of the school in every respect. This board determines the length of +term; it hires and dismisses teachers, procures supplies and performs +all the functions authorized by law. It is a case where one school board +has the entire management of one small school. + +[Illustration: A frame building and adequate conveyances] + +[Illustration: A substantial and well-planned building] + +[Caption for the above illustrations: TWO TYPES OF CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS] + +=The Township System.=--The other form of organization is what is known +as the township system. Here the several schools in one township are all +under the administration of one school board. There is not a school +board for each schoolhouse, as in the district system, but one school +board has charge of all the schools of the township. Under certain +conditions it has in its power the locating of schoolhouses within this +general district. The board hires the teachers for all the schools +within its jurisdiction, and in general manages all the schools in the +same manner as the board in the district system manages its one school. + +=Consolidation Difficult in District System.=--The process of +consolidation is always difficult where the district system prevails. +Both custom and sentiment cause the people to hesitate or refuse to +abandon their established form of organization. If a community has been +incorporated for any purpose and has done business for some years, it is +always difficult to induce the people to make a change. They feel as if +they were abdicating government and responsibility. They hesitate to +merge themselves in a larger organization, and hence they advance many +objections to the consolidation of their schools. All this is but +natural. The several communities have been living apart educationally +and have been in a measure strangers. They have never had any occasion +to meet in conference, to exchange thought, and to do business together; +hence they fear and hesitate to take a leap in the dark, as they +conceive it, and to embark upon a course which they think they may +afterwards regret. Consolidation frequently fails because of false +apprehensions due to a lack of social organization. + +=Easier in Township System.=--It is quite otherwise where the township +system exists. Here there are no separate corporations or organizations +controlling the various schools. The school board administers the +affairs of all the schools in the township. Hence there is no sentiment +in regard to the separate and distinct individuality of each school and +its patronage. There are no sub-districts or distinctly organized +communities; a whole township or two townships constitute one large +district and the schools are located at the most convenient points to +serve the children of the whole township. The people in such districts +have been accustomed to act together educationally as well as +politically, and to exchange thought on all such situations. Hence +consolidation, or the union of the several schools, is a comparatively +easy matter. + +=Consolidation a Special Problem for Each District.=--It will, of +course, be seen at once that, in a school township where there are +several small and somewhat lifeless schools with only a few children in +each, it would be desirable for several reasons to bring together all +the children into one large and animated center. This process is a +specific local problem. Whether or not such consolidation is advisable +depends upon many conditions, among which are, (1) the size of the +former schools, (2) the unanimity of sentiment in the community, (3) the +location of roads and of residences, (4) the distance the pupils are to +be transported, and other local and special considerations. The people +of each district should get together and discuss these problems from +various points of view and decide for themselves whether or not they +shall adopt the plan and also the extent to which it shall be carried. +Much will depend upon the size of the schools and everything upon the +unanimity of sentiment in the community. If there is a large minority +against consolidation the wisdom of forcing it by a small majority is to +be questioned. It would be better to let the idea "work" a while longer. + +=Disagreements on Transportation.=--The problem of transporting pupils +is always a puzzling one. Many details are involved in its solution and +it is upon details that communities usually disagree. Most enterprises +are wrecked by disagreements over small matters. Even among friends it +is the small details in mannerisms or conduct that become with time so +irritating that friendship is often strained. Details are usually small, +but their obtrusive, perpetual presence is likely to disturb one's +nerves. This is true in deliberative bodies of all kinds. Important +measures are often delayed or killed because their advocates and +opponents cannot "give and take" upon small points. Almost every great +measure passing successfully through legislative bodies and, in fact, +the settlement of many social problems embody a compromise on details. +Many good people forget that, while there should be unanimity in +essentials, there should be liberty in non-essentials, and charity in +all things. Many people lack the power of perspective in the discussion +and solution of problems; for them all facts are of the same magnitude. +Large things which they do not wish are minimized and small things are +magnified. A copper cent may be held so near the eye that it will +obscure the sun. Probably there has been no difficulty greater in the +process of consolidation than the problems involved in the details +concerning the transportation of pupils. + +=Each Community Must Decide for Itself.=--The particular mode of +transportation must be determined by the conditions existing in each +community. In some places the consolidated school district provides one +or more busses, or, as they are sometimes called, "vans"; and these go +to the homes of the children each morning in time to arrive at the +schoolhouse before nine o'clock. Of course, in this case the pupils +living farthest from the school must rise and be ready earliest; they +are on the road for the greatest length of time. But this is one of the +minor discomforts which must be borne by those families and their +children. All cannot live near the school. Sometimes a different plan of +transportation is found to give better satisfaction. The parents may +prefer to bring their own children to school or to make definite +arrangements with nearby neighbors who bring theirs. There is no one way +which is the only way, and, in fact, several methods may be used in the +same district. + +=The Distance to Be Transported.=--If pupils must be transported over +five or six miles, consolidation becomes a doubtful experiment. Of +course, the vehicles used should be comfortable and every care should be +taken of the children; but six miles over country roads and in all kinds +of weather means, probably, an hour and a quarter on the road both +morning and evening. It could, of course, be said in reply that six +miles in a comfortable wagon and an hour and a quarter on the road are +not nearly so bad as a mile and a quarter on foot at certain seasons of +the year. + +=Responsible Driver.=--Another point upon which all parents should +insist is that the transportation of their children should be performed +by reliable and responsible drivers. This is important and most +necessary. Under such conditions there would be no danger of children +being drenched with rain in summer and exposed to cold in winter, for +the vehicles would be so constructed as to offer protection against +both. There would also be no danger of the large boys bullying and +browbeating the smaller children on the way, as is often done when they +walk to school over long and lonely roads; for all would be under the +care of a trustworthy driver until they were landed at the door of the +schoolhouse or the home. + +=Cost of Consolidation.=--The cost of consolidation is always an +important consideration. Under the district system one district may be +wealthy and another poor, the former having scarcely any taxation and +the latter a high rate of taxation. It is usual that, in such cases, the +districts having a small rate of taxation are unwilling to consolidate +with others. This is one of the difficulties. Consolidation will bring +about uniformity of taxation in the whole territory affected. This is an +advantage in itself. If the old schoolhouses are in good condition there +will be somewhat of a loss in selling them and in building a large new +central building. This is another situation which always complicates the +problem. If the old buildings are worthless and if they must be replaced +in any event by new buildings, then the time is opportune for +considering consolidation. + +Even after the reorganization is effected, and the new central building +located, the cost of education, all things considered, is not increased. +It is undoubtedly true that a larger amount of money may be needed to +maintain the consolidated school than to maintain all the various small +schools which have previously existed. But other factors must be taken +into account. The total amount of dollars and cents in the one situation +as compared with the total amount in the other does not tell the whole +story. For it has been found that, everywhere in the country, there is a +larger and better attendance of pupils in the consolidated school, that +more pupils go to school, that they attend more regularly, and that the +school terms are longer. Therefore the proper test of expense is the +cost of a day's schooling for each pupil, or the cost "per pupil per +day." Measured by this standard education in the consolidated school is +no more expensive than in the unconsolidated schools; indeed it is +usually less expensive. It is a good thing for society to give a day's +education to one child; then education pays as it goes, and the more +days' education it can offer, the better. + +=More Life in the Consolidated School.=--No one can deny that in this +larger school there can be more life and activity of all kinds, and a +much finer school spirit than was possible in the smaller schools. +Education means stimulation and where a great many children are brought +together and properly organized and graded there is a more stimulating +atmosphere and environment. + +=Some Grading Desirable.=--In these consolidated schools a reasonable +amount of grading can be secured. It may be true that in some of the +large cities an extreme degree of grading defeats education and the true +aim of organization, but certainly in consolidated rural schools no such +degree of refinement need be reached or feared. Grading can remain here +in the golden mean and will be beneficial to pupils and teachers alike. +The pupils thus graded will have more time for recitation and +instruction, and teachers will have more time to do efficient work. In +the one-room rural school one teacher usually has eight grades and often +more, and sometimes she is required to conduct thirty or forty different +recitations in a day. Under such conditions the lack of time prevents +the attainment of good results. + +=Better Teachers.=--It is also true that, where a school is larger and +attains to more of a system, better teachers are sought and secured by +the authorities. As we have already said, the cities are able to bid +higher for the best trained teachers, so the country districts suffer in +the economic competition. But the consolidated school being organized, +equipped, and graded, and representing, as it does, a large community or +district, the tendency will be to secure as good teachers as possible. +This is helped along by the comparison and competition of teachers +working side by side within the walls of the same building. In such +schools, too, there is usually a principal, and he exercises the +function of selection and rejection in the choice of teachers. All this +conduces to the securing of good teachers in the consolidated center. + +=Better Buildings and Inspection.=--Similar improvements are attained in +the building as a whole, in the individual rooms, and in the interior +equipment. Such buildings are usually planned by competent architects +and are more adequate in all their appointments. All things are subject +to inspection, both by the community and the authorities. It is natural +that such inspection and criticism will be satisfied only with the best; +and so the surroundings of pupils become much more favorable to their +mental, moral, and physical well-being than was possible in the isolated +one-room school building. + +=Longer Terms.=--The same discussion, agitation, inspection, and +supervision will inevitably lead to longer terms of school. Whereas the +one-room schools usually average six and a half months of school per +year, the consolidated schools average over eight months. This is in +itself a most important gain. + +=Regularity, Punctuality, and Attendance.=--The larger spirit and life +of the consolidated school induce greater punctuality and regularity of +attendance. When pupils are transported to school they are always on +time, and when they are members of a class where there is considerable +competition they attend school with great regularity. There are many +grown-up pupils in the district who would not go to the small schools, +but who will go to a larger school where they find their equals; and so +the school attendance is greatly increased. We have, then, the +advantages of greater punctuality, greater regularity, and more pupils +in attendance. + +The school spirit is abroad in the consolidated school district; people +are thinking and talking school. It becomes the customary and +fashionable thing to send children to school. + +=Better Supervision.=--There is also much better supervision in the +consolidated school; for, in addition to the supervision given by the +county superintendent or his assistants, there is also the supervision +of the principal, or head teacher. This is in itself no small factor in +the making of a good school. Good supervision always makes strongly for +efficiency. + +=The School as a Social Center.=--Other effects than those above +mentioned will necessarily follow. The consolidated school can and +should become a social center. There should be an assembly room for +lectures, debates, literary and musical entertainments, and meetings of +all kinds. The lecture hall should be provided with a stage, and good +moving-picture exhibitions might be given occasionally. There, also, the +citizens may gather to hear public questions discussed. It could thus +become a civic and social center as well as an educational center. All +problems affecting the welfare of the community might be presented here; +the people could assemble to listen to the discussion of political and +other social and public questions, which are the subjects of thought +and of conversation in the neighborhood. This is real social and +educational life. + +=Better Roads.=--Not only does consolidation tend to all the above +results but it does many other things incidentally. It leads to the +making of better roads; for where a community has to travel frequently +it will provide good roads. This is one of the crying needs of the day +throughout the country. + +=Consolidation Coming Everywhere.=--Consolidation is now under way in +almost every state of the Union and wherever tried it has almost +invariably succeeded. In but very few places have rural communities +abandoned the educational, social, and civic center, and gone back to +their former state of isolation and deadly routine. + +=The Married Teacher and Permanence.=--In order to make the consolidated +school a success, the policy will have to be adopted in America of +building, at or near the school, a residence for the teacher, and of +selecting as teacher a married man, who will make his home there among +the people whose children he is to teach. Such a teacher should be a +real community leader in every way, and his tenure of service should be +permanent. Grave and specific reasons only should effect his removal. +With single men and women it is impossible to secure the permanence of +tenure that is desirable and necessary to the educational and social +welfare of a school and a community. This has been demonstrated over and +over again, and foreign countries are far ahead of us in this respect. +Such a real leader and teacher will, it is true, command a high salary; +but a good home, permanence of position, a small tract of land for +garden and field purposes, and the coming policy everywhere of an +"insurance and retirement fund" would offer great inducements to strong +men to take up their abode and cast their lot in such educational and +community centers. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE TEACHER + + +=The Greatest Factor.=--Now, although we may have a beautiful school +campus, an adequate and artistic building, a library, laboratories and +workshops with all necessary physical or material appointments complete, +we may yet have a poor school; these things, however desirable, will not +teach alone. The teacher is the mainspring, the soul of the school; the +"plant," as it may be called, is only the body. A great person is one +with a great soul, not necessarily with a great body. Hence it is that a +great teacher with poor buildings and inferior equipments is +incomparably better than great buildings and equipments without a +competent teacher. + +=What Education Is.=--Education is essentially and largely the +stimulation and transformation of one mind or personality by another. It +is the impression of one great mind or soul upon another, giving it a +manner of spirit, a bent, an attitude, as well as a thirst for +knowledge. This is too often lost sight of in the complexity of things. +Many people are inclined to think that educational equipment and +machinery alone will educate. There is nothing further from the truth. +Mark Hopkins would be a great teacher without equipment; buildings, +grounds, apparatus, and laboratories will not really educate without a +great personality behind the desk. There is probably nothing more +inspiring, more suggesting, more stimulating, or more transforming than +intimate contact with great minds. Thought like water seeks its level, +and for children to come into living and loving communication with a +great teacher is a real uplift and an education in itself. + +As a saw will not saw without some extraneous power to give it motion, +neither will the gun do execution without the man behind it. The +locomotive is not greater than the man at the throttle, and the ship +without the man at the helm flounders aimlessly upon the sea. Just so, a +great personality must be behind the teacher's desk or there cannot be +in any sense a real school. + +=What the Real Teacher Is.=--The true teacher is an inspirer; that is, +he breathes into his pupils his spirit, his love of learning, his method +of study, his ideals. He is a real leader in every way. Children--and we +are all children to a certain extent--are great imitators, and so the +pupils tend to become like the teacher. + +The true teacher stimulates to activity by example. Where you find such +a teacher, things are constantly "doing"; people are thinking and +talking school all the time; education is in the atmosphere. The real +teacher is, to use a popular phrase, a "live wire." Something new is +undertaken every day. He is a man of initiative and push, and withal he +is a man of sincerity and tact. While he is retrospective and +circumspective he is also prospective--he is a man of the far-look-ahead +type. + +=A Hypnotist.=--The teacher is in the true sense a suggester of good +things. He is an educational hypnotist. The longer I continue to teach +the more am I impressed with the fact that suggestion is the great art +of the teacher. Hence the true teacher is the leader and not the driver. + +=Untying Knots.=--A man once said that the best lesson he ever learned +in school was the lesson of "untying knots." He meant, of course, that +every problem that was thrown to the school by the teacher was "tackled" +in the right spirit by the pupils. They investigated it and analyzed it; +they peered into it and through it to find all the strands of +relationship existing in it. It would be easier, of course, for the +teacher under these circumstances merely to cut the knot and have it all +done with, but this would be poor teaching. This would be _telling_, not +teaching. This would lead to passivity and not to activity on the part +of the pupils. And it may be said here that constant and too much +_telling_ is probably the greatest and most widespread mistake in +teaching. Teachers are constantly cutting the knots for children who +should be left to untie them for themselves. To untie a knot is to see +through and through a subject, to see all around it, to see the various +relations of its parts and, consequently, to understand it. This is +solving a problem; it is _dissolving_ it; that is, the problem becomes +a part of the pupil's own mind, and, having made it a part of himself, +he understands it and never forgets it. + +This is the difference between not being able to remember and not being +able to forget. In the former case the so-called knowledge is not a part +of oneself; it is not vital. The roots do not penetrate beneath the +surface of our minds; they are, as it were, merely stuck on; the mental +sap does not circulate. In the latter case the knowledge is real; it is +alive and growing; there is a vital connection between it and ourselves. +It would be as difficult to tear it from us as it would to have our +hearts torn out and still live. + +=Too Much Kindness.=--An illustration of the same point appears in the +following incident. A boy who owned a pet squirrel thought it a kindness +to the squirrel to crack all the nuts for it. The consequence was that +the squirrel's incisors, above and below, grew so long that they +overlapped and the animal could not eat anything. Too many teachers are +so kind to their pupils that they crack all the educational nuts for +them, with the consequence that the children become passive and die +mentally for want of activity. The true teacher will allow his pupils to +wrestle with their problems without interruption until they arrive at a +conclusion. If some pupil "goes into the ditch" and flounders he should +usually be allowed to get out by his own efforts as best he can. Here is +the place where the teacher "should be cruel only to be kind." + +=The Button Illustration.=--Another illustration may help to bring to us +one of the characteristics of the really good teacher. When children, we +have all, no doubt, amused ourselves by putting a string through two +holes of a button and, after twirling it around between our thumbs, +drawing it steadily in measured fashion so as to make the button spin +and hum. If the string is drawn properly this will be successful; +otherwise it will become a perfect snarl. This common experience has +often seemed to me to typify two different kinds of school. In one, +where there is a great teacher "drawing" the school properly, you will +hear, incidentally, the hum of industry, for all are active. A school +which may be thus characterized is always better than the one +characterized by silence and inaction. A little noise--in fact a +considerable noise--is not inconsistent with a good school, and it +frequently happens that what we call "the silence of death" is due to +fear, which is always paralyzing. + +=The Chariot Race.=--Still another illustration may help to make clear +what is meant by a good school and a good teacher. Lew Wallace, in his +account of the chariot race, makes Ben Hur and his rival approach the +goal with their horses neck and neck. He says that Ben Hur, in getting +the best out of his steeds, _sent his will out along the reins_. A +really spirited horse responds to the throb of his driver's hand upon +the rein. A good driver gets the best out of his horse; he and his horse +are in accord and the horse takes as much pride in the performance as +the driver does. This is analogously true of a good school. + +The schoolroom is not a complete democracy--in fact, it is not a +democracy at all in the lower grades; it is or should be a benevolent +autocracy. The teacher within the schoolroom is the law-making body, the +interpreter of the laws, and the executor of the laws. The good teacher +does all this justly and kindly, and so elicits the admiration, the +respect, and the active support of the governed. He sends his will out +along the reins. Some schools--those with great teachers in charge--are +in this condition; they are coming in under full speed toward the goal, +guided by a master whose will stimulates the pupils to the greatest +voluntary activity. Other schools, we are sorry to say, illustrate the +conditions where the reins are over the dashboard and the school is +running away, pell-mell! + +=Physically Sound.=--What are some of the characteristic attributes or +traits which a masterful and inspiring teacher should possess? In the +first place he should be physically sound. It may seem like a lack of +charity to say, and yet it is true, that any serious physical defect +should militate against, if not bar, one from the schoolroom. Any +serious blemish or noticeable defect becomes to pupils an ever-present +suggestive picture, and to some extent must work against, rather than +for, education. Other things being equal, those who are personally +attractive and have the most agreeable manners should be chosen. Since +children are extremely plastic and impressionable, and so susceptible +to the influence of ideas and ideals, beauty and perfection should, +whenever possible, be the attributes of the person who is to guide and +fashion them. + +=Character.=--A teacher should be morally sound; he should "ring true." +One can give only what one has. A liar cannot teach veracity; a +dishonest person can not teach honesty; the impure cannot teach purity. +One may deceive for a time, but in the long run the echo of what we are, +and hence what we can give, will be returned. It is often thought that +children are better judges of moral defects and of shams than are grown +people; but, while this is not true, it is nevertheless a fact that many +children, in a short time, divine or sense the true moral nature of the +teacher. Children appreciate justice and will endure and even welcome +severity if they know that justice is coupled with it. They are not +averse to being governed with a firm hand. If pupils are allowed to do +just as they please they may go home at the close of the first day, +saying that they had a "lovely time" and liked their teacher, but in a +very few days they will tire of it and begin to complain. + +=Well Educated.=--We need not, of course, contend at any length that a +teacher should be well educated, in the academic sense of the word. In +order to teach well, one must understand his subject thoroughly. It is +quite generally held that a teacher should be at least four years in +advance, academically, of the pupils whom he is to teach. Whether this +is true or not in particular cases, the fact remains that the teacher +should be full of his subject, should be at home in it, and should be +able to illustrate it in its various phases; he should be free to stand +before his class without textbook in hand and to give instruction from a +full and accurate mind. There is probably nothing that so destroys the +confidence of pupils as the lamentable spectacle of seeing the teacher +compelled at every turn to refer to the book for verification of the +answers given. It is a sign of pitiable weakness. If a distinction is to +be made between knowledge and wisdom a true teacher should be possessed +of the latter to a considerable extent. He should also have prudence, or +practical wisdom. Wisdom and prudence imply that fine perspective which +gives a person balance and tact in all situations. It should be noted +that there is a policy, or diplomacy, in a good sense, which does not in +any way conflict with principle; and the true teacher should have the +knowledge, the wisdom, and the tact to do and to say the right thing at +the right time and to leave unsaid and undone many, many things. + +=Professional Preparation.=--In addition to a thorough knowledge of +subject matter every teacher should have had some professional +preparation for his work. Teaching, like government, is one of the most +complicated of arts, and to engage in it without any previous study of +its problems, its principles, and its methods seems like foolhardiness. +There are scores, if not hundreds, of topics and problems which should +be thought out and talked over before the teacher engages in actual work +in the schoolroom. When the solutions of these problems have become a +part of his own mind, they will come to his rescue as occasion demands; +and, although much must be learned by experience, a sound knowledge of +the fundamental principles of education and teaching will always throw +much light upon practical procedure. It is true that theory without +practice is often visionary, but it is equally true that practice +without any previous knowledge, or theory, is very often blind. + +=Experience.=--In addition to the foregoing qualifications the teacher, +in order to be really masterful, must have had some--indeed +considerable--actual experience. It is this that gives confidence and +firmness to all our procedure. The young lawyer when he appears at the +bar, to plead his first case, finds his knees knocking together; but +after a few months or years of practice he acquires ease, confidence, +and mastery in his work. The same is true of the physician and the +teacher. Some successful experience always counts for much. School +boards, however, often over-estimate _mere_ experience. Poor experience +may be worse than none; and some good superintendents are willing, and +often prefer, to select promising candidates without experience, and +then train or build them up into the kind of teachers they wish them to +become. + +=Choosing a Teacher.=--If I were a member of a school board in a +country district where there is either a good one-room school or a +consolidated school, I should go about securing a good teacher somewhat +as follows: I should keep, so to speak, my "weather eye" open for a +teacher who had become known to some extent in all the surrounding +country; one who had made a name and a reputation for himself. I should +inquire, in regard to this teacher, of the county superintendent and of +his supervising officers. I should make this my business; and then, if I +should become convinced that such a person was the one needed in our +school, and if I had the authority to act, I should employ such a person +regardless of wages or salary. If after a term or two this teacher +should make a satisfactory record, I would then promote him, +unsolicited, and endeavor to keep him as long as he would stay. + +=A "Scoop."=--Sometimes there is considerable rivalry among the +newspapers of a city. The editors or local reporters watch for what they +call a "scoop." This is a piece of news that will be very much sought by +the public and which remains unknown to the people or, in fact, to the +other papers until it appears in the one that has discovered it. This is +analogous to what I should try to do in securing a teacher: I should try +to get a veritable educational "scoop" on all the other districts of the +surrounding country. The only way to secure such persons is for some +individual or for the school board to make this a specific business. In +the country districts this might be done by one of the leading +directors; in a consolidated school, by the principal or superintendent. +If it is true that "as the teacher so is the school," it is likewise +true that as is the principal or superintendent so are the teachers. + +=What Makes the Difference.=--It will be found that a small difference +in salary will frequently make all the difference between a worthless +and an excellent teacher. It is often the ten or fifteen dollars a month +additional which secures the prize teacher; and so I should make the +difference in salary a secondary consideration; for, after all, the +difference amounts to very little in the taxation on the whole +community. + +=A Question of Teachers.=--The question of teachers is the real problem +in education, from the primary school to the great universities. It is +the poor teaching of poor teachers everywhere that sets at naught the +processes of education; and when the American people, and especially the +rural people, realize that this is the heart and center of their +problem, and when they realize also that the difference, financially, +between a poor teacher and a good one is so small, they will rise to the +occasion and proceed to a correct solution of their problem. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE THREE INSEPARABLES + + +In the preceding chapter we discussed the type of person that should be +in evidence everywhere in the teaching profession. Such a type is +absolutely necessary to the attainment of genuine success. In rural +schools this type is by no means too common, and in the whole field of +elementary and higher education it is much more rare than it should be. +Because of the frequent appearance of the opposite type in colleges and +in other schools, the teacher and the professor have been often +caricatured to their discredit. There is usually some truth underlying a +caricature; a cartoon would lack point if it did not possess a +substratum of fact. + +=The "Mode."=--Now, there is often in the public mind this poorer type +of teacher; and when an idea or an ideal, however low, becomes once +established, it is changed only with difficulty. The commonplace +individual, the mediocre type of man or of woman, is by many regarded as +a fairly typical representative of what the teacher usually is; or, as +the statistician would express it, he is the "mode" rather than the +average. The "mode" in any class of objects or of individuals is the +one that occurs oftenest, the one most frequently met with. And so this +inactive, nondescript sort of person is often thought of as the typical +teacher. He has no very high standing either financially or socially, +and so has no great influence on the individuals around him or on the +community in general. This conception has become so well established in +the public mind, and is so frequently met with, that all teachers are +regarded as being of the same type. The better teachers, the strong +personalities, are brought into this same class and must suffer the +consequences. + +=The "Mode" in Labor.=--This same process of classifying individuals may +be seen in other spheres also. In some sections of the country it is the +method of estimating the worth of laboring men; all in the same class +are considered equal; all of a class are reduced to the same level and +paid the same wages. One man can do and often does the work of two or +three men, and does it better; yet he must labor for the same common +wage. + +=The "Mode" in Educational Institutions.=--The same is to a great extent +true of the popular estimate of educational institutions. In the public +mind an institution is merely an "institution." One is thought of as +doing practically the same work as another; so when institutions come +before legislatures for financial recognition in the way of +appropriations, one institution is considered as deserving as another. +The great public is not keen in its discriminations, whether it be a +case of educational institutions, of laboring men, or of teachers. + +=No "Profession."=--The fact is that, in the lower ranks of the +teachers' calling, there is really no _profession_. The personality of +many who engage in the work is too ordinary to professionalize any +calling. + +=Weak Personalities.=--This condition of affairs has grown partly out of +the fact that we have not, in the different states and in the country at +large, a sufficiently high standard. The examinations are not +sufficiently extensive and intensive to separate the sheep from the +goats. The unqualified thus rush in and drive out the qualified, for the +efficient cannot compete with the inefficient. The calling is in no +sense a "closed" profession, and consequently in the lower ranks it is +scarcely a profession at all. + +=Low Standard.=--There is also established in the public mind a certain +standard, or test, for common school teaching. This standard has been +current so long that it has become quite stable, and it seems almost +impossible to change it. As in the case of some individuals when they +become possessed of an idea, it is almost impossible to dispossess the +social mind of this low standard. + +=The Norm of Wages Too Low.=--In regard to the wages of teachers it may +be said that there is fixed in the social mind also, a certain _norm_. +As in the case of personality and of standard qualifications, a certain +amount of wages has long been regarded as representing the sum which a +teacher ought to receive. For rural schools this is probably about fifty +dollars a month; in fact, in most states the average wage paid to rural +school teachers is below that amount. But let us say that fifty dollars +is the amount that has become established in the popular mind as a +reasonable salary. Here, as in the other cases, it is very difficult to +change ideas established by long custom. For many years people have been +accustomed to think of teachers receiving certain salaries, and they +refuse to consider any higher sums as appropriate. This, of course, is +an egregious blunder. The rural schools can never be lifted above their +present plane of efficiency until these three conceptions, (1) that of +personality, (2) that of standard, and, (3) that of wages, are revised +in the public mind. There will have to be a great revolution in the +thought of the people in regard to these inseparable things. + +=The Inseparables.=--The fact is that, (1) strong personalities, (2) a +high standard of qualifications, (3) and a respectable salary go hand in +hand. They rise and fall together; they are reactive, one upon the +other. The strong personality implies the ability to meet a high +standard and demands reasonable compensation. The same is true of the +high standard--it selects the strong personality and this in turn cannot +be secured except at a good salary. It may be maintained that if school +boards really face the question in earnest, and are willing to offer +good salaries, strong personalities who are able to meet that high +standard can always be secured. Professor Hugo Münsterberg says: "Our +present civilization shows that in every country really decisive +achievement is found only in those fields which draw the strongest +minds, and that they are drawn only where the greatest premiums are +tempting them."[2] + +[Footnote 2: Psychology and Social Sanity, p. 82.] + +=Raise the Standard First.=--The best way, then, to attack the problem +is, first, to raise the standard. This will eliminate inferior teachers +and retain or attract those of superior qualifications. It is to be +regretted that we have not, in the United States, a more uniform +standard for teaching in the common schools. Each state has its own +laws, its own standard. It would not, we think, be asking too much to +provide that no person should teach in any grade of school, rural or +elementary, in the United States, unless such person has had a course +for teachers equivalent to at least three years of work in the high +school or normal school, with pedagogical preparation and training. In +fact, a national law making such a uniform standard among the teachers +in the common schools of the country would be an advantage. But this is +probably more than we can expect in the near future. As it is, there +should be a conference of the educational authorities in each state to +agree upon a standard for teaching, with a view to uniform state +legislation. + +=More Men.=--One of the great needs of the calling is more men. There +was a time when all teachers were men; now nearly all teachers are +women. There is as much reason for one condition as for the other. +Without going into an analysis of the situation or the causes which make +it desirable that there should be more men in the teaching profession, +it is, we think, generally granted that the conditions would be better, +educationally, socially, and every other way, if the number of men and +women in the work were about evenly divided. + +=Coöperation Needed.=--Educational movements and influences have spread +downward and outward from above. The great universities of the world +were established before the secondary and elementary school systems came +into existence. Thought settles down from leaders who are in high +places. We have shown in a former chapter that the state universities, +the agricultural colleges, the normal schools, and the high schools have +had a wonderful development within the last generation, while the rural +school has too often lagged perceptibly behind. The country districts +have helped to support in every way the development of the higher +schools; now an excellent opportunity presents itself for all the higher +and secondary educational influences to unite in helping to advance the +interests and increase the efficiency of the rural schools. + +=The Supply.=--The question is sometimes asked whether the right kind of +teachers can be secured, if higher salaries are offered. There can be +no doubt at all on this point. Where the demand exists and where there +is sufficient inducement offered, the supply is always forthcoming. Men +are always at hand to engage in the most menial and even the most +dangerous occupations if a sufficient reward, financial or otherwise, is +offered. For high wages men are induced to work in factories where +mercury must be handled and where it is well known that life is +shortened many years as a consequence. Men are secured to work long +hours in the presence of red-hot blast furnaces and in the lowest depths +of the holds of ships. Can it be possible that with a reasonable salary +the strongest kind of men would not be attracted to a calling that has +as many points of interest and as many attractions as teaching? + +=Make It Fashionable.=--A great deal depends upon making any work or any +calling fashionable. All that is needed is for the tide to turn in that +direction. It is difficult to say how much salary will stop the outward +tide and cause it to set in the other direction; but one thing is +certain, we shall never completely solve the rural school problem until +the tide turns. + +=The Retirement System.=--Strong personalities will, then, help to make +teaching attractive and fashionable, as well as effectual. There is a +movement now becoming quite extensive which will also add to the +attractiveness of the teacher's calling. A system or plan of insurance +and retirement is now being installed in many states for the benefit of +teachers who become incapacitated or who have taught a certain period of +time. This plan gives a feeling of contentment, and also a feeling of +security against the stress and needs of old age, which will do much to +hold strong people in the profession. The fear of being left penniless +in later life and dependent upon others or upon the state, induces, +without doubt, a great many persons to leave a calling so poorly paid, +in order that they may, in more generous vocations, lay something by for +"a rainy day." The truth of this is borne in upon us more strongly when +we remember that teaching is different from law, medicine, or other +professions. In these vocations a man's service usually becomes more and +more in demand as he advances in years, on account of the reputation and +experience he has gained; while in teaching, when a person arrives at +the middle line of life or after, school boards begin to say and to +think, that he is getting too old for the schoolroom, and so they seek +for younger talent. The consequence is that the good and faithful public +servant who has given the best years of his life to the education of the +young is left stranded in old age without an occupation and without +money. The insurance and retirement fund plan is a movement in the right +direction and will do something to help turn the tide of strong +personalities toward the teachers' calling. + +=City and Country Salaries--Effects.=--The average salary for rural +school teachers in one state I find to be $45 a month. In that same +state the average salary of teachers in the city and town schools is $55 +a month. Now, under such conditions, it is very difficult to secure a +good corps of teachers for the rural schools. If the ratio were reversed +and the rural schools paid $55 a month, while the cities and towns paid +only $45, there would be more chance of each securing teachers of equal +ability. Even then, teachers would prefer to go to the city at the lower +salary on account of the additional attractions and conveniences and the +additional facilities and opportunities of every kind for +self-improvement. + +In the state referred to, the average salary of all teachers in the +common schools was $51 a month. It is utterly impossible to realize a +"profession" on such a financial basis as this. Forty-five or fifty +dollars a month for rural teachers is altogether too low. This must be +raised fifty, if not one hundred per cent, in order that a beginning may +be made in the solution of the rural school problem. Where $50 a month +seems to be the going wage, if school boards would offer $75 and then +see to it that the persons whom they hire are efficient, an attempt at +the solution of the problem in that district or neighborhood would be +made. Is it possible that any good, strong, educated, and cultured +person can be secured for less than $75 a month? If in such a district +there were eight months of school this would mean only 8 x $25, or $200 +more than had been paid previously. For ten sections of land this would +mean about $20 a section, or $5 a quarter section, in addition to what +they had been paying with unsatisfactory results. + +This sum often represents the difference between a poor school and a +good school. With a fifty-dollar teacher, constructive work was likely +lacking. There was little activity in the neighborhood; the pupils or +the people had not been fully waked up. There had not been enough +thinking and talking of education and of schools, enough reading, or +talking about books, about education, about things of the higher life. +Under the seventy-five-dollar teacher, wisely chosen, all this is +changed. + +=The Solution Demands More.=--Instead of $75, a community should pay to +a wide-awake person, who takes hold of a situation in a neighborhood and +keeps things moving, at least $100 a month. With nine months' school +this would mean $900; and it is strange, indeed, if a person in the +prime of life who has spent many years in the preparation of his work, +and who has initiative and push, is not worth $100 a month for nine +months in the year. To such a person the people of that neighborhood +intrust their dearest and priceless possessions--their own children. If +we remember that, as the twig is bent the tree is inclined, there need +be no hesitation about the value of efficient teaching during the +plastic period of childhood. In fact, it may easily be maintained that +the salary should be even higher than this. But, if this be so, how far +are we at present from even a beginning of the solution of our rural +school problem! + +=A Good School Board.=--A good school board is one whose members are +alive to their duties and wide-awake to the problems of education. They +are men or women who have an intelligent grasp of the situation and who +will earnestly attempt to solve the educational problems of school and +of life in their community. + +=Board and Teacher.=--If a poor teacher and a good school board are +brought together the chances are that they will soon part company. A +good school board will not retain a poor teacher longer than it is +compelled to do so. A poor school board and a good teacher will also +part company, for the good teacher will not stay; he will leave and find +relief as soon as possible. Under a poor school board and a poor teacher +nothing will be done; the children, instead of being educated, will be +de-educated. Quarrels and dissensions will be created in the +neighborhood and a miserable condition, educationally and socially, will +prevail. If a good school board and a good teacher join hands, the +problem is solved, or at least is in a fair way to being solved. This +last condition will mean an interested school, a united neighborhood, a +live, wide-awake, and happy community. + +=The Ideal.=--It is as impossible to describe a successful solution of +the problems of any particular school as it is to paint the lily, the +rose, or the rainbow. All are equally indescribable and intangible, but +nevertheless the more real, potent, and inspiring on that account. Such +a situation means the presence of a strong life, a strong mind, and a +strong hand exemplifying ideals every day. This is education, this is +growth, this is real life. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE RURAL SCHOOL CURRICULUM + + +=Imitation.=--There are two processes by which all progress is attained, +namely, imitation and invention. Imitation is found everywhere, in all +spheres of thought and of action. Children are great imitators, and +adults are only children grown up. Imitation, of course, is a necessary +thing. Without it no use could be made of past experience. When it +conserves and propagates the good it is to be commended; but the +worthless and the bad are often imitated also. As imitation is necessary +for the preservation of past experience, so invention is equally +essential in blazing new paths of thought and of action. It is probably +true that all persons are more prone to imitation than to invention. + +=The Country Imitates the City.=--The rural schools have always imitated +the city schools, as rural life attempts to imitate city life. Many of +the books used in rural schools have been written largely with city +conditions in mind and by authors who have been city bred or city won. +These books have about them the atmosphere and the flavor of the city. +Their selections as a rule contain references and allusions without +number to city life, and give a cityward bent; their connotation and +attitude tend to direct the mind toward the city. As a consequence even +school textbooks have been potent aids in the urban trend. + +=Textbooks.=--It is not urged that the subject matter of textbooks be +made altogether rural in its applications and references. The books +should not be completely _ruralized_; nor should there be two sets of +books, one for the country and one for the city. But there should be a +more even balance between the city aspect and the rural aspect of +textbooks, whether used in the country or in the city. If some of the +texts now used were rewritten with the purpose of attaining that +balance, they would greatly assist the curriculum in both country and +city schools. There is no reason why city children should not have their +minds touched by the life, the thought, and the activities of the +country; and it is granted that country children should be made +conscious and cognizant of the life, the thought, and the activities of +the city. There is no more reason why textbooks should carry the urban +message, than that they should be dominantly ruralizing. + +=An Interpreting Core.=--The experiences of country children are of all +kinds; rural life, thought, and aspirations constitute the very +development of their consciousness and minds. In all their practical +experiences rural life and thought form the anchorage of their later +academic instruction. This early experience constitutes what the +Herbartians term their "apperception mass"; and children, as well as +grown-ups, can interpret new matter only in terms of the old. The +experiences of the child, which constitute his world of thought, of +discourse, and of action, are the only means by which he grasps and +interprets new thought and experience. Consequently, the texts which +rural children use should make a strong appeal to their apperception +mass--to their old stock and store of knowledge. It is the textbooks +that bring to the old knowledge new mental material which the teacher +and the textbook together attempt to communicate to the children. +Without an interpreting center--a stock and store of old knowledge which +constitute the very mental life of the child--it is impossible for him +to assimilate the new. The old experiences are, in fact, the mental +digestive apparatus of the child. Without this center, or core, the new +instead of being assimilated is, so to speak, merely stuck on. This is +the case with much of the subject matter in city-made texts. It does not +_grow_, but soon withers and falls away. It is, then, essential that the +textbooks used in rural schools should have the rural bent and +application, the rural flavor, the rural beck and welcome. + +=Rural Teachers from the City.=--A great many teachers of country +schools come from the city. A number of these are young girls having, +without blame on their part, the tone and temper, the attitude, spirit, +and training which the city gives. Their minds have been _urbanized_; +all their thoughts are city thoughts. The textbooks which they have used +have been city textbooks; their teachers have for the most part been +those in or from the city. It can scarcely be expected that such +teachers can do for the rural districts all that ought to be done. Very +naturally they inspire some of the children with the idea of ultimately +going to the city. This suggestion and this inspiration are given +unconsciously, but in the years of childhood they take deep root and +sooner or later work themselves out in an additional impetus to the +urban trend. + +=A Course for Rural Teachers.=--What is needed is a course of +instruction for rural teachers, in every state of the Union. In some +states the agricultural colleges have inaugurated a movement to this +end. In such colleges, agricultural high schools, and institutions of a +similar kind in every state, a three-year course for teachers above the +eighth year, specially designed to prepare them for rural school +teaching, should be established. Such a school would furnish the proper +atmosphere and the proper courses of instruction to suffuse the minds of +these prospective teachers with appreciation and love of country life +and rural school work. + +=All Not to Remain in the Country.=--It is not contended here that all +who are born and brought up in the country ought to remain there for +life. Many writers and speakers preach the gospel of "the country for +country children," but this cannot be sound. Each one, as the years go +by, should "find" himself and his own proper place. There are many +children brought up in the country who find their place best in the +heart of the great city; and there are many brought up in the cities who +ultimately find themselves and their place in the country and in its +work. While all this is true it may still be maintained that the proper +mental food for country children is the life and the activities of the +country; and if this life and these activities are made pleasant and +attractive a larger percentage of country children will remain in the +country for the benefit of both country and city. + +=Mere Textbook Teaching.=--Many teachers in the country, as well as in +the city, follow literally the textbooks provided for them. Textbooks, +being common and general, must leave the application of the thought +largely to the teacher. To follow them is probably the easiest kind of +teaching, for the mind then moves along the line of least resistance. +Accordingly the tendency is merely to teach textbooks, without +libraries, laboratories, and other facilities for the application of the +thought of the text. Application and illustration are always difficult. +It frequently happens that children go through their textbooks under the +guidance of their more or less mechanical teachers, without making any +application of their knowledge. Their learning seems to be stored away +in pigeonholes and never used again. That in one pigeonhole does not +mix with that in another. Their thoughts and their education in +different fields are in no sense united. Pupils are surprised if they +are asked or expected to use their knowledge in any practical manner. A +man who had a tank, seven feet in diameter and eight feet high, about +half full of gasoline, asked his daughter, who was completing the eighth +grade, to figure out for him how many gallons it contained. She had just +been over "weights and measures" and "denominate numbers" of all kinds. +After much figuring she returned the answer that there were in it about +seven and one half gallons, without ever suspecting the ridiculousness +of the result. + +=A Rich Environment.=--The country is so rich in material of all kinds +for scientific observation, that some education should be given to the +rural child in this field. Agriculture and its various activities +surround the child; nature teems with life, both animal and vegetable; +the country furnishes long stretches of meadow and woodland for +observation and study. Yet in most places the children are blind to the +beauties and wonders around them. Nature study in such an environment +should be a fascinating subject, and agriculture is full of +possibilities for the application of the thought in the textbooks. + +=Who Will Teach These Things?=--But who will teach these new sciences or +open the eyes of the child to the beauties around him? Not everyone can +do it. It will require a master. Teaching "at" these things in a dull, +perfunctory way will do no good. It would be better to leave them +untaught. We have, everywhere, too much "attempting" to teach and not +enough teaching, too much seeming and not enough being, too much +appearance and not enough reality. + +An example will illustrate the author's meaning. Some years ago an +experienced institute conductor in a western state found himself the +sole instructor when the teachers of the county convened. He sought +among the teachers for someone who could and would give him assistance. +One man of middle age, who had taught for many years, volunteered to +take the subject of arithmetic and to give four lessons of forty minutes +each in it during the week. This was good news to the conductor; he +congratulated himself on having found some efficient help. His +assistant, however, after talking on arithmetic for ten minutes of his +first period, reached the limit of his capacity, either of thought or of +expression, and had to stop. He could not say another word on that +subject during the week! Now if this is true of an experienced +middle-aged teacher of a subject so universally taught as arithmetic, +how much more true must it be of an instructor in a subject like +agriculture. It should not be expected that a young girl, eighteen or +twenty years of age, who has probably been brought up in the city and +who has had the subject of agriculture only one period a day for a year, +can give any adequate instruction in that branch. She would be the butt +for ridicule among the practical boys and girls in the country who +would probably know more about such things than she. She would, +therefore, lose the respect and confidence of pupils and parents, and it +would really be better for her and for all concerned not to attempt the +teaching of that subject at all. What is worth doing at all is worth +doing well. A little instruction well given and well applied is worth +any amount of "stuff" poorly done and unapplied. + +=The Scientific Spirit Needed.=--There is great need of teachers who are +thoroughly imbued with the scientific spirit. In the country especially +there is need of teachers who will rouse the boys and girls to the +investigation of problems from the facts at hand and all around them. +This should be done inductively and in an investigative spirit. Our +whole system of education seems somewhat vitiated by the deductive +attitude and method of teaching--the assuming of theories handed down by +the past, without investigation or verification. This is the kind of +teaching which has paralyzed China for untold generations. The easiest +thing to do is to accept something which somebody else has formulated +and then, without further ado, to be content with it. The truly +scientific mind, the investigative mind, is one that starts with facts +or phenomena and, after observing a sufficient number of them, +formulates a conclusion and tests it. This will result in real +thinking--which is the same as "thinging." It is putting _things_ into +causal relation and constructing from them, unity out of diversity. To +induce this habit of thought, to inspire this spirit of investigation +and observation in children is the essence of teaching. To teach is to +cause others to _think_, and the man or woman who does this is a +successful teacher. + +=A Course of Study.=--There should be in every rural school a simple and +suggestive course of study. This should not be as large as a textbook. +The purpose of it is not to indicate at great length and in detail +either the matter or the manner of teaching any specific subject. It +should be merely an outline of the metes and bounds in the processes and +the progress of pupils through the grades. The course of study should be +a means, not an end; it should be a servant and not a master. It should +not entail upon the school or upon the teacher a vast complicated +machinery or an endless routine of red tape. If it does this it defeats +its true aim. Here again the country schools have attempted to imitate +the city schools. In all cities grading is much more systematized, and +is pushed to a greater extent than it is or should be in the country. +Owing to the necessities of the situation and also to the convenience of +the plan in the cities, the grades, with their appropriate books, amount +of work, and plan of procedure, are much more definite than is possible +or desirable in the country. To grade the country schools as definitely +and as systematically as is done in the city would be to do them an +irreparable injury. The country would make a great mistake to imitate +the city school systems in its courses of study. + +=Red Tape.=--It sometimes happens that county and state superintendents, +in performing the duties of their office, think it necessary to impose +upon the country schools a variety of tests, examinations, reports, and +what-not, which accomplish but little and may result in positive injury. +To pile up complications and intricacies having no practical educational +value is utterly useless. It indicates the lack of a true conception of +the school situation. Such haphazard methods will not teach alone any +more than a saw will saw alone. Behind it all must be the simple, great +teacher, and for him all these things, beyond a reasonable extent, are +hindrances to progress. + +=Length of Term.=--In very many country districts the terms are +frequently only six months in the year. This should be extended to eight +at least. Even in this case, it gives the rural school a shorter term +than the city school, which usually has nine or ten months each year. +But it is very probable that the simplicity of rural school life and +rural school teaching will enable pupils to do as much in eight months +as is done in the city in nine. + +=Individual Work.=--Individual work should be the rule in many subjects. +There is no need, on account of numbers, of a lock-step. In the cities, +where the teacher has probably an average of 35 to 40 children, all the +pupils are held together and in line. In such cases the great danger is +to those above the average. There is the danger of forming what might be +called the "slow habit." The bright pupils are retarded in their work, +for they are capable of much more than they do. In such cases the +retardation is not on account of the inability of the pupil but on +account of the system. The bright ones are held back in line with the +slow. This need not be the case in rural schools. Here, in every subject +which lends itself to the plan, each pupil should be allowed to go as +far and as fast as he can, provided that he appreciates the thought, +solves the problems, and understands the work as he goes. I once knew a +large rural school in which there were enrolled about sixty pupils, +taking the subjects of all the grades, from the first to the eighth and +even some high school subjects. In such classes as arithmetic the pupils +were, so to speak, "turned loose" and all entered upon a race for the +goal. Each one did as much as he could, his attainments being subjected +to the test of examination. The plan worked excellently; no one was +retarded, and all were intensely busy. + +="Waking Up the Mind."=--The main thing in any school is not the amount +of knowledge which pupils get from textbooks or from the teacher, but +the extent to which the mind appropriates that knowledge and is "waked +up" by it. Mr. Page in his excellent classic, _The Theory and Practice +of Teaching_, has a chapter called "Waking Up the Mind" and some +excellent illustrations as to how it may be done. The main thing is not +the amount of mere knowledge or information held in memory for future +delivery, but the spirit and attitude of it all. The extent to which +children's minds are made awake and sensitive, and the extent to which +they are inspired to pursue with zest and spirit any new problem are the +best criterions of success in teaching. The spirit and method of attack +is all-important; quantity is secondary. If children have each other, so +to speak, "by the ears," over some problem from one day to the next, it +indicates that the school and the teacher are awake, that they are up +and doing, and that education, which is a process of leavening, is +taking place. + +=The Overflow of Instruction.=--On account of the individual work which +is possible in the country schools, what is sometimes called the +"overflow of instruction" is an important factor in the stimulation and +the education of all the children in the room. In the city school, where +all are on a dead level, doing the same work, there is not much +information or inspiration descending from above, for there is no class +above. But in the rural school, children hear either consciously or +unconsciously much that is going on around them. They hear the larger +boys and girls recite and discuss many interesting things. These +discussions wake up minds by sowing the seeds which afterwards come to +flower and fruit in those who listen--in those who, in fact, cannot help +hearing. + +I remember an incident which occurred during my experience as a pupil in +a country school. A certain county superintendent, who used to visit the +school periodically, was in the habit, on these occasions, of reading to +the school for probably half an hour. Just what he read I do not even +remember, but I recall vividly his quiet manner and attitude, his +beautiful and simple expression, and the whole tone and temper of the +man as he gathered the thought and expressed it so beautifully and so +artistically. This type of thing has great influence. It is often the +intangible thing that tells and that is valuable. In every case, that +which is most artistically done is probably that which leaves its +impression. + +=Affiliation.=--In some states, notably in Minnesota, an excellent plan +is in vogue by which the schools surrounding a town or a city are +affiliated with the city schools in such a manner as to receive the +benefit of the instruction of certain special teachers from the city. +These teachers--of manual training, domestic science, agriculture, +etc.--are sent out from the city to these rural schools two or three +times a week, and in return the country children beyond a certain grade +are sent to the high school in the city. This is a process of +affiliation which is stimulating and economical, and can be encouraged +with good results. + +[Illustration: A Christmas gathering at the new school] + +[Illustration: A school garden in the larger center] + +=The "Liking Point."=--In the teaching of all subjects the important +thing is that the pupil reach what may be termed the "liking point." +Until a pupil has reached that point in any subject of study his work +is mere drudgery--it is work which is probably disliked. The great +problem for the teacher is to bring the child as soon as possible to +this liking point, and then to keep him there. It is probable that every +pupil can be brought to the liking point of every subject by a good +teacher. Where there is difficulty in doing this, something has gone +wrong somewhere, either on the part of the pupil, his former teachers, +his parents, or his companions. When a pupil has reached the liking +point it means that he has a keen relish, an appetite for the subject, +and in this condition he will actively pursue it. + +=The Teacher the Chief Factor.=--The foregoing observations imply again +that the teacher, after all, is the great factor in the success of the +school. He is the "man behind the gun"; he is the engineer at the +throttle; he is the master at the helm; he is the guide, for he has been +over the road; he is the organizer, the center of things; he is the +mainspring; he is the soul of the school, and is greater than books or +courses of study. He is the living fire at which all the children must +light their torches. Again we ask, how can this kind of person be found? +Without him true education, in its best sense, cannot be secured; with +him the paltry consideration of salary should not enter. Without such +teachers there can be no solution of the rural school problems, nor, +indeed, of the rural life problems. With him and those of his class, +there is great hope. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE SOCIAL CENTER + + +During the past few years we have heard much of what is called the +"social center," or the "community center," in rural districts. This +idea has grown with the spread of the consolidation of schools, and +means, as the name implies, a unifying, coördinating, organizing agency +of some kind in the midst of the community, to bring about a harmony and +solidity of all the interests there represented. It implies of course a +leader; for what is left to be done by people in general is likely to be +done poorly. There is no doubt that this idea should be encouraged and +promoted. People living in the country are of necessity forced to a life +of isolation. Their very work and position necessitate this, and +consequently it is all the more necessary that they should frequently +come together in order to know each other and to act together for the +benefit of all. "In union there is strength," but these people have +always been under a great disadvantage in every way, because they have +not organized for the purpose of united and effective coöperation. + +=The Teacher, the Leader.=--There is no more appropriate person to bring +about this organization, this unification, this increased solidarity, +than the public school teacher of the community; but it will require the +head and the hand of a real master to lead a community--to organize it, +to unite it, and to keep it united. It requires a person of rare +strength and tact, a person who has a clear head and a large heart, and +who is "up and doing" all the time. A good second to such a person would +be the minister of the neighborhood, provided he has breadth of view and +a kindly and tolerant spirit. Much of the success of rural life in +foreign countries, notably in Denmark, is due to the combined efforts of +the schoolmaster and the minister of the community church. + +=Some Community Activities.=--Let us suggest briefly some of the +activities that are conducive to the fuller life of such a social +center. It is true that these activities are more possible in the +consolidated districts than in the communities where consolidation has +not been effected; but many of them could be provided even in the small +schools. + +=The Literary Society.=--There should be in every school district a +literary society of some kind. This of course must not be overworked, +for other kinds of activities also should be organized in order to give +the change which interest demands. In this literary society the interest +and assistance of the adults of the neighborhood and the district, who +are willing and able to coöperate, should be enlisted. There are in +every community a few men and women who will gladly assist in a work of +this kind if their interest can be properly aroused. There is scarcely +any better stimulus to the general interest of a neighborhood, and +especially of the children in the school, than seeing and hearing some +of the grown-up men and women who are their neighbors participate in +such literary work. + +=Debates.=--An important phase of the literary work of such a society +should be an occasional debate. This might be participated in sometimes +by adults who are not going to school, and sometimes by the bigger and +more advanced pupils. Topics that are timely and of interest to the +whole community should be discussed. There is probably no better way of +teaching a tolerant spirit and respect for the honest opinions of others +than the habit of "give and take" in debate. In such debates judges +could sometimes be appointed and at other times the relative merits of +the case and of the debaters might well be left to the people of the +neighborhood without any formal decision having been rendered. This +latter plan is the one used in practical life in regard to addresses and +debates on the political platform. The discussions and differences of +opinion following such debates constitute no small part of life and +thought manifested later in the community. + +=The School Program.=--A program or exhibition by the school should be +given occasionally. This would differ from the work of the literary +society in that it would be confined to the pupils of the school. Such +a program should be a sample of what the pupils are doing and can do. It +should be a mental exhibition of the school activities. There is +scarcely anything that attracts the people and the parents of the +neighborhood more than the literary performances of their children, +younger and older. Such performances, as in other cases, may be +overdone; they may be put forward too frequently; they may also be too +lengthy. But the teacher with a true perspective will see to it that all +such extremes are avoided, for he realizes that there are other +activities which must be developed and presented in order to secure a +change of interest. These school programs occupy the mind and thought of +the community for some time. The performance of the different parts and +the efforts of the various children--both their successes and their +failures--become the subjects of thought and of talk in the +neighborhood. It acts like a kind of ferment in the social mind; it +keeps the school and the community talking and thinking of school and of +education. + +=Spelling Schools.=--For a change, even an old-fashioned spelling school +is not to be scorned. Years ago this was quite the custom. An entire +school would, on a challenge, go as a sleigh-ride party to the +challenging school. There the spelling contest would take place. One of +the teachers, either the host or the guest, would pronounce the words, +and the visiting school would return, either victorious or vanquished. +A performance of this kind enlists the attention and the interest of +people and schools in the necessity of good spelling; it affords a +delightful social recreation, stirs up thought and wakes up mind in both +communities, by an interesting and courteous contest. Such results are +not to be undervalued. + +=Lectures.=--If the school is a consolidated one, or even a large +district school, a good lecture course may be given to advantage. Here, +again, care must be taken that the lectures, even if few, shall be +choice. Nothing will kill a course of lectures sooner than to have the +people deceived a few times by poor ones. It would be better to have +three good lectures during the year than six that would be +disappointing. These lecture courses may be secured in almost every +state through the Extension Department of the various state +institutions. Recently the states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North +Dakota have entered into an arrangement whereby they will furnish any +rural or urban community of these states with good lecturers at a very +small consideration. Excellent lectures can be secured in this way on a +great variety of subjects, including those most interesting to rural +communities and most helpful in all phases of farm life. These might be +secured in the winter season when there is ample time and leisure for +all to attend. + +=Dramatic Performances.=--In the social centers where the conveniences +admit, simple dramatic performances might be worked up or secured from +the outside. It is a fact that life in some country communities is not +sufficiently cheered through the agency of the imagination. The tendency +is for farmers and farmers' families to live a rather humdrum existence +involving a good deal of toil. On the secluded farms during the long +winter months, there is not much social intercourse. It has been +asserted that the isolation and solitariness in sparsely settled +districts are causes of the high percentage of insanity in rural and +frontier communities. It is good for the mental and physical health of +both old and young to be lifted, once in a while, out of the world of +reality into that of the imagination. All children and young people like +to play, to act, to make believe. This is a part of their life, and it +is conducive to their mental and social welfare to express themselves in +simple plays or to see life in its various phases presented dramatically +by others. + +=A Musical Program.=--If the teacher is a leader he will either be able, +himself, to arrange a musical entertainment, or he will secure some one +who can and will do so. All, it is contended, can learn to sing if they +begin early enough; and there is probably no better mode of +self-expression and no better way of waking up people emotionally and +socially than to engage them in singing. The importance of singing, to +secure good and right emotional attitudes toward life and mankind, is +indicated in the saying, "Let me make the songs of a nation and I care +not who makes her laws." The importance of singing is recognized to a +much greater extent in foreign countries, notably in Germany, than in +America. In Germany all sing; in America, it is to be regretted, but few +sing. There should be a real renaissance in music throughout the +country. As an aid in the teaching of music and of song, that marvelous +invention, the "talking machine," should be made use of. It would be an +excellent thing if a phonograph could be put in every school. Children +would become acquainted with the best music; they would grow to like it, +as the weeks, months, and years roll on. This machine is a wonderful +help in developing an appreciation of good music. + +=Slides and Moving Pictures.=--In the consolidated schools, where there +is a suitable hall, a moving-picture entertainment of the right kind is +to be commended. The screens and the lantern enable us, in our +imaginations, to live in all countries and climes. The eye is the royal +road to the mind, and most people are eye-minded; and the moving picture +is a wonderful agency to convey to the mind, through the eye, accurate +pictures of the world around us, natural and social. The community +center--the school center--should avail itself of all such inventions. + +=Supervised Dancing.=--Even the supervised dance, where the sentiment of +the community will allow, is not to be condemned. It is much better to +have young people attend dances that are supervised than to attend +public dances that are not supervised; and young people, as a rule, +will attend one or the other. The practical question or condition is one +of supervision or no supervision, for the dance is here. The dance +properly supervised, and conducted in a courteous, formal way, beginning +and closing at the right time, can probably be turned to good and made +an occasion for social and individual culture. The niceties and +amenities of life can there be inculcated. There is no good reason why +the dance activities should be turned over to the devil. There was a +time and there were places where violin playing was turned over to him +and banished from the churches. Dancing is too old, too general, too +instinctive, and too important, not to be recognized as a means to +social culture. Here again the sane teacher can be an efficient +supervisor. He can take care that the young people do not become +entirely dance-minded. + +=Sports and Games.=--The various sports should not be forgotten. +Skating, curling, and hockey, basketball, and volley ball, are all fine +winter sports; in summer, teams should be organized in baseball, tennis, +and all the proper athletic sports and games. Play should be supervised +to a certain extent; over-supervision will kill it. Sometimes plays that +are not supervised at all degenerate and become worse than none. All of +these physical activities and sports should be found and fostered in the +rural center. They are healthful, both physically and mentally, and +should be participated in by both girls and boys. + +It is probably true that our schools and our education have stood, to +too great an extent, for mere intellectual acquisition and training. In +Sparta of old, education was probably nine tenths physical and one tenth +mental. In these modern days education seems to be about ninety-nine +parts mental. A sound body is the foundation of a sound mind, and time +is not lost in devoting much attention to the play and games of children +and young people. There is no danger in the schools of our day of going +to an extreme in the direction of physical education; the danger is in +not going far enough. I am not sure that it would not be better if the +children in every school were kept in the open air half the time +learning and participating in various games and sports, instead of, as +now, poring over books and memorizing a lot of stuff that will never +function on land or sea. + +=School Exhibits.=--In the social centers a school exhibit could be +occasionally given with great profit. If domestic science is taught, an +occasion should be made to invite the people of the neighborhood to +sample the products, for the test of the pudding is in the eating. This +would make a delightful social occasion for the men and women of the +community to meet each other, and the after-effects in the way of +favorable comment and thought would be good. If manual training is an +activity of the school, as it ought to be, a good exhibit of the product +of this department could be given. If agriculture is taught and there +is a school garden, as there should be, an exhibit once a year would +produce most desirable effects in the community along agricultural +lines. + +=A Public Forum.=--Aside from provisions for school activities in this +social center there should be a hall where public questions can be +discussed. All political parties should be given equal opportunities to +present their claims before the people of the community. This would tend +toward instruction, enlightenment, and toleration. The interesting +questions of the day, in political and social life, should be discussed +by exponents chosen by the social center committee. In America we have +learned the lesson of listening quietly to speakers in a public meeting, +whether we agree with them or not. In some countries, when a man rises +to expound his political theories, he is hissed down or driven from the +stage by force. This is not the American way. In America each man has +his hour, and all listen attentively and respectfully to him. The next +evening his opponent may have his hour, his inning, and the audience is +as respectful to him. This is as it should be; this is the true spirit +of toleration which should prevail everywhere and which can be +cultivated to great advantage in these rural, social centers. It makes, +too, for the fullness of life in rural communities. It makes country +life more pleasant and serves in some degree to counteract the strong +but regrettable urban trend. + +=Courtesy and Candor.=--There are two extremes in debates and in public +discussions which should be equally avoided: The first is that brutal +frankness which forgets to be courteous; and the second is that extreme +of hypocritical courtesy which forgets to be candid. What is needed +everywhere is the candor which is also courteous and the courtesy which +is likewise candid. In impulsive youth and in lack of education and +culture, brutal candor without courtesy sometimes manifests itself; +while courtesy without candor is too often exhibited by shrewd +politicians and diplomatic intriguers. + +=Automobile Parties.=--A delightful and profitable occasion could be +made by the men of the rural community who are the owners of +automobiles, by taking all the children of the community and of the +schools, once in a while, for an automobile ride to near or distant +parts of the county. Such an occasion would never be forgotten by them. +It would be enjoyable to those who give as well as to those who receive, +and would have great educational as well as social value. It would bind +together both young and old of the community. Occasions like these would +also conduce to the good-roads movement so commendable and important +throughout the country. The automobile and the consolidation of rural +schools, resulting in social centers, are large factors in the +good-roads movement. + +=Full Life or a Full Purse.=--The community which has been centralized +socially and educationally may often bring upon itself additional +expense to provide the necessary hall, playgrounds, and other +conveniences required to realize and to make all of these activities +most effective. But this is a local problem which must be tackled and +solved by each community for itself. The community where the right +spirit prevails will realize that they must make some sacrifices. If a +thing is worth while, the proper means must be provided. One cannot have +the benefit without paying the cost. It is a question as to which a +community will choose: a monotonous, isolated life _with_ the +accumulation of some money, or an active, enthusiastic, educational, and +social life _without_ so many dollars. It is really a choice between +money with little life on the one hand, and a little less money with +more fullness of life on the other. Life, after all, is the only thing +worth while, and in progressive communities its enrichment will be +chosen at any cost. Here again it is the duty of the teacher to bring +about the right spirit and attitude and the right decision in regard to +all these important questions. + +=Organization.=--A community which is socially and educationally +organized will need a central post office and town hall, a community +store, a grain elevator, a church, and possibly other community +agencies. All of these things tend to solidify and bring together the +people at a common center. + +This suggests organization of some kind in the community. The old +grange was good in its ideal; the purpose was to unite and bring people +together for mutual help. There should probably be a young men's society +of some kind, and an organization of the girls and women of the +community. It is true that the matter may be overdone and we may have +such a thing as activity merely for the sake of activity. It was Carlyle +who said that some people are noted for "fussy littleness and an +infinite deal of nothing." The golden mean should apply here as +elsewhere. + +=The Inseparables.=--To bring all of these things about requires talent +and ingenuity on the part of the leader or leaders; and we come again to +the inseparables mentioned in a former chapter. It will require a great +personality to organize. The word "great" implies a high standard; and +strong personalities, such as are capable of managing a social center, +cannot possibly be secured without an adequate inducement in the way of +salary. Proper compensation cannot mean sixty, seventy-five, or one +hundred dollars a month. It must mean also permanence of position. Again +we come face to face with the problem of the teacher in our solution of +the problem of rural life and the rural school. + +In conclusion it must be said that nothing is too good for the country +which is not too good for the city. The rural community must determine +to have all these good things at any cost, if it wishes to work out its +own salvation. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +RURAL SCHOOL SUPERVISION + + +=Important.=--Supervision is fully as important as teaching. The +supervisor must be, to even a higher degree than the teacher, a strong +personality, and this too implies a high standard and an attractive +salary. The supervisor or superintendent must be somewhat of an expert +in the methods of teaching all the common school subjects. Not only must +he understand school discipline and organization in its details, but he +must possess the ability to "turn in" and exemplify his qualifications +at any time. It will be seen everywhere that the supervisor or +superintendent is the expensive person; for, having the elements of +leadership, he is in demand in educational positions as well as in +outside callings. Consequently it is only by a good financial +inducement, as a rule, that a competent supervisor can be retained in +the profession. + +=Supervision Standardizes.=--Without the superintendent or supervisor, +no common standard can be attained or maintained. It is he who keeps the +force up to the line; without him each teacher is a law unto himself and +there will be as many standards as there are teachers. Human nature is +innately slothful and negligent, and needs the spirit of supervision to +keep it toned up to the necessary pitch. Supervision over a large force +of workers of any kind is absolutely necessary to secure efficiency, and +to keep service up to a high standard. + +=Supervision Can Be Overdone.=--The necessity for supervision is clearly +felt in the city systems. There they have a general superintendent, +principals of buildings, and supervisors in various special lines. A +system of schools in the city without supervision would simply go to +pieces. It would soon cease to be a system, and would become chaotic. It +may be, it is true, that in some cities there is too much supervision; +it may become acute and pass the line of true efficiency. Indeed, in +some cities the red tape may become so complicated and systematized that +it becomes an end, and schools and pupils seem to exist for supervisors +and systems instead of _vice versa_. It is probably true that the +constant presence of a supervisor who is adversely critical may do +injury to the efficiency of a good teacher. No one can teach as well +under disapprobation as he can where he feels that his hands are free; +and so in some places supervision may act as a wet blanket. It may +suppress spontaneity, initiative, and real life in the school. But this +is only an abuse of a good thing, and probably does not occur +frequently. In any event, the exception would only prove the rule. +Supervision is as necessary in a system of schools as it is in a +railroad or in large industries. + +[Illustration: A basket ball team for the girls] + +[Illustration: A brass band for the young men] + +[Caption for the above illustrations: ACTIVITIES OF THE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL] + +=Needed in Rural Schools.=--The country partakes of the same isolation +in regard to its schools as it does in regard to life in general. This +isolation is accentuated where there is little or no supervision. +Without it, the necessary stimulus seldom or never touches the life of +the teacher or the school. There is little uplift; the school runs along +in its ordinary, humdrum fashion, and never measures itself with other +schools, and is seldom measured by a supervisor. A poor teacher may be +in the chair one term and a good teacher another. The terms are short +and the service somewhat disconnected. The whole situation gives the +impression to people, pupils, and teacher that education is not of very +great value. + +=No Supervision in Some States.=--In some states there is but little +supervision. There may be, it is true, a district board, but these are +laymen, much better acquainted with the principles of farming than with +those of teaching. They have no standards for judging a school and +seldom visit one. The selection known as the "Deestrict Skule" +illustrates fairly well the ability of the old-time school board to pass +judgment upon the professional merits of the teacher. + +=Nominal Supervision.=--In other states there is a county superintendent +on part time who has a kind of general but attenuated supervision over +all the schools of a county. He is usually engaged in some other line of +work--in business, in medicine, in law, in preaching--and can give only +a small portion of his time to the work of superintendence. Indeed, +this means only an occasional visit to the school, probably once every +one or two years, and such simple and necessary reports as are demanded +by the state superintendent or State Board of Education. Such +supervision, however honestly performed, accomplishes but little. The +superintendent may visit the teacher to-day, but when he returns a year +hence, he is likely to find another teacher in charge. Under such +circumstances, what can he do? He has seen the teacher at work for half +an hour or an hour; he offers a suggestion, or makes some complimentary +remark, and goes his way. No one realizes better than he how little he +has been able to accomplish. And yet, under existing circumstances he +has done all that could be expected. + +=Some Supervision.=--There are, elsewhere, county superintendents who +devote their whole time to the work, but who are chosen for short terms +and in a political campaign. Very frequently these men are elected for +political reasons quite as much as for educational fitness. If a +superintendent so elected is politically minded--and I regret to say +that sometimes this is the case--he will probably devote much time, +energy, and thought to paving the way for reëlection. Expecting to be a +candidate for a second term, he will use his best efforts to impress the +public mind in his favor. This sometimes results in greater attention to +the duties of his office and the consequent betterment of the schools; +but, too often, it works in the opposite direction. Being elected for +only two years, he has not the time to carry out any educational policy +no matter how excellent his plans may be. Of course many persons chosen +in this way make excellent and efficient officers, but the plan is bad. +The good superintendent frequently loses out soonest. + +=An Impossible Task.=--Superintendents sometimes have under their +jurisdiction from one hundred to two hundred, or even more, schools +separated by long distances. The law usually prescribes that the county +superintendent shall visit each school at least once a year. This means +that practically he will do no more; indeed it is often impossible to do +more. It means that his visits must of necessity be a mere perfunctory +call of an hour or two's duration with no opportunity to see the same +teacher again at work to determine whether or not she is making +progress, and whether she is carrying out his instructions. Such +so-called supervision, or superintendence, is not supervision at +all--how can it be? The superintendent is only a clerical officer who +does the work required by law, and makes incidentally an annual social +visit to the schools. + +=The Problem Not Tackled.=--Such a situation is another evidence that +the states which tolerate the foregoing conditions have not, in any real +and earnest manner, attempted to solve the problem of rural school +supervision. They have merely let things drift along as they would, not +fully realizing the problem or else trusting to time to come to their +aid. Micawber-like, they are waiting for "something to turn up." But +such problems will not solve themselves. + +=City Supervision.=--Compare the supervision described above with that +which is usually found in cities. There we usually find a general +superintendent and assistant superintendents; there are high school +principals and a principal at the head of every grade building; there is +also a supervisor of manual training, of domestic science, of music, of +drawing, and possibly of other subjects. When we consider, too, that the +teachers in the city are all close at hand and that the supervisor or +superintendent may drop into any room at any time with scarcely a +minute's notice, we see the difference between city supervision and +country supervision. Add to this the fact that cities attract the strong +teachers--the professionally trained teachers, the output of the +professional schools--and we can see again how effective supervision +becomes in the city as compared with that in the country. In the country +we find only one superintendent for a county often as large as some of +the older states, and the possibility of visiting each school only about +once a year. Here also are the teachers who are not professionalized, as +a rule, and who, therefore, need supervision most. + +=The Purpose of Supervision.=--The main purpose of supervision is to +bring teachers up to a required standard of excellence in their work and +to keep them there. It is always the easiest plan to dismiss a teacher +who is found deficient, but this is cutting the knot rather than untying +it. Efficient and intelligent supervision proceeds along the line of +building such a teacher up, of making her strong where she is weak, of +giving her initiative where she lacks it, of inculcating good methods +where she is pursuing poor ones, of inducing her to come out of her +shell where she is backward and diffident. In other words, the great +work of the supervisor is to elicit from teachers their most active and +hearty response in all positive directions. It should be understood by +teachers--and they should know that the superintendent or supervisor +indorses the idea--that it is always better to go ahead and blunder than +to stand still for fear of blundering; and so, in the presence of a good +supervisor, the teacher is not afraid to let herself out. In the +conference, later, between herself and her supervisor, mistakes may be +pointed out; but, better than this, the best traits of the teacher +should be brought to her mind and the weak ones but lightly referred to. + +=What Is Needed.=--What is needed in the rural situation is a county +superintendent chosen because of his professional fitness by a county +board whose members have been elected at large. This board should be +elected on a nonpartisan ticket and so far as possible on a basis of +qualification and of good judgment in educational matters. It should +hold office for a period of years, some members retiring from the board +annually so that there shall not be, at any time, an entirely new board. +This would insure continuity. Another plan for a county board would be +to have the presidents of the district boards act as a county board of +education. Such a board should be authorized--and indeed this tradition +should be established--to select a county superintendent from applicants +from outside as well as inside the county. They should be empowered to +go anywhere in the country for a superintendent with a reputation in the +teaching profession. This is the present plan in cities, and it should +be true also in the selection of a county superintendent. + +=The Term.=--The term of office of the county superintendent should be +at the discretion of the county board. It should be not less than three +or four years--of sufficient length to enable a man to carry out a line +of policy in educational administration. The status of the county +superintendency should be similar to that of the city superintendency. + +=Assistants.=--The county board should be empowered to provide +assistants for the county superintendent. There should be one such +assistant for about thirty or thirty-five schools. It is almost +impossible for a supervisor to do efficient and effective work if he has +more than this number of schools, located, as they are, some distance +apart. Provision for such assistants, who should, like the +superintendent himself, be experts, is based upon the assumption that +supervision is worth while, and in fact necessary in any system if +success is to be attained. If the supervision of thirty-five schools is +an important piece of work it should be well done, and a person well +qualified for that work should be selected. He should be a person of +sympathetic attitude, of high qualifications, and of experience in the +field of elementary education. The assistants should be carefully +selected by the board on the recommendation of the county +superintendent. Poor supervision is little better than none. + +=The Schools Examined.=--The county superintendent and his assistants +should give, periodically, oral and written examinations in each school, +thus testing the work of both the teacher and the pupils. These +examinations should not conform in any perfunctory or red-tape manner to +a literally construed course of study. The course of study is a means +and not an end, and should be, at all points and times, elastic and +adaptable. To make pupils fit the course of study instead of making the +course of study fit the pupils is the old method of the Procrustean +bed--if the person is not long enough for it he is stretched; if too +long, a piece is cut off. Any examination or tests which would wake up +mind and stimulate education in the neighborhood may be resorted to; but +it should be remembered that examinations are likewise a means and not +an end. + +Some years ago when I was a county superintendent I tried the plan of +giving such tests in any subject to classes that had completed a +definite portion of that subject and arrived at a good stopping place. +If, for example, the teacher announced that his class had acquired a +thorough knowledge of the multiplication table, I gave a searching test +upon that subject and issued a simple little certificate to the effect +that the pupil had completed it. These little certificates acted like +stakes put down along the way, to give incentive, direction, and +definiteness to the educative processes, and to stimulate a reasonable +class spirit or individual rivalry. I meet these pupils occasionally +now--they are to-day grown men and women--and they retain in their +possession these little colored certificates which they still highly +prize. + +One portion of my county was populated almost entirely by Scandinavians, +and here a list of fifty to a hundred words was selected which +Scandinavian children always find it difficult to pronounce. At the +first trial many or most of the children mispronounced a large +percentage of them. I then announced that, the next time I visited the +school, I would test the pupils again on these words and others like +them, and issue "certificates of correct pronunciation" to all who were +entitled to them. I found, on the next visit, that nearly all the +children could secure these certificates. These tests created a great +impetus in the direction of correct pronunciation and language. Some +teachers, from mistaken kindness, had been accustomed to refrain from +correcting the children on such words, but as superintendent I found +that both the parents and the children wished drill in pronunciation and +were gratified at their success. This is only a sample. I would advocate +the giving of tests, or examinations, on any subject in the school +likely to lead to good results and to stimulate the minds of the pupils +in the right direction. The county superintendent and his assistants +might agree to lay the accent or the emphasis on different subjects, or +lines of work, in different years. + +=Keep Down Red Tape.=--In all the work of supervision, the formal +part--the accounting and reporting part--should be kept simple; the +tendency in administrative offices is too often in the direction of +complexity and red tape. Wherever there is form merely for the sake of +form, it is well worth while to sound a note of warning against it. + +=Help the Social Centers.=--The county superintendent and his assistants +can be of inestimable value in all the work of the social centers. They +should advise with school boards in regard to consolidation and other +problems agitating the community. They should lend a helping hand to +programs that are being carried out in any part of the county. They +should give lectures themselves at such social centers and, if asked, +should help the local communities and local committees in every way +within their power. + +=Conclusion.=--The problem, then, of superintendence is, we conclude, +one of the large and important problems awaiting solution in rural life +and in rural schools. It is the binding force that will help to unify +all the educational activities of the county. It is one of the chief +stimulating and uplifting influences in rural education. As in the case +of most other school problems, the constant surprise is that the people +have not awakened sooner to the realization of its importance and to an +honest and earnest attempt at its solution. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +LEADERSHIP AND COÖPERATION + + +=The Real Leader.=--Real leadership is a scarce and choice article; true +leaders are few and far between. The best kind of leader is not one who +attempts to be at the head of every movement and to do everything +himself, but rather he who makes the greatest number of people active in +his cause. It frequently happens that the more a leader does himself, +the less his followers are inclined to do. The more active he is, the +more passive they are likely to become. As teaching is causing others to +know and react educationally, so genuine leadership is causing others to +become active in the direction of the leader's purpose, or aim. Some who +pose as leaders seek to be conspicuous in every movement, merely to +attract attention to themselves. They bid for direct and immediate +recognition instead of being content with the more remote, indirect, but +truer and more substantial reward of recognition through their followers +who are active in their leader's cause. The poor leader does not think +that there is glory enough for all, and so he monopolizes all he can of +it, leaving the remainder to those who probably do the greater part of +the work and deserve as much credit as he. The spectacular football +player who ignores the team and team work, in order to attract attention +by his individual plays, is not the best leader or the best player. The +real leader will frequently be content to see things somewhat poorly +done or not so well done, in order that his followers may pass through +the experience of doing them. It is only by having such experiences that +followers are enabled, in turn, to become leaders. + +=Teaching vs. Telling.=--As has been shown in an earlier chapter, the +lack of leadership is frequently exhibited in the classroom when the +teacher, instead of inducing self-activity and self-expression on the +part of the pupils, proceeds to recite the whole lesson himself. He asks +leading questions and then, at the slightest hesitation on the part of a +pupil, he suggests the answer; he asks another leading question from +another point of view; he puts words into the mouth of the pupil who is +trying in a pitiable way to recite; and ends by covering the topic all +over with words, words, words of his own. This is poor leadership on the +part of the teacher and gives no opportunity for real coöperation on the +part of the pupils. The teacher takes all the glory of reciting, and +leaves the pupil without an opportunity or the reward of +self-expression. + +=Enlisting the Coöperation of Pupils.=--All children--and in fact all +people--if approached or stimulated in the proper way--like to _do_ +things, to perform services for others. A pupil always considers it a +compliment to be asked by his teacher to do something for him, if the +relations between the teacher and pupil are normal and cordial. This +must, of course, be the case if any truly educative response is to be +elicited. Socrates once said that a person cannot learn from one whom he +does not love. The relation between pupil and teacher should be one of +mutual love and respect, if the educational process is to obtain. If +this relation does not exist, the first duty of the teacher is to bring +it about. Sometimes this is difficult. I once heard a teacher say that +it took him about three weeks to establish this relation between himself +and one of his pupils. He finally invited the pupil out hunting with him +one Saturday, and after that they were the best of friends. The pupil +became one of the leaders in his school and his coöperation was secured +from that time forward. In this instance the teacher showed marked +leadership as well as practical knowledge of psychology and pedagogy. +Francis Murphy, the great temperance orator, understood both leadership +and coöperation, for he always, as he said, made it a point to approach +a man from the "south side." + +A pupil, if approached in the right way, will do anything in his power +for his teacher. There may be times when wood or fuel must be provided, +when the room must be swept and cleaned, when little repairs become +necessary, or an errand must be performed. In such situations, if the +teacher is a real leader and if his school and he are _en rapport_, +volunteers will vie with each other for the privilege of carrying out +the teacher's wishes. This would indicate genuine leadership and +coöperation. + +=Placing Responsibility.=--Whether in school or some other station in +life, there is scarcely anything that so awakens and develops the best +that is in either man or child as the placing of responsibility. Every +person is educated and made greater according to the measure of +responsibility that is given to him and that he is able to live up to. +While it is true that too great a measure of responsibility might be +given, this is no reasonable excuse for withholding it altogether for +fear the burden would be too great. There is a wide middle ground +between no responsibility and too much of it, and it is in this field +that leadership and coöperation can be displayed to much advantage. The +greater danger lies in not giving sufficient responsibility to children +and youths. It is well known that, in parts of our country, where men +who have been proved to be, or are strongly suspected of being crooked, +have been placed upon the bench to mete out justice, they have usually +risen to the occasion and to their better ideals, and have not betrayed +the trust reposed in them, or the responsibility placed upon them. There +is probably no finer body of men in America than our railroad +engineers; and while it may be true that they are _picked_ in a +measure, it is also true that their responsible positions and work bring +out their best manhood. As they sit or stand at the throttle, with hand +upon the lever and eyes on the lookout for danger, and as they feel the +heart-throbs of their engine drawing its precious freight of a thousand +souls through the darkness and the storm, they cannot help realizing +that this is real life invested with great responsibilities; and with +this thought ever before them, they become men who can be trusted +anywhere. There is little doubt that Abraham Lincoln's mettle was +tempered to the finest quality in the fires of the great struggle from +1860 to 1865, when every hour of his waking days was fraught with the +greatest responsibility. + +=How People Remain Children.=--If children and young people are not +given responsibilities they are likely to remain children. The old +adage, "Don't send a boy to mill," is thoroughly vicious if applied +beyond a narrow and youthful range. In some neighborhoods the fathers +even when of an advanced age retain entire control of the farm and of +all activities, and the younger generation are called the "boys," and, +what is worse, are considered such till forty years of age or older--in +fact as long as the fathers live and are active. A "boy" is called +"Johnnie," "Jimmie," or "Tommie," and is never chosen to do jury duty or +to occupy any position connected in the local public mind with a man's +work. The father in such cases is not a good leader, for he has given +no responsibility to, and receives no genuine coöperation from, his +sons, who are really man grown, but who are regarded, even by +themselves, from habit and suggestion, as children. If these middle-aged +men should move to another part of the country they would be compelled +to stand upon their own feet, and would be regarded as men among men. +They would be called _Mr._ Jones, _Mr._ Smith, and _Mr._ Brown, instead +of diminutive and pet names; and, what is better, they would regard +themselves as men. This would be a wholesome and stimulating suggestion. +Hence Horace Greeley's advice to young men, to "Go West," would prove +beneficial in more ways than one. + +This state of affairs is illustrated on a large scale by the Chinese +life and civilization. From time immemorial the Chinese have been taught +to regard themselves as children, and the emperor as the common father +of all. The head of the family is the head as long as he lives and all +his descendants are mere sons and daughters. When he dies he is the +object of worship. This custom has tended to influence in a large +measure the thought and life of China and to keep the Chinese, for +untold generations, a childlike and respectful people. Whatever may come +to pass under the new regime, recently established in their country, +they have been, since the dawn of history, a passive people, the +majority of whom have not been honored with any great measure of +responsibility. + +=On the Farm.=--Such lessons from history, written large, are as +applicable in rural life as elsewhere. Coöperation and profit-sharing +are probably the key to the solution of the labor problem. Many +industrial leaders in various lines, notably Mr. Henry Ford in his +automobile factories in Detroit, have come to the conclusion that +coöperation, or some kind of profit-sharing by the rank and file of the +workers, is of mutual benefit to employer and laborer. The interest of +workers must be enlisted for their own good as well as for the good of +society at large. It induces the right attitude toward work on the part +of the worker, and the right attitude of employer and employee toward +each other. This leads to the solidarity of society and the integrity of +the social bond. It tends to establish harmony and to bring contentment +to both parties. + +=Renters.=--The renter of a farm must have sufficient interest in it and +in all its activities to improve it in every respect, rather than to +allow it to deteriorate by getting out of it everything possible, and +then leaving it, like a squeezed orange, to repeat the operation +elsewhere. A farm, in order to yield its best and to increase in +production and value, must be managed with care, foresight, and +scientific understanding. There must be, among other things, a careful +rotation of crops and the rearing of good breeds of animals of various +kinds. But these things cannot be intrusted to the mere renter or the +hired man who is nothing more. These are not sufficiently interested. +The man who successfully manages a farm must be interested in it and in +its various phases, whether he be a renter or a worker. He must be +careful, watchful, industrious, intelligent, and a lover of domestic +animals; otherwise the farm will go backward and the stock will not +thrive and be productive of profits. The man who drives a farm to a +successful issue must be a leader, and, if he is not the owner, he must +coöperate with the owner in order that there may be interest, which is +the great essential. + +=The Owner.=--If the farm is operated by the owner himself and his +family, there is still greater need of leadership on the part of the +father and of coöperation on the part of all. Money and profits are not +the only motives or the only results and rewards that come to a family +in rural life. As the children grow up to adult life, both boys and +girls, for their own education and development in leadership and in +coöperation, should be given some share in the business, some interest +which they can call their own, and whose success and increase will +depend on their attention, care, and industry. That father is a wise +leader who can enlist the active coöperation of all his family for the +good of each and of all. Such leadership and coöperation are the best +forms and means of education, and lead inevitably to good citizenship. +How often do we see a grasping, churlish father whose leadership is +maintained by fear and force and whose family fade away, one by one, as +they come to adolescence. There is no cementing force in such a +household, and the centrifugal forces which take the place of true +leadership and cordial coöperation soon do their work. + +=The Teacher as a Leader.=--We have already spoken of the teacher as the +natural leader of the activities of a social center, or of a community. +In such situations the teacher should be a real leader, not one who +wishes or attempts to be the direct and actual leader in every activity, +but one "who gets things done" through the secondary leadership of a +score or more of men, boys, and girls. The leader in a consolidated +district, or social center, who should attempt to bring all the glory +upon himself by immediate leadership would be like the teacher who +insists on doing all the reciting for his pupils. That would be a false +and short-lived leadership. Hence the teacher who is a true leader will +keep himself somewhat in the background while, at the same time, he is +the hidden mainspring, the power behind the throne. "It is the highest +art to conceal art." Fitch, in his lectures on teaching, says that the +teacher and the leader should "keep the machinery in the background." +The teacher should start things going by suggestion and keep them going +by his presence, his attitude, and his silent participation. + +Too much participation and direction are fatal to the active coöperation +and secondary leadership of others. Hence the teacher will bring about, +in his own good time and way, the organization of a baseball team under +the direction of a captain chosen by the boys. The choice, it is true, +may probably be inspired by the teacher. The same would take place in +regard to every game, sport, or activity, mental, social, or physical, +in the community. The danger always is that the initial leader may +become too dominant. It is hard on flesh and blood to resist the +temptation to be lionized. But it is incomparably better to have partial +or almost total failures under self-government than to be governed by a +benevolent and beneficent autocrat. And so it is much better that boys +and girls work out their own salvation under leaders of their own +choice, than to be told to organize, and to do thus and so. It requires +a rare power of self-control in a real leader to be compelled to witness +only partial success and crude performance under secondary leaders +groping toward success, and still be silent and patient. But this is the +true process of education--self-activity and self-government. + +=Self-activity and Self-government.=--In order to develop initiative, +which is the same thing, practically, as leadership, opportunity must be +given for free self-activity. Children and adults alike, if they are to +grow, must be induced to _do_. It is always better to go ahead and +blunder than to stand still for fear of blundering. Many kind mothers +fondly wish--and frequently attempt to enforce their wish--that +children should learn how to swim without going into the water. +Children see the folly of this and, in order not to disturb the calm and +peace of the household, slip away to a neighboring creek or +swimming-hole, for which they ever after retain the most cherished +memories. In later years when all danger is over these grown-up children +smilingly and jokingly reveal the mysteries of the trick! Children +cannot learn to climb trees without climbing trees, or to ride calves +and colts without the real animals. Some chances must be taken by +parents and guardians, and more chances are usually taken by children +than their guardians ever hear of. Accidents will happen, it is true, +but in the wise provision of Mother Nature the world moves on through +these persistent and instinctive self-activities. + +Self-activity is manifested on a larger scale in society and among +nations and peoples. Civilization is brought about through self-activity +and coöperation. It were better for the Filipinos to civilize themselves +as much as possible than that we impose civilization upon them. It is +better that Mexico bring peace into her own household, than that we take +the leadership and enforce order among her people. When the Irish +captain said to his soldiers, "If you don't obey willingly I'll make you +obey willingly," he fused into one the military and the truly civic and +educational conceptions. An individual or a nation must energize from +within outward in order to truly express itself and thus develop in the +best sense. Hence in any community the development of self-expression, +self-activity, and coöperation under true leadership is conducive to the +highest type of individuality and of citizenship. + +=Taking Laws upon One's Self.=--It is under proper leadership and +coöperation that children and young people are induced to take laws upon +themselves. It is always a joy to a parent or a teacher when a pupil +expresses himself with some emotion to the effect that such and such a +deed is an "outrage," or "fine" as the case may be. It is an indication +that he has adopted a life principle which he means to live by, and that +it has been made his own to such an extent that he expresses and commits +himself upon it with such feeling. Moralization consists in just this +process--the taking upon one's self of a bundle of good life principles. +Under the right kind of leadership and coöperation this moralizing +process grows most satisfactorily. Children then take upon themselves +laws and become self-governing and law-abiding. + +=An Educational Column.=--One of the best means of creating an +atmosphere and spirit of education and culture in a community is to +conduct an "educational column" in the local newspaper. The teacher as a +real leader in the community could furnish the matter for such a column +once every two weeks or once a month, and, before long, if he is the +leader we speak of, the people will begin to look eagerly for this +column; they will turn to it first on receiving their paper. Here items +of interest on almost any subject might be discussed. The column need +not be limited narrowly to technically educational topics. The author of +such a column could thus create and build up in a community the right +kind of traditions and a good spirit, tone, and temper generally. His +influence would be potent outside the schoolroom and he would have in +his power the shaping and the guiding of the social, or community mind. +It is wonderful what can be done in this way by a prudent, intelligent, +and interesting writer. The community soon will wish, after the column +has been read through, that he had written more. This would be an +encouraging sign. + +=All Along the Educational Line.=--The kind of leadership and +coöperation indicated in this chapter should be exemplified through the +entire common-school system. It should obtain between the state +superintendent and the county superintendents; between the county +superintendents and their deputies, or assistants on the one hand and +the principals of schools on the other; between principals and teachers; +and between teachers and pupils. It should exist between all of these +officials and the people variously organized for social and educational +betterment. Then there would be a "long pull, a strong pull, and a pull +all together" for the solution of the problems of rural life and the +rural school. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE FARMER AND HIS HOME + + +=Farming in the Past.=--In the past, successful farming was easier than +it is at present or is destined to be in the future. In the prairie +regions of the great central West, the virgin and fertile soil, the +large acreage of easy cultivation, and the good prices made success +inevitable. Indeed, these conditions were thrust upon the fortunate +farmer. + +But those days are passed. Increased population is reducing the acreage +and cultivation, while it is eliminating the surplus fertility; +competition and social and economic pressure are reducing the margin of +profits. Thrift, good management, and brains are becoming increasingly +important factors in successful farming. + +=Old Conceit and Prejudice.=--Twenty years ago, when the agricultural +colleges were taking shape and attempting to impress their usefulness +upon the farmer, the latter was inclined to assume a derisive attitude, +and to refer to their graduates as "silk-stocking farmers"--or, as one +farmer put it, "theatrical" sort of fellows, meaning _theoretical_! In +the farming of the future, however, the agricultural college and its +influence are bound to play a large part. There is plenty of room on a +good farm of one hundred and sixty acres for the best thinking and the +most careful planning. Foresight and ingenuity of the rarest kinds are +demanded there. + +We wish to enumerate, and discuss in brief, some of the important points +of vantage to be watched and carefully guarded, if farm life, which +means rural life, is to be pleasant and profitable. If rural life is to +retain its attractions and its people, it must be both of these. Let us, +in this chapter, investigate some things which, although apart from the +school and education in any technical sense, are truly educative, in the +best sense. + +=Leveling Down.=--One thing that sometimes impresses the close observer +who is visiting in the country and in farm homes is that there exists in +some rural localities a kind of "leveling down" process. People become +accommodated to their rather quiet and unexciting surroundings. Their +houses and barns, in the way of repairs and improvements, are allowed +gradually to succumb to the tooth of time and the beating of the +elements. This process is so slow and insidious that those who live in +the midst of it scarcely notice the decay that is taking place. Hence it +continues to grow worse until the farm premises assume an unattractive +and dilapidated appearance. Weeds grow up around the buildings and along +the roads, so slowly, that they remain unnoticed and hence uncut--when +half an hour's work would suffice to destroy them all, to the benefit of +the farm and the improvement of its appearance. + +In the country it is very easy, as we have said, to "level down." People +live in comparative isolation; imitation, comparison, and competition +enter but little into their thoughts and occupations. In the city it is +otherwise. People live in close proximity to each other, and one +enterprising person can start a neighborhood movement for the +improvement of lawns and houses. There is more conference, more +criticism and comparison, more imitation. In the city there is a kind of +compulsion to "level up." + +When one moves from a large active center to a smaller one, the life +tendency is to accommodate one's self to his environment; while if one +moves from a small, quiet place to a larger and more active center, the +life tendency is to level up. It is, of course, fortunate for us that we +are able to accommodate ourselves to our environment and to derive a +growing contentment from the process. The prisoner may become so content +in his cell that he will shed tears when he is compelled to leave it for +the outer world where he must readjust himself. The college man, over +whom there came a feeling of desolation on settling down in a small +country village with one store, comes eventually to find contentment, +sitting on the counter or on a drygoods box, swapping stories with +others like himself who have leveled down to a very circumscribed life +and living. Leveling down may be accomplished without effort or thought, +but eternal vigilance is the price of leveling up. + +=Premises Indicative.=--A farmer is known by the premises he keeps, just +as a person is known by the company he keeps. If a man is thrifty it +will find expression in the orderliness of his place. If he is +intelligent and inventive it will show in the appointments and +adaptations everywhere apparent, inside and outside the buildings. If +the man and his family have a fine sense of beauty and propriety, an +artistic or æsthetic sense, there will be evidences of cleanliness and +simple beauty everywhere--in the architecture, in the painting, in the +pictures, and the carpets, in the kinds and positions of the trees and +shrubbery, and in the general neatness and cleanliness of the premises. +It is not so necessary that people possess much, but it is important +that they make much of what they do possess. The exquisite touch on all +things is analogous to the flavor of our food--it is as important for +appetite and for nourishment as the food itself. + +=Conveniences by Labor-saving Devices.=--If there are ingenuity and the +power of ordinary invention in common things, system and devices for +saving labor will be evident everywhere. The motor will be pressed into +service in various ways. There will be a place for everything, and +everything will be in its place. Head work and invention, rather than +mere imitation, characterize the activities of the master. + +=Eggs in Several Baskets.=--The day is past when success may be attained +by raising wheat alone. This was, of course, in days gone by, the +easiest and cheapest crop to produce. It was also the crop that brought +the largest returns in the shortest time. Wheat raising was merely a +summer's job, with a prospective winter's outing in some city center. It +was and is still the lazy farmer's trick. It was an effort similar to +that of attempting the invention of a perpetual motion machine; it was +an attempt, if not to get something for nothing, at least to get +something at the lowest cost, regardless of the future. But nature +cannot be cheated, and the modern farmer has learned or is learning +rapidly, that he must rotate and diversify his crops if he would succeed +in the long run. Consequently he has begun rotation. He also replenishes +his soil with nitrogen-producing legumes, along with corn planting and +with summer fallowing. He engages in the raising of chickens, hogs, +cattle, and horses. This diversification saves him from total loss in +case of a bad year in one line. The farmer does not carry all his eggs +in one basket. A bad year with one kind of crops may be a good year with +some other. Diversification also makes farming an all-year occupation, +every part of which is bringing a good return, instead of being a job +with an income for the summer and an outlay for the winter. Live stock, +sheep, hogs, and cattle grow nights, Sundays, and winters as well as at +other times, and so the profits are accumulating all the year round. + +=The Best is the Cheapest.=--The modern farmer also realizes that it +takes no more, nor indeed as much, to feed and house the best kinds of +animals than it does to keep the scrub varieties. In all of this there +is a large field for study and investigation. But one must be interested +in his animals and understand them. They should know his voice and he +should know their needs and their habits. As in every other kind of work +there must be a reasonable interest; otherwise it cannot be an +occupation which will make life happy and successful. + +=Good Work.=--The good farmer has the _feel_ and the habit of good work. +The really successful man in any calling or profession is he who does +his work conscientiously and as well as he can. The sloven becomes the +bungler, and the bungler is on the high road to failure. It is always a +pleasant thing to see a man do his work well and artistically. It is the +habit, the policy, the attitude of thus doing that tell in the long run. +A farmer may by chance get a good crop by seeding on unplowed stubble +land, but he must feel that he is engaged in the business of trying to +cheat himself, like the boy playing solitaire--he does not let his right +hand know what his left hand is doing. The good farmer is an artist in +his work, while the poor farmer is a veritable bungler--blaming his +tools and Nature herself for his failures. + +=Good Seed and Trees.=--The successful farmer knows from study and +experience that only healthy seed and healthy animals will produce good +grain and strong animals after their kind. He does not try tricks on +Nature. He selects the best kinds of trees and shrubbery and when these +are planted he takes care of them. He realizes that what is worth sowing +and planting is worth taking care of. + +=A Good Caretaker.=--The successful and intelligent farmer keeps all his +buildings, sheds, and fences in good repair and well painted. He is not +penny-wise and pound-foolish. He knows the value of paint from an +economic and financial point of view as well as from an artistic and +æsthetic one. Knowing these things, and from an ingrained feeling and +habit, he sees to it that all his machinery and tools are under good +cover, and are not exposed to the gnawing tooth of the elements. This +habit and attitude of the man are typical and make for success as well +as for contentment. As it is not the saving of a particular dollar that +makes a man thrifty or wealthy, but the _habit_ of saving dollars; so it +is not the taking care of this or that piece of machinery, or that +particular building, but the habit of doing such things that leads him +to success. + +=Family Coöperation.=--Such a man will also enlist the interest and the +active coöperation of his sons and daughters by giving them property or +interests which they can call their own; he will make them, in a +measure, co-partners with him on the farm. There could be no better way +of developing in them their best latent talents. It would result in +mutual profit and, what is better, in mutual love and happiness. One of +the greatest factors in a true education is to be interested, +self-active, and busy toward a definite and worthy end. Under such +circumstances both the parents and the children might be benefited by +taking short courses in the nearest agricultural college; and a plan of +giving each his turn could be worked out to the interest and profit of +all the family. Such a family would become local leaders in various +enterprises. + +=An Ideal Life.=--It would seem that such an intelligent and successful +farmer and his family could lead an ideal life. Every life worth while +must have work, disappointments, and reverses. But work--reasonable +work--is a blessing and not a curse. Work is an educator, a civilizer, a +sanctifier. + +A family like that described might in the course of a few years possess +most of the modern conveniences. The telephone, the daily mail, the +automobile, and other inventions are at hand, in the country as well as +in the city. The best literature of to-day and of all time is available. +Music and art are easily within reach. With these advantages any rural +family may have a happy home. This is more than most people in the +cities can have. More and more of our people should turn in the future +to this quiet but happy and ideal country life. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE RURAL RENAISSANCE + + +=Darkest Before the Dawn.=--Prior to the present widespread discussion, +which it is hoped will lead to a rural renaissance, the condition and +the prospects of country life and the country school looked dark and +discouraging. Country life seemed to be passing into the shadow and the +storm. It seemed as if the country was being not only deserted but +forgotten. The urban trend, as we have seen, moved on apace. Farms were +being deserted or, if cultivated at all, were passing more and more into +the hands of renters. The owners were farming by proxy. This meant +decreased production and impoverished soil. It meant one-crop, or +small-grain farming; it meant a class of renters or tenants with only +temporary homes, and hence with only a partial interest. The inevitable +result would be an impoverished rural life and poor rural schools. +Without a realization of the seriousness of the situation and the trend +on the part of the people at large, all these conditions prevailed to a +greater or less extent. The people seemed unaware of the fact that rural +life was not keeping pace with the progress of the world around. In New +England whole districts were practically deserted, and her abandoned +farms told the tale. In Virginia and in most of the older states similar +conditions existed. The people migrated either to the cities or to the +newer and cheaper agricultural regions of the West. + +=The Awakening.=--But the time came when the newer lands were not so +available and when social and economic pressure forced the whole problem +of rural life upon the attention of the nation. Difficulty in adjustment +to surroundings always constitutes a problem, and a problem always +arouses thought. When our adjustment is easy and successful it is +effected largely through habit; but when it is obstructed or thwarted, +thought and reason must come to the rescue. Investigation, comparison, +and reflection are then drafted for a solution. This is what happened a +few years ago. The whole situation, it is true, had been in mind +previously, but only in a half conscious or subconscious way. It was +being felt or sensed, more or less clearly, that there was something +wrong, that there was a great unsupplied need, in rural life; but the +thought had no definite shape. The restiveness, the restlessness, was +there but no distinct and articulate voices gave utterance to any +definite policy or determination. There was no clearly formulated +consensus of thought as to what ought to be done. Prior to this time the +thought of the people had not been focused on country life at all. The +attention of the rural districts was not on themselves; they were not +really self-conscious of their condition or that there was any important +problem before them. But not many years ago, owing to various movements, +which were both causes and effects, the whole country began to be +aroused to the importance of the subjects which I have been discussing. +The Committee of Twelve on Rural Schools appointed by the National +Educational Association had reported the phases of the rural life +problem in 1897; but many declarations and reports of that kind are +necessary to stir the whole country. Hence no decisive movement, even in +rural education, became noticeable for several years. But this report +did much good; it not only formulated educational thought and policy in +regard to the subject but it also awakened thought and discussion +outside of the teaching profession. + +=The Agricultural Colleges.=--The agricultural colleges and experimental +stations in the several states had also been active for some years and +had formulated a body of knowledge in regard to agricultural principles +and methods. They had distributed this information widely among the +farmers of the country. The latter, at first, looked askance at these +colleges and their propaganda, and often refused to accept their +suggestions and advice on the ground that it was "mere theory," and that +farmers could not be taught practical agriculture by mere "book men" and +"theorizers." The practical man often despises theory, not realizing +that practice without theory is usually blind. But the growing science +of agriculture was working like a leaven for the improvement of farm +life in all its phases, and to-day the agricultural colleges and +experiment stations are the well-springs of information for practical +farmers everywhere. Bulletins of information are published and +distributed regularly, and farmers are being brought into closer and +closer touch with these institutions. + +=Conventions.=--During this awakening period, conventions of various +kinds are held, which give the farmers an opportunity to hear and to +participate in discussions pertaining to the problems with which they +are wrestling. They come together in district, county, or state +conventions, and the result has been that a class consciousness, an +_esprit de corps_, is being developed. Farmers hear and see bigger and +better things; their world is enlarged and their minds are stimulated; +they are induced to think in larger units. Thought, like water, seeks +its level, and in conventions of this kind the individual "levels up." +He goes home inspired to do better and greater things, and spreads the +new gospel among his neighbors. At the conventions he hears a variety of +topics discussed, including good roads, house plans, sanitation, +schools, and others too numerous to mention. + +=Other Awakening Agencies.=--The agricultural paper, which practically +every farmer takes and which every farmer should take, brings to the +farm home each week the most modern findings on all phases of country +life. The rural free delivery and the parcel post bring the daily mail +to the farmer's door. The rural telephone is becoming general, and also +the automobile and other rapid and convenient modes of communication and +transportation. All these things have helped to develop a clearer +consciousness of country life, its problems and its needs. + +=The Farmer in Politics.=--Add to all the foregoing considerations the +fact that, in every state legislature and in Congress, the number of +rural representatives is constantly increasing, and we see clearly that +the country districts are awakening to a realization not only of their +needs but of their rights. All of these conditions have helped to turn +the eyes of the whole people, in state and nation, to long neglected +problems. + +=The National Commission.=--So the various agencies and factors +enumerated above and others besides, all working more or less +consciously and all conspiring together, finally resulted in the +appointment of a National Commission on Rural Life, the results and +findings of which were made the subject of a special message from the +president to Congress in 1909. The report of the commission was issued +from the Government Printing Office in Washington as Document Number +705, and should be read by every farmer in the country. This commission +was the resultant of many forces exerted around family firesides, in the +schoolroom, in the press, on the platform, in conventions, in +legislatures, and in the halls of Congress. For the first time in this +country, the conditions and possibilities of rural life were made the +subjects of investigation and report to a national body. Thus the +Commission became thenceforth a potent cause of the attention and +impetus since given to the problems we are discussing. + +=Mixed Farming.=--In recent years, too, what may be called "scientific +farming" has become a decided "movement" and is now very extensively +practiced. This includes diversified farming, rotation of crops, stock +raising, the breeding of improved stock, better plowing, and a host of +matters connected with the farmer's occupation. Thus farming is becoming +neither a job nor an avocation, but a genuine vocation, or profession. +It requires for its success all the brains, all the ingenuity, all the +attention and push that an intelligent man can give it; and, withal, it +promises all the variety, the interest, the happiness, and the success +that any profession can offer. + +=Now Before the Country.=--The movement in behalf of a richer rural life +and of better rural schools is now before the country. It is the subject +of discussion everywhere. It is in the limelight; the literature on the +subject is voluminous; books without number, on all phases of the +subject, are coming from the press. Educational papers and magazines, +and even the lay press, are devoting unstinted space to discussions on +country life and the rural school. The country has the whole question +"on the run," with a fair prospect of an early capture. On pages 182-186 +we give a bibliography of a small portion of the literature on these +questions which has come out recently. + +=Educational Extension.=--Within the last few years the movement known +as "extension work," connected with the educational institutions, has +had a rapid growth. The state universities, agricultural colleges, and +normal schools in almost every state are doing their utmost to carry +instruction and education in a variety of forms to communities beyond +their walls. They are vying with each other in their extension +departments, in extra-mural service of every possible kind. In many +places institutions are even furnishing musical performances and other +forms of entertainment at cost, in competition with the private bureaus, +thus saving communities the profits of the bureau and the expense of the +middlemen. The University of Wisconsin has been in recent years the +leader in this extension work. Minnesota, and most of the central and +western states are active in the campaign of carrying education and +culture to outlying communities. Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota +have recently pooled their forces for some exchange of service in +extension work. + +=Library Extension Work.=--In Wisconsin, the state library is under the +direction of the university extension department, and collections of +books, which may be retained for a definite length of time, may be +secured by any town or community in the state. In this way a library may +do excellent service. + +=Some Froth.=--No doubt some froth will be produced by the stirring of +the waters which are moving in some places with whirlpool rapidity. +There is considerable sound and fury, no doubt, in the discussions and +in the things attempted in these uplifting movements. There is a +considerable amount of smoke in proportion to the fire beneath. But, +even with the froth, the noise, and the smoke, there is some latent +power, some energy, beneath and behind it all. The main thing is that +the power, the energy, the thought, the enthusiasm of the nation have +been started on the right way. We can discount and overlook the vagaries +and foibles which will undoubtedly play around the outskirts of the +movement. Every new movement shows similar phenomena. Much will be said, +written, and done which is mere surface display. But while these may do +little good, they will do no harm and are indicative of the inner and +vital determination of the people to confront the difficulties. + +=Thought and Attitude.=--Our thought and our attitude make any kind of +work or any kind of position desirable and worthy, or the reverse. Many +vicious leaders poison the minds of workers and make them dissatisfied +with their work and their employers by suggesting a wrong spirit and +attitude. We do not advocate passive submission to wrongs; nor on the +other hand do we think that the interests of the laborer are to be +subserved by infusing into his mind jealousy and envy and discontent +with his lot. + +A young man goes through the practice and games of football, enduring +exertion and pain which he would not allow any other person to force +upon him; at the same time, he has a song in his heart. On a camping +trip a person will submit to rigors and privations which he would think +intolerable at home. Whatever is socially fashionable is done with +pleasure; the mind is the great factor. If one is interested in his +work, it is pleasant--indeed more enjoyable than play; but if there is +no interest it is all drudgery and pain. The attitude, the motive, the +will make all the difference in the world. In the rural renaissance, +farm life may become more and more fashionable. This is by no means +impossible. Country life has no such rigors as the football field or the +outing in the wilds. When as a people we have passed from the sensuous +and erotic wave on the crest of which we seem at present to be carried +along, we can with profit, intellectually, morally, socially, and +physically, "go forth under the open sky and list to Nature's +teachings." Everything except the present glare of excitement beckons +back to the land, back to the country. Whether as a people we shall +effectively check the urban trend, will, in the not distant future, test +the self-control, the foresight, the wisdom, and the character of the +manhood and womanhood of this nation. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +A GOOD PLACE AFTER ALL + + +=Not Pessimistic.=--Some of the early chapters of this book may have +left the impression that a restoration, or rejuvenation, of country +life, such as will reverse the urban trend and make rural life the more +attractive by comparison, is difficult if not impossible. It is +difficult we grant; but we do not wish to leave the impression that such +is improbable, much less impossible. We were simply facing the truth on +the dark, or negative, side, and were attempting to give reasons for +conditions and facts which have been everywhere apparent. If there are +two sides to a question both should be presented as they really are. It +is always as useless and as wrong to minimize as it is to exaggerate, +and we were simply accounting for facts. + +We did not mean that there is no hope. The first essential in the +solution of any problem or in the improvement of any condition is to get +the condition clearly and accurately in mind--to _conceive_ it exactly +as it is. + +There is no doubt that the city, with its material splendor and its +social life, has attractions; but if we turn to rural life, we shall +find, if we go below the surface of human nature, the strongest appeals +to our deeper and more abiding interests. The surface of things and the +present moment are near to us, and powerful in the way of motivation. +These, however, are the aspects of human environment which appeal most +strongly to the child, to the savage, and to the uneducated person. If +we are optimists, believing that the race is progressing, and that our +own people and country are progressing as rapidly as or more rapidly +than any other, we must believe that motives which appeal to our deeper, +saner, and more disciplined nature will win out in the long run. Let us +see, then, what some of the appeals to this saner stratum of human +nature, in behalf of rural life, are. + +=Fewer Hours of Labor than Formerly.=--The hours of labor have been +reduced everywhere. In the olden time labor was done by slaves or serfs, +and neither their bodies nor their time was their own. They labored +when, where, and as long as their masters dictated. Even a generation +ago there was little said, and there was no uniformity, as to how long a +working-man should labor. In busy seasons or on important pieces of +work, he labored as long as the light of day permitted. It was from sun +to sun, and often long after the sun had disappeared from the western +horizon. Sixteen hours was no uncommon day for him. Under such +conditions there was no room for mental, social, or spiritual +advancement. Later, the hours were reduced to a maximum of fourteen. +This proved to be so satisfactory that laws were passed providing for a +further decrease in hours. This standardizing of the day of labor, while +not general in the country, had its effect. The twelve-hour day, while +still long, was a decided betterment over the sixteen-hour day. There +was beginning to be a little possible margin for social, mental, and +recreational activity. But the twelve-hour day must inevitably get the +better of the human system and of the spirit of man. It is too long and +too steady a grind, and habit and long hours soon tell their story. They +inevitably lead to the condition of the "man with the hoe." + +As improvements in machinery were perfected and inventions of all kinds +multiplied and spread both in the factory and on the farm, the ten-hour +day was ushered in. It was inevitable in this age of inventions and +improvements. Capital had these inventions and improvements in its +possession and a laboring man could now do twice as much with the same +labor as formerly. But society as a whole could not assent to the theory +and the practice that the capitalist, the owner of the machines, should +reap all the advantages; and so, while the hours were still further +reduced, the wages were increased, thus more nearly equalizing the +benefits accruing to employer and employed. With the aid of inventions +the worker, on the average, can do more in the short day of eight or +ten hours than he did formerly in the sixteen-hour day. It is not +contended, however, that every laborer actually does this. This phase of +the question is a large factor in the labor problem. But from the point +of view of the average man and of society, labor with the aid of +machinery can produce probably twice as much as it produced formerly +without that aid. This fact has had great influence upon industrial life +everywhere, and makes for increased opportunities and growth. + +=The Mental Factor Growing.=--The trend alluded to above implies that +the mental factor is growing larger and larger in occupations of all +kinds. Success is becoming more and more dependent on knowledge, +ingenuity, prudence, and foresight. Especially is this true on the farm. +There is scarcely any calling that demands or can make use of such +varied talents. All fields of knowledge may be drawn upon and utilized, +from the weather signals to the most recent findings and conclusions of +science and philosophy. As the hours of labor both in the factory and on +the farm are shortened still more--as is possible--the hours of study, +of play, and of social converse will be lengthened. Indeed this is one +of the by-problems of civilization and progress--to see that leisure +hours are profitably spent for the welfare of the individual. In any +event, the prospect of reasonable hours and of social and cultural +opportunities in rural life is growing from day to day. The intelligent +man with modern machinery and ordinary capital, if he has made some +scientific study of agriculture, need have no fear of not living a +successful and happy life on the farm. A knowledge of his calling in all +its aspects, with the aid of modern machinery, and with sobriety, +thrift, and industry, will bring a kind of life to both adults and +children that the crowded factory and tenements and the tinsel show of +the city cannot give. But one must be willing to forego the social and +physical display of the surface of things and to choose the better and +more substantial part. If we are a people that can do this there is hope +for an early and satisfactory solution of the problems of rural life. + +=The Bright Side of Old-time Country Life.=--Even in the country life of +twenty-five to fifty years ago, there was a bright and happy side. It +was not all dark, and, in its influence for training the youth to a +strong manhood, we shall probably not look upon its like again. If +strength and welfare rather than pleasure are the chief end of life, +many of the experiences which were undoubtedly hardships were blessings +in disguise. Every boy had his chores and every girl her household +duties to perform. The cows had to be brought home in the evening from +the prairie or the woods; they had to be milked and cared for; calves +and hogs had to be fed; horses had to be cared for both evening and +morning; barns, stables, and sheds had to be looked after. All the +animals of the farm, including the domestic fowls, such as chickens, +ducks, and turkeys, became our friends and each was individually known. + +Though all the duties of farm life had to be done honestly and well, +nevertheless the farmer's boy found time to go fishing and hunting, +skating, coasting, and trapping. He learned the ways and the habits of +beasts, birds, and fish. He observed the squirrels garnering their +winter supply in the fall. He watched the shrewd pocket gopher as it +came up and deposited the contents of its cheek pockets upon the pile of +fresh dirt beside his hole. He learned how to trap the muskrat, and woe +to the raccoon that was discovered stealing the corn, for it was tracked +and treed even at midnight. The boy's eyes occasionally caught sight of +a red fox or of a deer; and the call of the dove, the drum of the +pheasant, the welcome "whip-poor-will" and the "to-whit, to-whit, +to-who" of the owl were familiar sounds. He ranged the prairie and the +woods; he climbed trees for nuts and for distant views, and knew every +hill, valley, and stream for miles and miles around. Even his daily and +regular work was of a large and varied kind. It was not like the making +of one tenth of a pin, which has a strong tendency to reduce the worker +to one tenth of a man. + +On the farm one usually begins and finishes a piece of work whether it +be a hay-rack or a barn; he sees it through--the whole of it receives +expression in him. It is _his_ piece of work and it faces him as he has +to face it. The tendency is for both to be "honest." If there were so +much brightness and variety in days gone by, when all work was done by +hand, how much better the situation can be now and in the future, when +inventions and machines have come to the rescue of the laborer, and when +the hours of toil have been so materially shortened! + +=The Larger Environment.=--There is no doubt that a large and varied +environment is conducive to the growth of a strong and active +personality. If one has to adjust himself at every turn to something +new, it will lead to self-activity and initiative, to ingenuity and +aggressiveness. If tadpoles are reared in jars of different sizes, the +growth and size of each will vary with the size of the vessel, the +smallest jar growing the smallest tadpole, and the largest jar the +largest tadpole. It is fighting against the laws of fate to attempt to +rear strong personalities in a "flat" or even in a fifty-foot lot. They +need the range of the prairies, the hills, and the woods. Shakespeare +was born and brought up in one of the richest and most stimulating +environments, natural and social, in the world; and this, no doubt, had +much to do with his matchless ability to express himself on all phases +of nature and of mind. Large and varied influences, while they do not +compel, at least _tend_ to produce, large minds; for they leave with us +infinite impressions and induce correspondingly varied reactions and +experiences. Under such conditions a child is reacting continually and +thus becoming active and efficient. He is challenged at every turn, and +if stumbling blocks become stepping stones, the process is the very best +kind of education. + +=Games.=--There are excellent opportunities in the country for all kinds +of games, for there ample room and many incentives to activity present +themselves. In the city, children are often content with seeing experts +and professionals give performances or "stunts," while they, themselves, +remain passive. In the country there are not so many attractions and +distractions--so many dazzling and overwhelmingly "superior" +things--that children may not be easily induced to "get into the game" +themselves. I fear that in recent years owing to imitation of the city +and its life, play and games in the country have become somewhat +obsolete. There needs to be a renaissance in this field. We have been +offered everywhere in recent years so much of what might be called the +"finished product" that the children are content merely to sit around as +spectators and watch others give the performances. + +As in the case of the rural school the play instincts of country +children must be awakened again in behalf of rural life in general. +There are scores of games and sports, from marbles to football, which +should receive attention. In recent years the social mind, in all +sports, seems to be directed to the _result_, the winning or losing, +instead of to the game, as a game, and the fun of it all. True +sportsmanship should be revived and cultivated. There is no reason why +there should not be found in every neighborhood, and especially at every +school center, all kinds of plays and games, each in its own time and +place and having its own patronage--marbles, tops, swings, horseshoes, +"I spy," anti-over, pull-away, prisoner's base, tennis, croquet, volley +ball, basketball, skating, coasting, skiing, baseball, and football. +Horizontal bars, turning pole, and other apparatus should be provided in +every playground. In the social centers, if the boys can be organized as +Boy Scouts, and the girls as Camp-Fire Girls, good results will ensue. + +Many more plays and games will suggest themselves, and those for girls +should be encouraged as well as those for boys. All the aspects of rural +life can thus be made most enjoyable. It is often well to introduce and +cultivate one game at a time, letting it run its course, something like +a fever, and then, at the psychological moment, introduce and try out +another. To introduce too many at one time would not afford an +opportunity for children to experience the rise and fall of a wave of +enthusiasm on any one, and this is quite important. Usually some +direction should be given to play, but this direction should not be +suppressive, and should be given by a leader who understands and +sympathizes with child nature. + +=Inventiveness in Rural Life.=--In the city, where everything is +manufactured or sold ready-made, a person simply goes to the store and +buys whatever he needs. In the country this cannot be done, and one is +driven by sheer necessity to devise ways and means of supplying his +needs, himself. He simply has to invent or devise a remedy. Necessity is +the mother of invention. + +It is really better for boys and girls in the country if their parents +are compelled to be frugal and economical. If children get anything and +everything they wish, merely for the asking, they are undone; they +become weak for lack of self-exertion, self-expression, and invention; +they become dissatisfied if everything is not coming their way from +others. They become selfish and careless. Having tasted of the best, +merely for the asking, they become dissatisfied with everything except +the best. This is the dominant tendency in the city and wherever parents +are foolish enough to satisfy the child's every whim. If the parents +carry the child in this manner, the child, in later years, will have +weak legs and the parents will have weak backs. Moreover, love and +respect move in the direction of activity, and if everything comes the +child's way there will be little love, except "cupboard love," going the +other way. + +It is unfortunate for children to experience the best too early in life; +there is then no room for growth and development. It was Professor James +who said that the best doll he ever saw was a home-made rag doll; it +left sufficient room for the play of the imagination. With the perfect, +factory-made doll there is nothing more for the imagination to do; it is +complete, but it is not the little girl who has completed it. In the +country, men and women, boys and girls are induced to begin and complete +all kinds of things. Many things have to be made outright and most +things have to be repaired on the farm. Challenges of this kind to +inventiveness and activity are outstanding all the time. Sleds, both +large and small, wheelbarrows and hay racks, sheds, granaries, and barns +are both made and repaired. But in all there is no mad rush. It is not +as it is in the factory or in the sawmill. One is not reduced to the +instantaneous reactions of an automaton; he has time to breathe and to +think. One can act like a free man rather than like a machine. There is +room for thought and for invention. + +=Activity Rather than Passivity.=--In this infinite variety of +stimulation and response, the youth is induced to become active rather +than passive. While he is not pushed unduly, he is reasonably active +during all his waking hours, and the habit of activity, of doing, is +ingrained. This is closely related to character and morality, to thrift +and success. Such a person is more likely to be a creditor than a debtor +to society. In this respect the country and the farm have been the +salvation of many a youth. + +In the city many children have no regular employment; they have no +chores to do and no regular occupation. Evenings and vacations find +them on the streets. Then Satan always finds mischief for idle hands to +do. These children become passive except under the impulses of instinct +or of mischievous ideas; they have no regular and systematic work to do; +everything is done for them. During their early years habits of +idleness, of passive receptivity, of mischief, and possibly of crime, +are ingrained. And though this kind of life may be more _pleasurable_, +in a low sense, than the active life of the country, there can be no +doubt as to which is the more wholesome and strengthening. + +=Child Labor.=--A good child-labor law is absolutely essential to the +welfare of the children for whom it has been enacted; nevertheless, +there has been a great omission in not providing that idle children +shall do some work. Even in large cities there are probably more +children who do not work enough than there are who are made to work too +hard. In our zeal we sometimes forbid children to work, when some work +would be the very best thing for them. It is true that on the farm as +well as in the factory ignorant and mercenary parents make dollars out +of the sweat of their children, when these should be going to school or +engaged in physical and mental recreation and development. It is +unfortunate that society is not able to see to it, that, as in Plato's +Republic, every child and every person engage in the work or study for +which he is best fitted, and to the extent that is best for him. Then +the hundreds of thousands of children who are idling would be engaged +in some kind of occupation, and those who are working too hard would be +given lighter tasks; and all would have the privilege of an appropriate +education. + +=The Finest Life on Earth.=--In view of such circumstances and +opportunities, life in the country should be, and _could be made_, the +best and most complete life possible to a human being. Country life is +the best cradle of the race. To have a good home and rear a family in +the heart of a great city is well-nigh impossible for the average +laboring man. The struggle for existence is too fierce and the +opportunity, in childhood and youth, for self-expression and initiative +is too meager. The environment is too vast, complex, and overwhelming, +with nothing worth while for the child to do. "Individuals may stand, +but generations will slip" on such an inclined plane of life. From this +point of view it can be truly said, we think, that "God made the country +while man made the town." + +The real, vital possibilities of country life are without number. The +surface attractions of the city are most alluring. A focusing of the +public mind upon the problem, its _pros_ and _cons_, will, it is to be +hoped, turn the scales without delay in favor of country life and its +substantial benefits. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + + +The following bibliography is submitted as affording information and +suggestive helps to those who are interested in the problems herein +discussed. Although the books and references have been selected with +care, it is not to be inferred that the list includes any considerable +portion of the vast and still increasing output of literature in this +field of investigation. But it will prove to be a fairly comprehensive +list from which the reader may select such articles or books as make a +favorable appeal to him. The works referred to are all of recent date, +and express the current trend of thought upon the problems discussed in +this little volume. + + +BOOKS + +American Academy of Political and Social Science. Philadelphia, 1912. + Vol. XL, No. 129, "Country Life": Butterfield, "Rural Sociology + as a College Discipline"; Cance, "Immigrant Rural Communities"; + Carver, "Changes in Country Population"; Coulter, "Agricultural + Laborers"; Davenport, "Scientific Farming"; Dixon, "Rural + Home"; Eyerly, "Coöperative Movements among Farmers"; Foght, + "The Country School"; Gillette, "Conditions and Needs of + Country Life"; Gray, "Southern Agriculture"; Hartman, "Village + Problems"; Hamilton, "Agricultural Fairs"; Henderson, "Rural + Police"; Hibbard, "Farm Tendency"; Kates, "Rural Conferences"; + Lewis, "Tramp Problem"; Marquis, "The Press"; Mumford, + "Education for Agriculture"; Parker, "Good Roads"; Pearson, + "Chautauquas"; Roberts and Israel, "Y.M.C.A."; Scudder, + "Rural Recreation"; True, "The Department of Agriculture"; Van + Norman, "Conveniences"; Watrous, "Civic Art"; Washington, B. + T., "The Rural Negro Community"; Wilson, "Social Life"; Wells, + "Rural Church". + +Bailey, L. H.: _The Country Life Movement in the U. S._ (1912) 220 pp. + Macmillan Co., New York. _Cyclopedia of American Agriculture._ 4 + vols. $20.00. Macmillan Co., New York. _The State and the Farmer._ + (1911) 177 pp. Macmillan Co., New York. _The Training of Farmers._ + (1909) 263 pp. Century Co., New York. + +Betts, George H.: _New Ideals in Rural Schools._ (1913) 127 pp. Houghton + Mifflin Co., Boston. + +Brown, H. A.: _Readjustment of a Rural High School to the Needs of a + Community._ (1912) Bureau of Education, Bulletin No. 20. + +Buell, Jennie: _One Woman's Work for Farm Women._ 50c. Whitcomb & + Barrows, Boston. + +Burnham, Ernest: _Two Types of Rural Schools._ (1912) 129 pp. Teachers + College, Columbia, New York. + +Butterfield, K. L.: _Chapters in Rural Progress._ $1.00. Univ. of + Chicago Press. _The Country Church and the Rural Problem._ (1911) + 165 pp. Univ. of Chicago Press. + +Carney, Mabel: _Country Life and the Country School._ (1912) 405 pp. + Row, Peterson & Co., Chicago. + +Conference on Rural Education--_Proceedings._ (1913) 45 pp. Wright & + Potter, Boston. + +Coulter, John Lee: _Coöperation Among Farmers._ (1911) 75c. Sturgis & + Walton Co., New York. + +Cubberly, E. P.: _The Improvement of the Rural School._ (1912) 75 pp. + Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. _Rural Life and Education._ Houghton + Mifflin Co., Boston. + +Curtis, Henry S.: _Play and Recreation for the Open Country._ (1914) 265 + pp. Ginn & Co., Boston. + +Davenport, Mrs. E.: _Possibilities of the Country Home._ (Bulletin.) + University of Illinois, Urbana. + +Dodd, Helen C.: _The Healthful Farm House; by a Farmer's Wife._ (1911) + 69 pp. Whitcomb & Barrows, New York. + +Eggleston, J. D., and Bruère, R. W.: _The Work of the Rural School._ + (1913) 287 pp. Harpers. + +Fiske, G. 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W.: _Roads, Paths, and Bridges._ (1912) $1.00. Sturgis & Walton + Co., New York. + +Pennsylvania Rural Progress Association: _Proceedings, Rural Life + Conference._ (1912) 227 pp. Julius Smith, Secretary, Pennsdale, Pa. + +Plunkett, Sir Horace C.: _Rural Problem in the U. S._ (1910) 174 pp. + +Report of National Commission on Rural Life. Doc. No. 705. Government + Printing Office, Washington, D. C. + +Schmidt, C. C.: _Consolidation of Schools._ University of North Dakota. + +Seerley, H. H.: _The Country School._ (1913) 218 pp. Scribner's Sons, + New York. _Rural School Education._ (1912) 84 pp. University of + Texas. + +Wray, Angelina: _Jean Mitchell's School._ $1.00. Public School Pub. Co., + Bloomington, Ind. + + +ARTICLES IN REPORTS AND PERIODICALS + +Allman, L. J.: _Teachers for Rural Schools._ Report, N. E. A. (1910) pp. + 280 and 575. + +Bailey, L. H.: _Why Boys Leave the Farm._ Century, 72: 410-16 (July, + 1906). + +Barnes, F. R.: _Present Defects in the Rural Schools._ Report N. D. E. + A. (1909) pp. 259-266. + +Bruère, Martha Bensley: _The Farmer and His Wife._ Good Housekeeping + Mag., June, 1914, p. 820, New York. + +Conference for Education in the South; _Proceedings, 1909._ Foster, + Webb, and Parkes, Nashville, Tenn. + +Consolidation: Drop a postal card to Superintendents of Public + Instruction for latest printed matter. + +Cotton, F. A.: _Country Life and the Country School._ School and Home + Education, 28:90-94 (Nov., 1908). + +Coulter, J. C.: _Coöperative Farming._ World's Work, 23: 59-63 (Nov., + 1911). + +_County Supervision._ Report N.E.A. 1908, p. 252. + +Cubberly, E. P.: _Politics and the Country School Problem._ Educ. + Review, 47:10-21 (Jan., 1914). + +Gillette, J. M.: _The Drift to the City._ Am. Journal of Sociology, + 16:645-67 (Mar., 1911). + +Hibbard, B. H.: _Tenancy in the North Central States._ Quar. Journal of + Economics, 25:710-29 (Aug., 1911). + +Hill, J. J.: _What We Must Do to be Fed._ World's Work, 19: 12226-54 + (Nov., 1909). + +McClure, D. E.: _Education of Country Children for the Farm._ Education, + 26:65-70 (Oct., 1905). + +Miller, E. E.: _Factors in the Re-making of Country Life._ Forum, + 48:354-62 (Sept., 1912). + +_Passing of the Man With the Hoe._ World's Work, 20: 13246-58 (Aug., + 1910). + +_Rural Life and Rural Education._ Report N. E. A. 1912, pp. 281-313. + +Supervision: Index of N. E. A. Reports For County. Report of 1908, pp. + 252-71. + +Wells, George F.: _Is an Organized Country Life Movement Possible?_ + Survey, 29:449-56 (Jan. 4, 1913). + + + + +INDEX + + Activity and passivity, 179 + + Affiliation, 112 + + Agricultural colleges, 46, 162 + + Apperception mass, 101 + + Assistant county superintendent, 134 + + Attendance in consolidated school, 73 + + Automobile parties, 124 + + + "Back to the country," 9 + + Best, the--the cheapest, 157 + + Boarding place, 62 + + Boy Scouts, 177 + + Bright side of rural life, 173 + + + Camp-Fire Girls, 177 + + Character, 83 + + Child labor, 180 + + China, 107, 144 + + Chores, 10 + + Cities, population of, 19; + churches of, 23; + conveniences in, 20, 21; + schools of, 22 + + Commission, Rural, 9, 164 + + Committee of Twelve, 162 + + Community activities, 115 + + Consolidation, 37, 60, 63, 65, 75; + cost, 70; + difficulties, 64; + effects of, 71, 72, 73, 74; + process, 63; + when not needed, 64 + + Conventions, 163 + + Coöperation, 139, 140, 145, 158 + + County superintendence, 129 + + Course of study, 108 + + Curriculum in rural schools, 100-113 + + + Dancing, 120 + + Debates, 116 + + District system, 64 + + Diversification in farming, 156, 165 + + Dramatic performances, 118 + + Driver, 69 + + + Education, 77; + of teachers, 84; + value of, 24 + + Educational centers, 23; + column in press, 150 + + Environment, 105, 175 + + Examination of schools, 135 + + Exhibits, school, 122 + + Experience, teaching, 85 + + Extension work, 166 + + + Farmer, the, and his home, 152; + and his politics, 164 + + Forum, a rural, 123 + + + Games, 121, 176 + + Grading, 71 + + + Harvesting machinery, 38-41 + + High schools, progress in, 47 + + Higher education, progress in, 44 + + Hopkins, Mark, 34, 35, 78 + + Hours of labor, 170 + + + Ideal life, 159 + + Imitation, 18, 100, 101 + + Individual work, 109 + + Inseparables, the three, 88, 91, 126 + + Interpreting core, 101 + + Inventiveness in rural life, 177-179 + + + Kindness, too much, 80 + + Knots, untying, 70 + + + Labor, hours of, 170 + + Labor-saving devices, 155 + + Laws, self-imposed, 150 + + Leadership, 62, 114, 139, 147 + + Lectures, 118 + + Leveling process, 153, 154 + + Library extension, 166 + + Literary society, 115 + + Literature, urbanized, 22 + + + Machinery, caring for, 158 + + Married teachers, 75 + + Men needed in teaching, 53, 93 + + Mental factor, 172 + + Mixed farming, 165 + + "Mode," the, 88, 89 + + Model rural school, 61 + + Moving pictures, 120 + + Münsterberg, Prof. H., 92 + + Murphy, Francis, 141 + + Music, 119 + + + Normal schools, 45 + + + Ocean travel, 43 + + Organization, 26, 125 + + "Overflow of instruction," 111 + + + Physical soundness, 82, 122 + + Plant, the educational, 34, 35, 77 + + Problem, rural, 24, 36, 37, 57, 131 + + Profession, 57, 90 + + Profit-sharing, 145 + + Progress, lines of, 38-48 + + Punctuality, 73 + + + Reaping machines, 14, 38 + + Renaissance, rural, 160 + + Responsibility, 142 + + Retired farmers, 23 + + Retirement fund, 94 + + Roads, better, 75 + + Routine, 11 + + Rural Commission, 9, 164 + + Rural schools, 49; + backward, 15, 47, 49; + buildings, 28; + course of study for, 108; + good, 36, 61; + interior, 31; + no progress in, 50; + organization, 26; + ventilation of, 29 + + Rural teachers, 102; + courses for, 59, 103 + + + Salaries, 87, 96, 97 + + School board, 98 + + Scientific farming, 165; spirit, 107 + + Self-activity, 148, 149, 150 + + Social center, 74, 114, 137; + cost of, 124, 126; + as business center, 125 + + Spelling school, 117 + + Sports, 121 + + Standards, 54, 58, 90; + to be raised, 92 + + Steam engine, 42 + + Storm, A. V., 53 + + Supervision, 55, 60, 74, 127, 129; + city, 132; + county, 129, 131; + importance of, 127; + nominal, 129; + overdone, 128; + purpose of, 132 + + Surroundings, effect of, on children, 30, 34 + + + Teacher, 35, 75, 77, 79, 87, 113; + chief factor, 34; + leader, 62, 114, 147; + courses for, 59, 83, 103 + + Terms, school, 55, 109 + + Textbook teaching, 104 + + Township system, 65, 66 + + Transportation of pupils, 67, 69 + + + Urban trend, 19 + + Urbanized literature, 22 + + + Value of education, 24 + + Ventilation, 29 + + + Wages, 90, 96 + + Waste land, 160 + + Winter work, 14 + + Women's condition, 16 + + Work, value of, 10, 14, 157, 180; + city, 23; + farm, 12 + + + Yearly routine, 11 + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Rural Life and the Rural School, by Joseph Kennedy + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RURAL LIFE AND THE RURAL SCHOOL *** + +***** This file should be named 29600-8.txt or 29600-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/6/0/29600/ + +Produced by Peter Vachuska, Val Wooff and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Rural Life and the Rural School + +Author: Joseph Kennedy + +Release Date: August 3, 2009 [EBook #29600] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RURAL LIFE AND THE RURAL SCHOOL *** + + + + +Produced by Peter Vachuska, Val Wooff and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + + + +<p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +</p> + +<div class="titles"> +<h1>RURAL LIFE<br /> +AND THE RURAL SCHOOL</h1><br /> + +<h4>BY</h4><br /> + +<h3>JOSEPH KENNEDY</h3><br /> + +<h4>DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION IN THE<br /> +UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA</h4><br /> + +<p><br /></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 71px;"> +<img src="images/printer_logo.jpg" width="71" height="79" alt="Printer's Logo" title="Printer's Logo" /> +</div> + +<p><br /></p> + +<h3>AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY</h3><br /> + +<h4>NEW YORK CINCINNATI CHICAGO</h4><br /> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> + + +<p class="center"> +<br /> +<br /> +Copyright, 1915, by<br /> +JOSEPH KENNEDY<br /> +copyright, 1915, in Great Britain<br /></p> +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<p class="center"> +<br />Rural Life and the Rural School<br /> +W. P. 2. +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2> + + +<p>This volume is addressed to the men and women who have at heart the +interests of rural life and the rural school. I have tried to avoid +deeply speculative theories on the one hand, and distressingly practical +details on the other; and have addressed myself chiefly to the +intelligent individual everywhere—to the farmer and his wife, to the +teachers of rural schools, to the public spirited school boards, +individually and collectively, and to the leaders of rural communities +and of social centers generally. I have tried to avoid the two extremes +which Guizot says are always to be shunned, viz.: that of the "visionary +theorist" and that of the "libertine practician." The former is +analogous to a blank cartridge, and the latter to the mire of a swamp or +the entangled underbrush of a thicket. The legs of one's theories (as +Lincoln said of those of a man) should be long enough to reach the +earth; and yet they must be free to move upon the solid ground of fact +and experience. Details must always be left to the <i>person</i> who is to do +the work, whether it be that of the teacher, of the farmer, or of the +school officer.</p> + +<p>I am aware that there is a veritable flood of books on this and kindred +topics, now coming from the presses of the country. My sole reasons for +the publication of the present volume are the desire to deliver the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span>message which has come to fruition in my mind, and the hope that it may +reach and interest some who have not been benefited by a better and more +systematic treatise on this subject.</p> + +<p>By way of credential and justification, I would say that the message of +the book has in large measure grown out of my own life and thought; for +I was born and brought up in the country, there I received my elementary +education, and there I remained till man grown. Practically every kind +of work known on the farm was familiar to me, and I have also taught and +supervised rural schools. These experiences are regarded as of the +highest value, and I revert in memory to them with a satisfaction and +affection which words cannot express.</p> + +<p>If there should seem to be a note of despair in some of the earlier +chapters as to the desired outcome of the problems of rural life and the +rural school, it is not intended that such impression shall be complete +and final. An attempt is made simply to place the problem and the facts +in their true light before the reader. There has been much "palavering" +on this subject, as there has been much enforced screaming of the eagle +in many of our Fourth of July "orations." I feel that the first +requisite is to conceive the problems clearly and in all seriousness.</p> + +<p>If these problems are to be solved, true conceptions of <i>values</i> must be +established in the social mind. Many present conceptions, like those of +the <i>personality</i> of the teacher, <i>standards</i> for teaching, +<i>supervision</i>, school <i>equipment</i>, <i>salary</i>, etc., must first be +<i>dis</i>-established, and then higher and better ones substituted. There +will have to be a genuine and intelligent "tackling" of the problems, +and not, as has been the case too often, a mere playing with them. There +will have to be some real statesmanship<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> introduced into the present +<i>laissez-faire</i> spirit, attitude, and methods of American rural life and +rural education. The nation in this respect needs a trumpet call to +action. There is need of a chorus, loud and long, and if the small voice +of the present discussion shall add only a little—however little—to +this volume of sound, there will be so much of gain. This is my aim and +my hope.</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">JOSEPH KENNEDY</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;"><span class="smcap">The University of North Dakota</span></span><br /> +</p> + + + +<p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +</p> + +<h3><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h3><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span></p> + + +<table border="0" cellpadding="5" summary="contents"> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_I"><b>CHAPTER I</b></a></td><td> RURAL LIFE</td><td> 9</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td colspan="2"> + A generation ago; Chores and work; Value of work; Extremes; Yearly + routine; Disliked in comparison; Other hard jobs; Harvesting; + Threshing; Welcome events; Winter work; What the old days lacked; + The result; The backward rural school; Women's condition + unrelieved; The rural problem must be met; Facilities.</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_II"><b>CHAPTER II</b></a></td><td> THE URBAN TREND </td><td> 19</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td colspan="2"> + Cityward; Attractive forces; Conveniences in cities; Urbanized + literature; City schools; City churches; City work preferred; + Retired farmers; Educational centers; Face the problem; Educational + value not realized; Wrong standard in the social mind; Rural + organization; Playing with the problem.</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_III"><b>CHAPTER III</b></a></td><td> THE REAL AND THE IDEAL SCHOOL</td> <td> 28</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td colspan="2"> + The building; No system of ventilation; The surroundings; The + interior; Small, dead school; That picture and this; Architecture + of building; Get expert opinion; Other surroundings; Number of + pupils; It will not teach alone; The teacher; A good rural school; + The problem.</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><b>CHAPTER IV</b></a></td> <td>SOME LINES OF PROGRESS</td> <td> 38</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td colspan="2"> + Progress; In reaping machines; The dropper; The hand rake; The self + rake; The harvester; The wire binder; The twine binder; Threshing + machine; The first machine; Improvements; The steam engine; + Improvements in ocean travel; From hand-spinning to factory; The + cost; Progress in higher education; Progress in normal schools; + Progress in agricultural colleges; Progress in the high schools; + How is the rural school?</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_V"><b>CHAPTER V</b></a></td> <td>A BACKWARD AND NEGLECTED FIELD</td> <td>49</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td colspan="2"> + Rural schools the same everywhere; Rural schools no better than + formerly; Some improvements; Strong personalities in the older + schools; More men needed; Low standard now; The survival of the + unfittest; Short terms; Poor supervision; No decided movement; + Elementary teaching not a profession; The problem difficult, but + before us; Other educational interests should help; Higher + standards necessary; Courses for teachers; The problem of + compensation; Consolidation as a factor; Better supervision + necessary; A model rural school; The teacher should lead; A good + boarding place.</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><b>CHAPTER VI</b></a></td> <td>CONSOLIDATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS</td><td>63</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td colspan="2"> + The process; When not necessary; The district system; The township + system; Consolidation difficult in district system; Easier in + township system; Consolidation a special problem for each district; + Disagreements on transportation; Each community must decide for + itself; The distance to be transported; Responsible driver; Cost of + consolidation; More life in the consolidated school; Some grading + desirable; Better teachers; Better buildings and inspection; Longer + terms; Regularity, punctuality, and attendance; Better supervision; + The school as a social center; Better roads; Consolidation coming + everywhere; The married teacher and permanence.</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><b>CHAPTER VII</b></a></td><td> THE TEACHER</td> <td>77</td></tr> + + <tr><td></td><td colspan="2"> + The greatest factor; What education is; What the real teacher is; A + hypnotist; Untying knots; Too much kindness; The button + illustration; The chariot race; Physically sound; Character; Well + educated; Professional preparation; Experience; Choosing a teacher; + A "scoop"; What makes the difference; A question of teachers.</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"><b>CHAPTER VIII</b></a></td> <td>THE THREE INSEPARABLES</td> <td>88</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td colspan="2"> + The "mode"; The "mode" in labor; The "mode" in educational + institutions; No "profession"; Weak personalities; Low standard; + The norm of wages too low; The inseparables; Raise the standard + first; More men; Coöperation needed; The supply; Make it + fashionable; The retirement system; City and country + salaries—effects; The solution demands more; A good school board; + Board and teacher; The ideal.</td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_IX"><b>CHAPTER IX</b></a></td> <td>THE RURAL SCHOOL CURRICULUM</td> <td>100</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td colspan="2"> + Imitation; The country imitates the city; Textbooks; An + interpreting core; Rural teachers from the city; A course for rural + teachers; All not to remain in the country; Mere textbook teaching; + A rich environment; Who will teach these things?; The scientific + spirit needed; A course of study; Red tape; Length of term; + Individual work; "Waking up the mind"; The overflow of instruction; + Affiliation; The "liking point"; The teacher, the chief factor.</td></tr> +<tr><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_X"><b>CHAPTER X</b></a></td> <td>THE SOCIAL CENTER</td><td>114</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td colspan="2"> + The teacher, the leader; Some community activities; The literary + society; Debates; The school program; Spelling schools; Lectures; + Dramatic performances; A musical program; Slides and moving + pictures; Supervised dancing; Sports and games; School exhibits; A + public forum; Courtesy and candor; Automobile parties; Full life or + a full purse; Organization; The inseparables.</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XI"><b>CHAPTER XI</b></a></td> <td>RURAL SCHOOL SUPERVISION </td><td>127</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td colspan="2"> + Important; Supervision standardizes; Supervision can be overdone; + Needed in rural schools; No supervision in some states; Nominal + supervision; Some supervision; An impossible task; The problem not + tackled; City supervision; The purpose of supervision; What is + needed; The term; Assistants; The schools examined; Keep down red + tape; Help the social centers; Conclusion.</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XII"><b>CHAPTER XII</b></a></td><td> LEADERSHIP AND COÖPERATION</td> <td>139</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td colspan="2"> + The real leader; Teaching <i>vs.</i> telling; Enlisting the coöperation + of pupils; Placing responsibility; How people remain children; On + the farm; Renters; The owner; The teacher as a leader; + Self-activity and self-government; Taking laws upon one's self; An + educational column; All along the educational line.</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"><b>CHAPTER XIII</b></a></td> <td>THE FARMER AND HIS HOME </td> <td>152</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td colspan="2"> + Farming in the past; Old conceit and prejudice; Leveling down; + Premises indicative; Conveniences by labor-saving devices; Eggs in + several baskets; The best is the cheapest; Good work; Good seed and + trees; A good caretaker; Family coöperation; An ideal life.</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV"><b>CHAPTER XIV</b></a></td> <td>THE RURAL RENAISSANCE </td> <td>160</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td colspan="2"> + Darkest before the dawn; The awakening; The agricultural colleges; + Conventions; Other awakening agencies; The farmer in politics; The + National Commission; Mixed farming; Now before the country; + Educational extension; Library extension work; Some froth; Thought + and attitude.</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr> + +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XV"><b>CHAPTER XV</b></a></td> <td>A GOOD PLACE AFTER ALL </td> <td>169</td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td colspan="2"> + Not pessimistic; Fewer hours of labor than formerly; The mental + factor growing; The bright side of old-time country life; The + larger environment; Games; Inventiveness in rural life; Activity + rather than passivity; Child labor; The finest life on earth.</td></tr> +<tr><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr> + +<tr><td></td><td><a href="#BIBLIOGRAPHY"><b>BIBLIOGRAPHY</b></a></td> <td> 182</td></tr> +<tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr> +<tr><td></td><td><a href="#INDEX"><b>INDEX</b></a> </td><td>187</td></tr> +</table> + + + + +<p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="RURAL_LIFE_AND_THE_RURAL_SCHOOL" id="RURAL_LIFE_AND_THE_RURAL_SCHOOL"></a>RURAL LIFE AND THE RURAL SCHOOL</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2><div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents</a></div> + +<h3>RURAL LIFE</h3> + + +<p>It is only within the past decade that rural life and the rural school +have been recognized as genuine problems for the consideration of the +American people. Not many years ago, a president of the United States, +acting upon his own initiative, appointed a Rural School Commission to +investigate country life and to suggest a solution for some of its +problems. That Commission itself and its report were both the effect and +the cause of an awakening of the public mind upon this most important +problem. Within the past few years the cry "Back to the country" has +been heard on every hand, and means are now constantly being proposed +for reversing the urban trend, or at least for minimizing it.</p> + +<p><b>A Generation Ago.</b>—Rural life, as it existed a quarter of a century or +more ago, was extremely severe and indeed to our mind quite repellent. +In those days—and no doubt they are so even yet in many places—the +conditions were too often forbidding and deterrent.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> Otherwise how can +we explain the very general tendency among the younger people to move +from the country to the city?</p> + +<p><b>Chores and Work.</b>—The country youth, a mere boy in his teens, was, and +still is, compelled to rise early in the morning—often at four +o'clock—and to go through the round of chores and of work for a long +day of twelve to fifteen hours. First, after rising, he had his team to +care for, the stables were to be cleaned, cows to be milked, and hogs +and calves to be fed.</p> + +<p>After the chores were done the boy or the young man had to work all day +at manual labor, usually close to the soil; he was allowed about one +hour's rest at dinner time; in the evening after a day's hard labor, he +had to perform the same round of chores as in the morning so that there +was but a short time for play and recreation, if he had any surplus +energy left. He usually retired early, for he was fatigued and needed +sleep and rest in order to be refreshed for the following day, when he +very likely would be required to repeat the same dull round.</p> + +<p><b>Value of Work.</b>—Of course work is a good thing. A moderate and +reasonable amount of labor is usually the salvation of any individual. +No nation or race has come up from savagery to civilization without the +stimulating influence of labor. It is likewise true that no individual +can advance from the savagery of childhood to the civilization of adult +life except through work of some kind. Work in a reasonable amount is a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> +blessing and not a curse. It is probably due to this fact that so many +men in our history have become distinguished in professional life, in +the forum, on the bench, and in the national Congress; in childhood and +youth they were inured to habits of work. This kept them from +temptation, and endowed them with habits of industry, of concentration, +and of purpose. The old adage that "Satan finds some mischief still for +idle hands to do," found little application in the rural life of a +quarter of a century ago.</p> + +<p><b>Extremes.</b>—Even with all its unrecognized advantages, the fact remains +that farm life has been quite generally uninteresting to the average +human being. There are individuals who become so accustomed to hard work +that the habit really grows to be pleasant. This, no doubt, often +happens. Habit accustoms the individual to accommodate himself to +existing conditions, no matter how severe they may be. A very old man +who was shocking wheat under the hot sun of a harvest day was once told +that it must be hard work for him. He replied, "Yes, but I like it when +the bundles are my own." So the few who are interested and accustomed by +habit to this kind of life may enjoy it, but to the great majority of +people the conditions would be decidedly unattractive.</p> + +<p><b>Yearly Routine.</b>—The yearly routine on the farm used to be about as +follows: In early spring, before seeding time had come, all the seed +wheat had to be put through the fanning mill. The seed was sown<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> by +hand. A man carried a heavy load of grain upon his back and walked from +one end of the field to the other, sowing it broadcast as he went. After +the wheat had been sown, plowing for the corn and potatoes was begun and +continued. These were all planted by hand, and when they came above +ground they were hoed by hand and cultivated repeatedly by walking and +holding the plow.</p> + +<p><b>Disliked in Comparison.</b>—All of this work implies, of course, that the +person doing it was close to the soil; in fact, he was <i>in</i> the soil. He +wore, necessarily, old clothes somewhat begrimed by dirt and dust. His +shoes or boots were heavy and his step became habitually long and slow. +Manual labor too frequently carries with it a neglect of cleanliness. +The laborer on the farm necessarily has about him the odor of horses, of +cows, and of barns. Such conditions are not bad, but they are +nevertheless objectionable, when compared with the neatness and +cleanliness of the clerk in the bank or behind the counter. We do not +write these words in any spirit of disparagement, but merely from the +point of view at which many young people in the country view them. We +are trying to face the truth in order to understand the problem to be +solved. It is essential to look at the situation squarely and to view it +steadily and honestly. Hiding our heads in the sand will not clarify our +vision.</p> + +<p><b>Other Hard Jobs.</b>—The next step in the yearly round was haymaking. +Frequently, the grass was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> cut with scythes. In any event the work of +raking, curing, and stacking the hay, or the hauling it and pitching it +into the barns was heavy work. There was no hayfork operated by +machinery in those days. When not haying, the youth was usually put to +summer-fallowing or to breaking new ground, to fencing or splitting +rails,—all heavy work. No wonder that he always welcomed a rainy day!</p> + +<p><b>Harvesting.</b>—Then came the wheat-harvest time. Within the memory of the +author some of the grain was cut with cradles; later, simple reaping +machines of various kinds were used; but with them went the binding, +shocking, and stacking, all performed by hand and all arduous pieces of +work. These operations were interspersed with plowing and threshing. +Then came corn cutting, potato digging, and corn husking.</p> + +<p><b>Threshing.</b>—In those days most of the work around a threshing machine +was also done by hand. There was no self-feeding apparatus and no +band-cutting device; there was no straw-blower and no measuring and +weighing attachments. It usually required about a dozen "hands" to do +all the work. These men worked strenuously and usually in dusty places. +The only redeeming feature of the business was the opportunity given for +social intercourse which accompanied the work. Men, being social by +instinct, always work more willingly and more strenuously when others +are with them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span></p> + +<p><b>Welcome Events.</b>—It is quite natural, as we have said, that under such +conditions as these the youth longed for a rainy day. A trip to the city +was always a delightful break in the monotony of his life, and a short +respite from severe toil. Sunday was usually the only social occasion in +rural life. It was always welcome, and the boys, even though tired +physically from work during the week, usually played ball, or went +swimming, or engaged in other sports on Sunday afternoons. Living in +isolation all the week and engaged in hard labor, they instinctively +craved companionship and society.</p> + +<p><b>Winter Work.</b>—When the fall work was done, winter came with its own +occupations. There were usually about four months of school in the rural +district, but even during this season there was much manual labor to be +done. Trees were to be cut down and wood was to be chopped, sawed, and +split for the coming summer. Land frequently had to be cleared to make +new fields; the breaking of colts and of steers constituted part of the +sport as well as of the labor of that season of the year.</p> + +<p><b>What the Old Days Lacked.</b>—There was little or no machinery as a factor +in the rural life of days gone by. In these modern times, of course, +many things have made country life more attractive than formerly. +Twenty-five years ago there was no rural delivery, no motor cycle, no +automobile; even horses and buggies were somewhat of a luxury, for in +the remote country<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> districts the ox team or "Shanks' mares" formed the +usual mode of travel.</p> + +<p><b>The Result.</b>—It is little wonder that under such circumstances +discontent arose and that people who by nature are sociable longed to go +where life was, in their opinion, more agreeable. Even with all the +later conveniences and improvements, the trend cityward still continues +and may continue indefinitely in the future. The American people may as +well face the facts as they are. It is difficult if not impossible to +make the country as attractive to young people as is the city; and +consequently to reverse or even stop the urban trend will be most +difficult. Indeed, some of the things which make rural life pleasant, +like the automobile, favor this trend, which probably will continue +until economic pressure puts on the brakes. Even now, with all our +improvements, the social factors in rural life are comparatively small. +Here is one of our greatest problems: How to increase the fullness of +social life in rural communities so as to make country life and living +everywhere more attractive.</p> + +<p><b>The Backward Rural School.</b>—Although the material conditions and +facilities for work have improved by reason of various inventions in +recent years, the rural school of former days was frequently as good as, +if not better in some respects than, the school of to-day. Formerly +there were many able men engaged in teaching who could earn as much in +the schoolroom as they could earn elsewhere. There were consequently in +the rural<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> schools many strong personalities, both men and women. Since +that time new opportunities and callings have developed so rapidly that +some of the most capable people have been enticed into other and more +profitable callings, and the schools are left in a weakened condition by +reason of their absence.</p> + +<p><b>Women's Condition Unrelieved.</b>—With all our improvements and +conveniences, the work of women in country communities has been relieved +but little. Farm life has always been and still is a hard one for women. +It has been, in many instances, a veritable state of slavery; for women +in the country have always been compelled to do not only their own +proper work, but the work of two or three persons. The working hours for +women are even longer than those for men; for breakfast must be prepared +for the workmen, and household work must be done after the evening meal +is eaten. It is little to be wondered at that women as a rule wish to +leave the drudgery of rural life. Under the improved conditions of the +present day, with all kinds of machinery, the work of women is lightened +least.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> + +<p><b>The Rural Problem Must Be Met.</b>—I have given a short description of +rural life in order to have a setting for the rural school. The school +is, without doubt, the center of the rural life problem, and we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> are +face to face with it for a solution of some kind. The problems of both +have been too long neglected. Now forced upon our attention, they should +receive the thoughtful consideration of all persons interested in the +welfare of society. They are difficult of solution, probably the most +difficult of all those which our generation has to face. They involve +the reduction of the repellent forces in rural life and the increase of +such forces and agencies as will be attractive, especially to the young. +The great problem is, how can the trend cityward be checked or reversed?</p> + +<p>What attractions are possible and feasible in the rural communities? In +each there should be some recognized center to provide these various +attractions. There should be lectures and debates, plays of a serious +character, musical entertainments, and social functions; even the moving +picture might be made of great educational value. There is no reason why +the people in the country are not entitled to all the satisfying mental +food which the people of the city enjoy. These things can be secured, +too, if the people will only awake to a realization of their value, and +will show their willingness to pay for them. Something cannot be secured +for nothing. In the last resort the solution of most problems, as well +as the accomplishment of most aims, involves the expenditure of money. +Wherever the people of rural communities have come to value the finer +educational, cultural, civilizing, and intangible things more than they +value money, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> problem is already being solved. It is certainly a +question of values—in aims and means.</p> + +<p><b>Facilities.</b>—Many inventions might be utilized on the farm to better +advantage than they are at present. But people live somewhat isolated +lives in rural communities and there is not the active comparison or +competition that one finds in the city; improvements of all kinds are +therefore slower of realization. Values are not forced home by every-day +discussion and comparison. People continue to do as they have been +accustomed to do, and there are men who own large farms and have large +bank accounts who continue to live without the modern improvements, and +hence with but few comforts in life. A greater interest in the best +things pertaining to country life needs to be awakened, and to this end +rural communities should be better organized, socially, economically, +and educationally.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> There is an illuminating article, entitled "The Farmer and +His Wife," by Martha Bensley Bruère in <i>Good Housekeeping Magazine</i>, for +June, 1914, p. 820.</p></div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2><div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents</a></div> + +<h3>THE URBAN TREND</h3><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></p> + + +<p>In the preceding chapter we discussed those forces at work in rural life +which tend to drive people from the farm to the city. It was shown that, +on the whole, up to the present at least, farm life has not been as +pleasant as it should or could be made. Some aspects of it are +uncomfortable, if not painful. Hard manual labor, long hours of toil, +and partial isolation from one's fellows usually and generally +characterize it. Of course, there are many who by nature or habit, or +who by their ingenuity and thrift, have made it serve them, and who +therefore have come to love the life of the country; but we are speaking +with reference to the average men and women who have not mastered the +forces at hand, which can be turned to their service only by thought and +thrift.</p> + +<p><b>Cityward.</b>—The trend toward the cities is unmistakable. So alarming has +it become that it has aroused the American people to a realization that +something must be done to reverse it or at least to minimize it. At the +close of the Revolutionary War only three per cent of the total +population of our country lived in what could be termed cities. In 1810 +only about five<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> per cent of the whole population was urban; while in +1910 forty-six per cent of our people lived in cities. This means that, +relatively, our forces producing raw materials are not keeping pace with +the growth and demands of consumption. In some of the older Atlantic +states, as one rides through the country, vast areas of uncultivated +land meet the view. The people have gone to the city. Large cities +absorb smaller ones, and the small towns absorb the inhabitants of the +rural districts. Every city and town is making strenuous efforts to +build itself up, if need be at the expense of the smaller towns and the +rural communities. To "boom" its own city is assumed to be a large and +legitimate part of the business of every commercial club. This must +mean, of course, that smaller cities and towns and the rural communities +suffer accordingly in business, in population, and in life.</p> + +<p><b>Attractive Forces.</b>—The attractive forces of the city are quite as +numerous and powerful as the repellent forces of the country. The city +is attractive from many points of view. It sets the pace, the standard, +the ideals; even the styles of clothing and dress originate there. It is +where all sorts of people are seen and met with in large numbers; its +varied scenes are always magnetic. Both old and young are attracted by +activities of all kinds; the "white way" in every city is a constant bid +for numbers. In the city there is always more liveliness if not more +life than in the country. Activity is apparent everywhere. Everything<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> +<i>seems</i> better to the young person from the country; there is more to +see and more to hear; the show windows and the display of lighting are a +constant lure; there is an endless variety of experiences. Life seems +great because it is cosmopolitan and not provincial or local. In any +event, it <i>draws</i> the youth of the country. Things, they say, are +<i>doing</i>, and they long to be a part of it all. There is no doubt that +the mind and heart are motivated in this way.</p> + +<p><b>Conveniences in Cities.</b>—In the city there are more conveniences than in +the country. There are sidewalks and paved streets instead of muddy +roads; there are private telephones, and the telegraph is at hand in +time of need; there are street cars which afford comfortable and rapid +transportation. There are libraries, museums, and art galleries; there +are free lectures and entertainments of various kinds; and the churches +are larger and more attractive than those in the country. As in the case +of teachers, the cities secure their pick of preachers. Doctors are at +hand in time of need, and all the professions are centered there. Is it +any wonder that people, when they have an opportunity, migrate to the +city? There is a social instinct moving the human heart. All people are +gregarious. Adults as well as children like to be where others are, and +so where some people congregate others tend to do likewise. Country life +as at present organized does not afford the best opportunity for the +satisfaction of this social instinct. The great variety of social +attractions<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> constitutes the lure of the city—it is the powerful social +magnet.</p> + +<p><b>Urbanized Literature.</b>—Most books, magazines, and papers are published +in cities, hence most of them have the flavor of city life about them. +They are made and written by people who know the city, and the city +doings are usually the subject matter of the literary output of the day. +Children acquire from these, even in their primary school days, a +longing for the city. The idea of seeing and possibly of living in the +city becomes "set," and it tends sooner or later to realize itself in +act and in life.</p> + +<p><b>City Schools.</b>—The city, as a rule, maintains excellent schools; and the +most modern and serviceable buildings for school purposes are found +there. Urban people seem willing to tax themselves to a greater extent; +and so in the cities will be found comparatively better buildings, +better teachers, more and better supervision, more fullness of life in +the schools. Usually in the cities the leading and most enterprising men +and women are elected to the school board, and the people, as we have +said, acquiesce in such taxation as the board deems necessary. Cities +endeavor to secure the choice of the output of normal schools, +regardless of the demands of rural districts. Every city has a +superintendent, and every building a principal; while, in the country, +one county superintendent has to supervise a hundred or more schools, +situated too, as they are, long distances apart.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span></p> + +<p><b>City Churches.</b>—Something similar may be said with respect to the +churches. In every city there are several, and people can usually go to +the church of their choice. In many parts of the country the church is +decadent, and in some places it is becoming extinct. Even the automobile +contributes its influence against the country church as a rural +institution, and in favor of the city; for people who are sufficiently +well-to-do often like to take an automobile ride to the city on Sunday.</p> + +<p><b>City Work Preferred.</b>—Workingmen and servant girls also prefer the city. +They dislike the long irregular hours of the country; they prefer to +work where the hours are regular, where they do not come into such close +touch with the soil, and where they do not have to battle with the +elements. In the city they work under shelter and in accordance with +definite regulations. Hence it is that the problem of securing +workingmen and servant girls in the country is every day becoming more +and more perplexing.</p> + +<p><b>Retired Farmers.</b>—Farmers themselves, when they have become reasonably +well-to-do, frequently retire to the city, either to enjoy life the rest +of their days or to educate their children. Individuals are not to be +blamed. The lack of equivalent attractions and conveniences in the +country is responsible.</p> + +<p><b>Educational Centers.</b>—As yet, it is seldom that good high schools are +found in the country. To secure a high school education country people +frequently have to avail themselves of the city schools. Many<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> colleges +and universities are located in the cities and, consequently, much of +the educational trend is in that direction.</p> + +<p><b>Face the Problem.</b>—The rural problem is a difficult one and we may as +well face the situation honestly and earnestly. There has been too much +mere oratory on problems of rural life. We have often, ostrich-like, +kept our heads under the sand and have not seen or admitted the real +conditions, which must be changed if rural life is to become attractive. +Say what we will, people will go where their needs are best satisfied +and where the attractions are greatest. People cannot be <i>driven</i>—they +must be attracted and won. If "God made the country and man made the +town," God's people must be neglecting to give God's country "such a +face and such a mien as to be loved needs only to be seen." Where the +element of nature is largest there should be a more truly and deeply +attractive life than where the element of art predominates, however +alluring that may be. How can country life and the country itself be +made to attract?</p> + +<p><b>Educational Value Not Realized.</b>—People generally have never been able +to estimate education fairly. The value of lands, horses, and money can +easily be measured, for these are tangible things; but education is very +difficult of appraisal, for it is intangible. Yet it is true that +intangible things are frequently of greater worth than are tangible +things. There are men who pay more to a jockey to train their horses<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> +than they are willing to pay to a teacher to train their children. This +is because the services of the jockey are more easily reckoned. The +effects or results of the horse training are measured by the proceeds in +dollars and cents on the racetrack, and so are easily realized; while +the growth in education, refinement, and culture on the part of the +child is difficult indeed to measure or estimate. And yet how much more +valuable it is! The jockey gives the one, the teacher the other.</p> + +<p><b>Wrong Standard in the Social Mind.</b>—In some rural communities the idea +exists that a teacher is worth about fifty dollars a month—perhaps not +so much. This idea has been encouraged until it has been too generally +accepted; and in many places the notion prevails that if a teacher is +receiving more than that amount, she is being overpaid, and the school +board is accused of extravagance. The rural school problem will never be +solved until the standard of compensation is readjusted. There are many +persons in the cities, who, for the performance of socially unimportant +things, are receiving larger salaries than are usually paid to +university professors and college presidents. Thus, the relative values +of services are misjudged and the recompense of labor is not properly +graded and proportioned. Unless there is, quite generally, a saner +perspective in the social mind and until values are reëstimated, the +solution of the rural school problem and indeed of many problems of +rural life is well-nigh hopeless.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> Before a solution is effected +sufficient inducement must be held out to more strong persons to come +into the rural life and into the rural schools. These persons would and +could be leaders of strength among the people.</p> + +<p><b>Rural Organization.</b>—Until recently there has been little or no +organization of rural life. Communities have been chaotic, socially, +economically, and educationally. Real leaders have been wanting—men and +women of strong and winning personality. The rural teacher, if he were a +man of power and initiative, often proved to be a real savior and +redeemer of social life in his community. But leaders of this type +cannot now be secured without a reasonable incentive. Such men will +seldom sacrifice themselves for the organization and uplift of a +community except for proper compensation. If teachers—or at least the +strong ones—were paid two or three times as much as they are to-day, +and if the standards were raised accordingly, so as to secure really +strong personalities as teachers, country life might be organized in +different directions and made so much more attractive than at present, +that the urban trend would be arrested or greatly minimized.</p> + +<p><b>Playing with the Problem.</b>—The possibilities of the organization of +rural life and rural schools have not yet been realized; as a people we +have really played with this problem. It has taken care of itself; it +has been allowed to drift. Rural life at present is a kind of easy +social adjustment on the basis of the minimum<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> of expense and of +exertion toward a solution. We have not realized the value of genuine +social, economic, and educational organization with all the activities +in these lines which the terms imply. We have not grappled with the +problem in an earnest, scientific way; we have never thought out +systematically what is needed, and then decided to employ the necessary +means to bring about the desired end. It may be that the problem will +remain unsolved for generations to come; but if country life and country +schools are to be made as attractive and pleasant as city life and city +schools, the people will have to face the problem without flinching and +use the only means which will bring about the desired result. The +problem could be easily solved if the people realized the true value of +rural life and of <i>good</i> rural schools. Where there is a will there is a +way; but where there is no will there is no possible way. Country life +can be made fully as pleasant as city life, and the rural schools can be +made fully as good as the city schools. Of course some things will be +lacking in the country which are found in the city; but, conversely, +many things and probably better things will be found in the country than +could be found in the city.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2><div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents</a></div> + +<h3>THE REAL AND THE IDEAL SCHOOL</h3> + + +<p>This chapter will have reference to the one-room rural school as it has +existed in the past and as it still exists in many places; it will also +discuss the rural school as it ought to be. It is assumed that, although +consolidation is spreading rapidly, the one-room rural school as an +institution will continue to exist for an indefinite time. Under +favorable conditions it probably should continue to exist; for, as we +shall see, it has many excellent features which are real advantages.</p> + +<p><b>The Building.</b>—The old-fashioned country schoolhouse was in many +respects a pitiable object. The "little red schoolhouse" in story and +song has been the object of much praise. As an ideal creation it may be +deserving of admiration, but this cannot be asserted of it as a reality. +The common type was an ordinary box-shaped building without +architecture, without a plan, and, as a rule, without care or repair. +Frequently it stood for years without being repainted, and in the midst +of chaotic and ill-cared-for surroundings. The contract for building it +was usually awarded to some carpenter who was also given <i>carte blanche</i> +to do as he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> pleased in regard to its construction, the only provision +being that he keep within the amount of money allowed—probably eight +hundred or a thousand dollars. The usual result was the plainest kind of +building, without conveniences of any kind. If a blackboard were +provided in the specifications (which were often oral rather than +written), it was perhaps placed in such a position as to be useless. In +the course of my experience as county superintendent of schools, I once +visited a rural school in which the blackboard began at the height of a +man's head and extended to the ceiling, the carpenter probably thinking +that its one purpose was to display permanently the teacher's program.</p> + +<p><b>No System of Ventilation.</b>—No system of ventilation was provided in +former days, and in some schoolhouses such is the condition to-day. +Nevertheless, within the past fifteen years, there has been a gratifying +improvement in this direction. It used to be necessary to secure fresh +air, if at all, by opening windows. In some sections, where the climate +is mild, this is the best method of ventilation; but certainly, in +northern latitudes where the winters are long and cold, some system of +forced or automatic ventilation should be provided. It may not be amiss +to assert that it would be an excellent plan to decide first upon a good +system of ventilation and then to build the schoolhouse around it. +Without involving great expense there are simple systems of ventilation +and heating combined<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> which are very efficient for such houses. In +former times, and in some places even yet, the usual method of heating +was by an unjacketed stove which made the pupils who sat nearest it +uncomfortably warm, while those in the farther corners were shivering +with cold. With new systems of ventilation there is an insulating jacket +which equalizes the temperature of the room by heating the fresh air and +distributing it evenly.</p> + +<p>It is strange how slowly people change their habits and even their +opinions. Many are ignorant of the fact that in an unventilated +schoolroom each child is breathing over and over again an atmosphere +vitiated by the air exhaled from the lungs of every child in the room. +The fact that twenty to forty pupils are often housed in +poorly-ventilated schools accounts for much sickness and disease among +country children. Whatever it is that makes air "fresh," and healthful, +that factor is not found under the conditions described. Changes in the +temperature and movement of the air are, no doubt, important in securing +a healthful physiological reaction, but air contaminated and befouled by +bodies and lungs has stupefying effects which cannot be ignored. +Frequent change of air is essential.</p> + +<p><b>The Surroundings.</b>—The typical country schoolhouse, as it existed in the +past, and as it frequently exists to-day, has not sufficient land to +form a good yard and a playground appropriate for its needs. The farmer +who sold or donated the small tract of land often plows almost to the +very foundation walls.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> There are usually no trees near by to afford +shelter or to give the place a homelike and attractive appearance. Some +trees may have been planted, but owing to neglect they have all died +out, and nothing remains but a few dead and unsightly trunks. There is +usually no fence around the school yard, and the outbuildings are +frequently a disgrace, if not a positive menace to the children's +morals. If a choice had to be made it would be better to allow children +to grow up in their native liberty and wildness without a school +"education" than to have them subjected to mental and moral degradation +by the vicious suggestions received in some of these places. Weak +teachers have a false modesty in regard to such conditions and school +boards are often thoughtless or negligent.</p> + +<p><b>The Interior.</b>—Within the building there is frequently no adequate +equipment in the way of apparatus, supplementary reading, or reference +books of any kind. There are no decorations on the walls except such as +are put there by mischievous children. The whole situation both inside +and out brings upon one a feeling of desolation. Men and women who live +in reasonably comfortable homes near by allow the school home of their +precious children to remain for years unattractive and uninspiring in +every particular. Again this is the result of ignorance, +thoughtlessness, or negligence—a negligence that comes alarmingly close +to guilt.</p> + +<p><b>Small, Dead School.</b>—In many a lone rural schoolhouse<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> may be found ten +to twenty small children; and behind the desk a teacher holding only a +second or third grade elementary or county certificate. The whole +institution is rather tame and weak, if not dead; it is anything but +stimulating (and if education means anything it means stimulation). It +is this kind of situation which has led in recent years to a discussion +of the rural school as one of the problems most urgently demanding the +attention of society.</p> + +<p><b>That Picture and This.</b>—Let us now consider, after looking upon that +picture, what the situation ought to be. In the first place, there +should be a large school ground, or yard—not less than two acres. The +schoolhouse should be properly located in this tract. The ground as a +whole should be platted by a landscape architect, or at least by a +person of experience and taste. Trees of various kinds should be planted +in appropriate places, and groups of shrubbery should help to form an +attractive setting. The school grounds should have a serviceable fence +and gate and there should be a playground and a school garden.</p> + +<p><b>Architecture of Building.</b>—No school building should be erected that has +not first been planned or passed upon by an architect; this is now +required by law in some states. A building with handsome appearance and +with appropriate appointments is but a trifle, if any, more costly than +one that has none. Art of all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> kinds is a valuable factor in the +education of children and of people generally; and a building, beautiful +in construction, is no exception to the rule. Every person is educated +by what impresses him. It is only within the last few years that much +attention has been given to the necessity of special architecture in +schoolhouses.</p> + +<p>Men of intelligence sometimes draw up their own plans for a building and +then, having become enamored of them, proceed to construct a residence +or a schoolhouse along those lines. If they had shown their plans to an +architect of experience he would probably have pointed out numerous +defects which would have been admitted as soon as observed. Neither the +individual nor the district school boards can afford, in justice to +themselves and the community they represent, to ignore the wide and +varied knowledge of the expert.</p> + +<p><b>Get Expert Opinion.</b>—Expert opinion should govern in the matter of +heating and ventilating, in the kind of seating, in the arrangement of +blackboards, in the decorations, and in all such technical and +professional matters. Every rural school should have a carefully +selected library, suited to its needs, including a sufficient number of +reference books. The pupils should have textbooks without delay so that +no time may be wasted in getting started after the opening of school. +The walls should be adorned with a few appropriate and beautiful +pictures.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span></p> + +<p><b>Other Surroundings.</b>—On this school ground there should be a shop of +some kind. The resourceful teacher would find a hundred uses for some +such center of work. The closets should be so placed and so devised as +to be easily supervised. This would prevent them from being moral plague +spots, as is too often the case, as we have already said. There should +be stables for sheltering horses, if the school is, as it should be, a +social center for the community. There should be a flagpole in front of +the schoolhouse, from the top of which the stars and stripes should be +often unfurled to the breeze.</p> + +<p><b>Number of Pupils.</b>—In this architecturally attractive building, amid +beautiful surroundings both inside and out, there should be, in order to +have a good rural school, not less than eighteen or twenty pupils. Where +there are fewer the school should be consolidated with a neighboring +school. Twenty pupils would give an assurance of educational and social +life, instead of the dead monotony which often prevails in the smaller +rural school. There should be, during the year, at least eight, and +preferably nine, months of school work.</p> + +<p><b>It Will Not Teach Alone.</b>—But with all of these conditions the school +may still be far from effective. All the material equipment—the total +environment of the pupils, both inside and outside the building—may be +excellent, and still we may fail to find there a good school. Garfield +said of his old teacher that Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and a +pupil on the other<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> made the best kind of college. This indicates an +essential factor other than the physical equipment.</p> + +<p>I remember being once in a store when a man who had bought a saw a few +days previously returned it in a wrathful mood. He was angry through and +through and declared that the saw was utterly worthless. He had brought +it back to reclaim his money. The merchant had a rich vein of humor in +his nature and he listened smilingly to the outburst of angry language. +Then he merely took the saw, opened his till and handed the man his +money, quietly asking, with a twinkle in his eyes for those standing +around, "Wouldn't it saw alone?"</p> + +<p>Now, we may have a fine school ground, or site, with a variety of +beautiful trees and clumps of shrubbery; we may have a playground and a +school garden; we may have it all splendidly fenced; the schoolhouse may +have an artistic appearance and may be kept in excellent repair; it may +be well furnished inside with blackboards, seats, library, reference +books, good textbooks, and all else that is needed; it may be +beautifully decorated; it may have twenty or even more pupils, and yet +we may not have a good school. It will not "saw alone"; the one +indispensable factor may still be lacking.</p> + +<p><b>The Teacher.</b>—"As is the teacher, so is the school." Mark Hopkins on the +end of a log made a good college, compared with the situation where the +building is good and the teacher poor. The teacher is like the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> +mainspring in a watch. Without a good teacher there can be no good +school. Live teacher, live school; dead teacher, dead school. The +teacher and the school must be the center of life, of thought, and of +conversation, in a good way, in the neighborhood. The teacher is the +soul of the school; the other things constitute its body. What shall it +profit a community to have a great building and lack a good teacher?</p> + +<p>If we were obliged to choose between a good teacher and poor material +conditions and environment on the one hand, and excellent material +conditions and environment and a poor teacher on the other, we should +certainly not hesitate in our choice.</p> + +<p><b>A Good Rural School.</b>—Now, if we suppose a really good teacher under the +good conditions described above, we shall have a <i>good</i> rural school. +There is usually better individual work done in such a school than is +possible in a large system of graded schools in a city. In such a school +there is more single-mindedness on the part of pupils and teacher. These +pupils bring to such a school unspoiled minds, minds not weakened by the +attractions and distractions, both day and night, of city life. In such +a school the essentials of a good education are, as a rule, more often +emphasized than in the city. There is probably a truer perspective of +values. Things of the first magnitude are distinguished from things of +the second, fifth, or tenth magnitude. This inability to distinguish +magnitudes is one of the banes of common school<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> education +everywhere—so many things are appraised at the same value.</p> + +<p><b>The Problem.</b>—We have tried in this discussion to put before the reader +a fairly accurate picture, on the one hand, of the undesirable +conditions which have too often prevailed, and, on the other, of a rural +school which would be an excellent place in which to receive one's +elementary education. The reader is asked to "look here, upon this +picture, and on this." The transition from the one to the other is one +of the great problems of rural life and of the rural school. +Consolidation of schools, which we shall discuss more at length in a +later chapter, will help to solve the problem of the rural school, and +we give it our hearty indorsement. It is the best plan we know of where +the conditions are favorable; but it is probable that the one-room rural +school will remain with us for a long time to come. Indeed there are +some good reasons why it should remain. Where the good rural school +exists, whether non-consolidated or consolidated, it should be the +center and the soul of rural life in that community—social, economical, +and educational.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2><div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents</a></div> + +<h3>SOME LINES OF PROGRESS</h3> + + +<p><b>Progress.</b>—The period covering the last sixty or seventy-five years has +seen greater progress in all material lines than any other equal period +of the world's history. Indeed, it is doubtful if a similar period of +invention and progress will ever recur. It has been one of industrial +revolution in all lines of activity.</p> + +<p><b>In Reaping Machines.</b>—Let us for a few moments trace this development +and progress in some specific fields. Within the memory of many men now +living the hand sickle was in common use in the cutting of grain. In the +fifties and sixties the cradle was the usual implement for harvesting +wheat, oats, and similar grains. One man did the cradling and another +the gathering and the binding into sheaves. Then came rapid development +of the reaping machine.</p> + +<p><b>The "Dropper."</b>—The most important step was probably the invention of +the sickle-bar, a slender steel bar having V-shaped sections attached, +to cut the grass and grain; this was pushed and pulled between what are +called guards, by means of a rod called the "Pitman rod," attached to a +small revolving wheel run by the gearing of the machine. This was a +wonderful<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> invention and its principle has been extensively applied. The +first reaping machine using the sickle and guard device was known as the +"dropper." A reel, worked by machinery, revolved at a short distance +above the sickle, beating the wheat backward upon a small platform of +slats. This platform could be raised and lowered by the foot, by means +of a treadle. When there was sufficient grain on this slat-platform it +was lowered and the wheat was left lying in short rows on the ground, +behind the machine. The bundles had to be bound by hand and removed +before the machine could make the next round. This machine, though +simple, was the forerunner of other important inventions.</p> + +<p><b>The Hand Rake.</b>—The next type of machine was the one in which the +platform of slats was replaced by a stationary platform having a smooth +board floor. A man sat at the side of the machine, near the rear, and +raked the bundles off sidewise with a hand rake. A boy drove the team +and the man raked off the grain in sufficient quantities to make +bundles. These were thrown by the rake a sufficient distance from the +standing grain to allow the machine to proceed round and round the +field, even if these bundles of grain, so raked off, were not yet bound +into sheaves.</p> + +<p><b>The Self Rake.</b>—The next advance consisted in what is known as the "self +rake." This machine had a series of slats or wings which did both the +work of the reel in the earlier machine and also that of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> man who +raked the wheat off the later machine. This saved the labor of one man.</p> + +<p><b>The Harvester.</b>—The next improvement in the evolution of the reaping +machine—if indeed an improvement it could be called—was what is known +as the "harvester." In this there was a canvas elevator upon which the +grain was thrown by the reel, and which brought the grain up to the +platform on which two men stood for the purpose of binding it. Each man +took his share, binding alternate bundles and throwing them, when bound, +down on the ground. Such work was certainly one of the repellent factors +in driving men and boys from the country to the city.</p> + +<p><b>The Wire Binder.</b>—Another step in advance was the invention of the wire +binder. Everything was now done by machinery: the cutting, the +elevating, the binding, and even the carrying of the sheaves into piles +or windrows. There was an attachment upon the machine by which the +bundles were carried along and deposited in bunches to make the +"shocking" easier.</p> + +<p><b>The Twine Binder.</b>—But the wire was found to be an obstruction both in +threshing and in the use of straw for fodder; and, as necessity is the +mother of invention, the so-called twine "knotter" soon came into +existence and with it the full-fledged twine binder with all its varied +improvements as we have it to-day.</p> + +<p><b>Threshing Machine.</b>—The development of the perfected threshing machine +was very similar. Fifty years<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> ago, the flail was an implement of common +use upon the barn floor. Then came the invention called the "cylinder"; +this was systematically studded with "teeth" and these, in the rapid +revolutions of the cylinder, passed between corresponding teeth +systematically set in what is known as "concaves." This tooth +arrangement in revolving cylinder and in concave was as epochal in the +line of progress in threshing machines as the sickle, with its +"sections" passing or being drawn through guards, was in reaping +machines.</p> + +<p><b>The First Machine.</b>—The earliest of these threshing machines containing +a cylinder was run by a treadmill on which a horse was used. It was +literally a "one-horse" affair. Of course the first type of cylinder was +small and simple, and the work as a rule was poorly done. The chaff and +the straw came out together and men had to attend to each by hand. The +wheat was poorly cleaned and had to be run through a fanning-mill +several times.</p> + +<p><b>Improvements.</b>—Then came some improvements and enlargements in the +cylinder, and also the application of horse power by means of what was +known as "tumbling rods" and a gearing attached to the cylinder. All +this at first was on rather a small scale, only two, three, or four +horses being used. But improvements and enlargements came step by step, +until the ten and twelve horse power machine was achieved, resulting in +the large separator that would thresh out several hundred bushels of +wheat in a day. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> separator had also attached to it what was called +the "straw carrier," which conveyed both the straw and the chaff to +quite a distance from the machine. But even then most of the work around +the machine was done by hand. The straw pile required the attention of +three or four men; or if the straw were "bucked," as they said, it +required a man with a horse or team hitched to a long pole. In this +latter case the straw was spread in various parts of the field and +finally burned.</p> + +<p><b>The Steam Engine.</b>—Then came the portable steam engine for threshing +purposes. At first, however, this had to be drawn from place to place by +teams. The power was applied to the separator by a long belt. Following +this, came the devices for cutting the bands, the self-feeder, and +finally the straw blower, as it is called, consisting of a long tube +through which the straw is blown by the powerful separator fanning-mill. +This blower can be moved in different directions, and consequently it +saves the labor of as many men as were formerly required to handle the +straw and chaff. About the same time, also, the device for weighing and +measuring the grain was perfected. The "traction" engine has now +replaced the one which had to be drawn by teams, and this not only +propels itself but also draws the separator and other loads after it +from place to place. In all this progress the machinery has constantly +become more and more perfect and the cylinder and capacity of the +machine greater and greater.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> Not many years ago, six hundred bushels in +a day was considered a big record in the threshing of wheat. Now the +large machines separate, or thresh out, between three and four thousand +bushels in one day. Such has been the development in reaping machines +from the sickle to the self-binder, and in threshing machines from the +flail to the modern marvel just described.</p> + +<p><b>Improvement in Ocean Travel.</b>—A similar story may be told in regard to +ocean traffic and ocean travel. Our ancestors came from foreign lands on +sailing ships that required from three weeks to several months to cross +the Atlantic. I am acquainted with a German immigrant who, many years +ago, left a seaport town of Germany on January 1st and landed at Castle +Garden in New York City on the 4th of July. The inconvenience of travel +under such circumstances was equal to the slowness of the journey. In +those days leaving home in the old country meant never again seeing +one's relatives and friends. If such conditions are compared with those +of to-day we can readily realize the vast progress that has been made. +To-day the great ocean liners cross the Atlantic in a little more than +five days. These magnificent "ocean greyhounds" are fitted out with all +modern conveniences and improvements, so that one is as comfortable in +them and as safe as he is in one of the best hotels of the large cities.</p> + +<p><b>From Hand-spinning to Factory.</b>—Weaving in former<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> times was done +entirely by hand. Fifty years ago private weavers were found in almost +every community. Wool was raised, carded, spun, and woven, and the +garments were all made, practically, within the household. All that is +now past. In the great manufacturing establishments one man at a lever +does the work of 250 or 500 people. This great industrial advancement +has taken place within the memory of people now living. And similar +progress has been made in almost every other line of human endeavor.</p> + +<p><b>The Cost.</b>—Very few people realize what it has cost the human race to +pass from one condition to the other in these various lines. Hundreds +and thousands of men have worked and died in the struggle and in the +process of bringing about improvements. Every calamity due to inadequate +machines or to poor methods has had its influence toward causing further +advancements in inventions for the benefit of mankind.</p> + +<p><b>Progress in Higher Education.</b>—Let us now turn our attention to the +progress that has been made in the field of academic education. It is +true that many of the great universities were established centuries ago. +These were at first endowed church institutions or theological +seminaries; but the great state universities of this country are +creations of the progressive period under consideration. General +taxation for higher education is comparatively a modern practice. The +University of Michigan was one of the first state universities +established. Since then nearly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> every commonwealth, whether it has come +into the Union since that time or whether it is one of the older states, +has established a university. There has been a great development of +higher education by the states. No institutions of the country have +grown more rapidly within the last thirty or forty years than the state +universities. They have established departments of every kind. Besides +the college of liberal arts there are in most of them colleges or +schools of law, medicine, engineering in its several lines, education, +pharmacy, dentistry, commerce, industrial arts, and fine arts. The state +university is abroad in the land; it has, as a rule, an extension +department by which it impresses itself upon the people of the state, +outside its walls. The principle of higher education by taxation of all +the people is no longer questioned; it is no longer an experiment. The +state university is relied upon to furnish the country with the leaders +of the future—and leaders will always be in demand, for they are always +sorely needed.</p> + +<p><b>Progress in Normal Schools.</b>—While the state universities have been +enjoying this marvelous development, nearly every state has been +establishing normal schools for the professional preparation of +teachers. The normal school as an institution is also modern. As an +institution established and supported by state taxation it is, as a +rule, more recent than the universities. Forty years ago many good +people regarded the normal school idea as visionary and its realization<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> +as a doubtful experiment. Indeed in one western state, as late as the +eighties, its legislature debated the abolition of its normal schools on +the ground that they were not fulfilling or accomplishing any useful +mission. To-day, however, no such charge of inefficiency can be made. +The normal schools, like the universities, have proved their right to +exist. They have been weighed in the balance and have not been found +wanting. It is now generally recognized that those who would teach +should make some preparation for that high calling; and so the normal +schools in every state have demonstrated their "right of domicile" in +the educational system. It is now generally recognized that teaching, +both as a science and as an art, is highly complicated, and that, if it +is to be a profession, there must be special preparation for it. +Consequently the normal schools of the country have had a wonderful and +rapid development from the experimental stage to that in which they have +well-nigh realized their ideals. School boards everywhere look to the +normal schools for their supply of elementary teachers.</p> + +<p><b>Progress in Agricultural Colleges.</b>—Similar statements may be made +concerning the agricultural colleges of the country. They are modern +creations in the United States; and with the aid of both the state and +the national government they have come to be vast institutions, devoting +themselves to the teaching and the spreading of scientific farming among +the people. Here there is a vast work to be done. On<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> account of the +trend of population toward the cities, and on account of the vast tracts +of country land lying idle, scientific agriculture should be brought in +to aid in production and thus to keep down the cost of living. The +agricultural colleges of the country have a large part to play in the +solution of the problems of rural life.</p> + +<p><b>Progress in the High Schools.</b>—A similar development characterizes the +high schools of the country. Education has extended downward from above. +Universities everywhere have come into existence before the +establishment of secondary schools. Not only are the universities, the +normal schools, and the agricultural colleges of recent origin, but the +high schools also are modern institutions, at least in their present +systematized form. The high schools of the cities constitute to-day one +of the most efficient forms of school organization. At the present time +the better high schools of the cities are veritable colleges—in fact +their curricula are as extensive as were those of the colleges of sixty +years ago. Vast numbers attend them; their faculties are composed of +college graduates or better; they have, as a rule, various departments, +such as manual training, domestic science, agriculture, commercial +subjects, normal courses, etc. In addition to the traditional curricula, +the high schools, like the universities, normal schools, and +agricultural colleges, have kept pace, in large measure, with the +material progress described in the first part of this chapter.</p> + +<p><b>How Is the Rural School?</b>—We have described the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> progress that has been +made in various fields of the industrial world and also in several kinds +of educational institutions. At this point the question may, with +propriety, be asked whether the rural schools have generally kept pace +in their progress with the other and higher institutions which we have +mentioned. We believe that they have not. The rural schools have too +often been the last to attract public interest and to receive the +attention which their importance deserves.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<p><img src="images/png49_figure-1.jpg" width="640" height="395" alt="A neglected school in unattractive surroundings" title="A neglected school in unattractive surroundings" /></p> +<p class="caption">A neglected school in unattractive surroundings</p></div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 467px;"> +<p><img src="images/png49_figure-2.jpg" width="467" height="640" alt="A lonely road to school. No conveyances provided" title="A lonely road to school. No conveyances provided" /></p> +<p class="caption">A lonely road to school. No conveyances provided</p></div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 480px;"> +<p><img src="images/png49_figure-3.jpg" width="480" height="550" alt="A better type of building with some attempt at improvements" title="A better type of building with some attempt at improvements" /></p> +<p class="caption">A better type of building with some attempt at improvements</p></div> + +<p class="caption"> THE ONE-ROOM SCHOOL +<br /> +<br /> +</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2><div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents</a></div> + +<h3>A BACKWARD AND NEGLECTED FIELD</h3> + + +<p><b>Rural Schools the Same Everywhere.</b>—The one-room country school of +to-day is much the same the whole country over. Such schools are no +better in Michigan, Wisconsin, or Minnesota than they are in the +Dakotas, Montana, or Idaho. They are no better in Ohio or New York than +they are in Minnesota or Wisconsin, and no better in the New England +states than in New York and Ohio. There is a wonderful similarity in +these schools in all the states.</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, it may be maintained with some plausibility that the rural +schools of the West are superior to those farther east. The East is +conservative and slow to change. The West has fewer traditions to break. +Many strong personalities of initiative and push have come out of the +East and taken up their abode in the West. Young men continue to follow +Horace Greeley's advice. Sometimes these young men file upon lands and +teach the neighboring school; and while this may not be the highest +professional aim and attitude, it remains true nevertheless that such +teachers are often earnest, strong, and educated persons.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p> + +<p>Not long ago I had occasion to visit a teacher's institute in a +northwestern state, in which there were enrolled 350 teachers. Some of +these were college graduates and many of them were normal school +graduates from various states. One had only to conduct a round table in +order to experience a very spirited reaction. Colonel Homer B. Sprague, +who was once president of the University of North Dakota, used to say +that it always wrenched him to kick at nothing. There would be no +danger, in such a body of teachers as I have referred to, of wrenching +oneself. I have had occasion many times every year to meet these western +teachers in local associations, in teachers' institutes, and in state +conventions; and from my observations and experience I can truthfully +state that they are fully as responsive and as progressive as the +teachers in other parts of the country.</p> + +<p><b>Rural Schools no Better than Formerly.</b>—Notwithstanding all this, it is +probably true that the rural schools of to-day are, on the whole, but +little better than those of twenty years ago. About that time I served +four years as county superintendent of schools in a western state. As I +recall the condition of the schools of that day I feel sure that there +has been but little real progress. Indeed, for reasons which will be +stated later on, it can be safely asserted that in some parts of the +country there has been a deterioration.</p> + +<p>About thirty years ago I had the experience of teaching rural schools +for several terms. Being acquainted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> with my coworkers, I met them +frequently in teachers' gatherings and in conventions of various kinds. +If my memory is to be trusted I can again affirm that the teachers of +those days do not compare unfavorably with the rural school teachers of +the present time. And if the teacher is the measure of the school, the +same may be said of the schools.</p> + +<p>Nor is this all. About forty years ago I was attending a rural school +myself. I received all of my elementary education in such schools and I +am convinced that many of my teachers were stronger personalities than +the teachers of to-day.</p> + +<p><b>Some Improvement.</b>—It is not intended here to assert or to convey the +impression that there has been no progress in any direction in the rural +schools. It is the personnel of the country school—the strength and +power of initiative in the teachers of that day—that is here referred +to. Although there has been some progress in many lines it has not been +in the direction of stronger teachers. The textbooks in use to-day in +various branches are decidedly superior to those used in former days, +although some of these older books were by no means without their points +of strength and excellence. Indeed, I sometimes think that textbooks are +often rendered less efficient by being refined upon in a variety of ways +to conform to the popular pedagogical ideas of the day.</p> + +<p>It is no doubt true also that there has been, in the last thirty or +forty years, much discussion along the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> lines of psychology and pedagogy +and the methods of teaching the various branches. The professional +spirit has been in the air, and there has been much writing and much +talking on the science and art of teaching. But it must be confessed +that, while this is desirable and in fact indispensable, much of it may +be little more than a mere whitewash; much of it is simply parrot-like +imitation; much of it is only "words, words, words." Far be it from me +to underestimate the value of this professional and pedagogical phase of +the teacher's equipment. Nevertheless, when all is said and duly +considered, it is personality that is the greatest factor in the +teacher. A good, sound knowledge of the subjects to be taught comes +next; and last, though probably not least, should come the professional +preparation and training. Without the first two requisites, however, +this last is worth little. It is a lamentable fact that, in almost every +section of our country, there are persons engaged in teaching rural +schools, who are not only deficient in personal power but whose academic +education is not such as to afford an adequate foundation for +professional training.</p> + +<p><b>Strong Personalities in the Older Schools.</b>—As an example of strong +personalities I remember one teacher who in middle life was recognized +as a leader in his community; another one, after serving an +apprenticeship in the country schools, became a prominent and successful +physician; a third became a leading architect; a fourth, a lawyer; a +fifth went west and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> became county judge in the state of his adoption; a +sixth entered West Point Military Academy and rose rapidly in the United +States army. These instances are given to show that many of the old-time +country teachers were men of force and initiative. They became to their +pupils ideals of manhood worthy to be patterned after. These all taught +in one neighborhood, but similar strong characters were no doubt engaged +in the schools of surrounding neighborhoods. What rural school of to-day +in any state can boast of the uplifting presence of so many men teaching +in one decade?</p> + +<p>A. V. Storm, of the Minnesota Agricultural College, says:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"But we lack one thing nowadays that these old schools possessed. +Twenty or thirty years ago the country schools were taught for the +most part by men. Such men as Shaw and Dolliver, and a great many +other leading men of to-day, were at one time country school +teachers. They exercised a great influence upon the pupils. They +were the angels who put the coals of fire upon the lips of the +young men, giving them the ambition that made for future greatness. +The country schools now are not so good as they were twenty years +ago. The chief reason is that their teachers are not so capable."</p></div> + +<p><b>More Men Needed.</b>—To secure the best results, there should be fully as +many men as women teaching in the rural schools. One hundred years ago +both city and country schools were taught by men alone. Now<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> the rural +schools and most of the city schools are taught by women alone. There is +probably as much reason against all teachers being women as there is +against all teachers being men.</p> + +<p><b>Low Standard Now.</b>—Thirty or forty years ago about half of the teachers +were men and half women, both sexes representing the strong and the +weak. Very many of the schools of to-day are under the charge of young +girls from eighteen to twenty years of age who have had little more than +a common elementary education. Some have just finished the eighth grade +and have had a smattering of pedagogy or what is sometimes called "the +theory and practice of teaching." This they could have secured in a six +weeks' summer school, while reviewing the so-called "common branches." +These teachers are holders merely of a second grade elementary, or +county, certificate, which requires very little education. Almost any +person who has taken the required course in reading, writing, spelling, +arithmetic, grammar, geography, history, and hygiene of the elementary +school can pass the usual examination and obtain a certificate to teach. +In some states the matter is made still easier by the issuing of third +grade county certificates, and even, in some cases, by the giving of +special permits. Indeed, the standards are usually so low that the +supply of teachers is far beyond the demand.</p> + +<p><b>The Survival of the Unfittest.</b>—Such is the standard which prevails +extensively throughout the country in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> respect to the qualifications of +rural school teachers. As inferior goods sometimes drive out the better +in the markets, so poor teachers holding the lowest grade of certificate +will sometimes drive out the better, for they are ready to teach for +"less than anybody else." The men and women of strength and initiative +are constantly tempted to go out of the calling into other lines of work +where progress is more pronounced and where salaries or wages are +higher; and so the doors of the teachers' calling swing outward. The +good teachers will desert us, or refuse to come, and the rural schools +will be left with what might be called the survival of the unfittest.</p> + +<p><b>Short Terms.</b>—Add to the foregoing considerations the short terms of +service which prevail in rural schools and we have indeed a pitiable +condition. The average yearly duration of such schools in most states is +about seven months—sometimes less. This leaves about five months of +vacation, or of time between terms, when much that has been learned is +forgotten. Under such conditions how is it possible to give the children +of these communities an education which is at all comparable to that +afforded by the city?</p> + +<p><b>Poor Supervision.</b>—Then, again, there is often little supervision of +country schools. When a county superintendent has under his inspection +from fifty to two hundred schools, it is utterly impossible for him to +give to each the desired number of visits or to supervise and +superintend the work of those schools in a manner<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> that can be called +adequate in any true sense. Sometimes he can visit each school only once +a year, or twice at most, and, even then, there may be two different +teachers in the same school during the year; so that he sees each of his +teachers at work probably only once. What can a supervising officer do +for a school or for a teacher under such circumstances? Practically +nothing. The county superintendent is usually elected to office by the +people and frequently on a partisan ticket. This method of choosing +naturally tends to make him give more attention to politics than he +otherwise would think of giving. So the supervision or superintendency +of country schools is too often slighted or neglected—and who is to +blame? Of course there are many exceptional cases, but the exceptions +only prove the rule.</p> + +<p><b>No Decided Movement.</b>—The whole movement of the rural school, whether it +has been backward or forward, has been too frequently without definite +or pronounced direction. It has moved along the line of least +resistance, sometimes this way, sometimes that, in some places forward, +in other places backward. Time, circumstances, and chance determine the +work. School problems have been settled by convenience and +circumstances. The whole situation has been one of <i>laissez faire</i>. It +is only within the past few years that people have become awakened to +the situation. They are beginning to be impressed with the progress that +is being made in all other lines, not only outside of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> schools but +also in the fields of higher and secondary education. The rural school +interests have at last begun to ask, "Where do we come in?"</p> + +<p><b>Elementary Teaching Not a Profession.</b>—There has been as yet no real +profession of teaching in the rural or elementary field. In about one +third of the schools there is a new teacher every year; so that every +three years the teaching force in any given county is practically +renewed. A <i>profession</i> cannot be acquired in a day, or even in twelve +months. The work to be done is regarded as an important public work, and +the public is concerned in its own protection. Hence in every true +profession there is a somewhat lengthy period of preparation and a +standard of acquirements which must be attained. In other words, a true +profession is a closed calling which it is impossible for everyone to +join, and which only those can enter who have passed through a severe +preparation and have successfully met the required standard. School +teaching in the country is too frequently not a profession. It can be +entered too easily; the required period of preparation is so short and +the standard is placed so low that young and poorly prepared persons +enter too easily.</p> + +<p><b>The Problem Difficult, but Before Us.</b>—What shall be done? The problem +is before the American people in every state of the Union. The people +themselves have become aroused to the situation, and this itself is +encouraging. Much has been done in some states, but much will be left +undone for the attention of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> coming generations. The masses of the +people can be aroused only with difficulty. The education of an +individual is a slow process. The education of a family, of a community, +or of a state is slower still. The education of a nation or of a race is +so slow that its progress is difficult of measurement. Indeed, the +movement of the race as a whole is so imperceptible that it leaves room +for debate as to whether humanity is going forward or backward.</p> + +<p><b>Other Educational Interests Should Help.</b>—The higher institutions, +including the state universities, the agricultural colleges, the normal +schools, and the high schools, should all join hands in helping to +remedy conditions. Society has already, in large measure, solved the +problems in the higher educational fields; those institutions have been +advanced to such an extent that they have almost realized their ideals. +The rural population has helped them to attain to these high standards. +As one good turn deserves another, rural communities now look to these +interests for aid in the struggle to overcome the difficulties which +confront them.</p> + +<p><b>Higher Standards Necessary.</b>—But before the rural schools can ever hope +to make the desired progress, higher standards must be set by society, +and the teachers in those schools must attain to them. The United +States, as a nation, is far behind foreign countries in setting such a +standard. In Denmark and elsewhere a country school teacher must be a +normal school<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> graduate. A few national laws in the way of +standardization both in higher and lower education would produce +excellent results. The old fear of encroachment upon state's rights by +the national government has too long prevented national legislation of a +most beneficial kind in the educational field.</p> + +<p><b>Courses for Teachers.</b>—In every normal school in the United States there +should be an elementary course of study extending at least three years +above the eighth grade, and the completion of this course should be +required as a minimum preparation for teaching in any school in the +country. This is certainly not asking too much. Pupils who complete the +eighth grade at fourteen or fifteen years, and then go to a normal +school, would complete this elementary course at the age of seventeen or +eighteen; and no person who has not reached this age should assume the +responsibility for the care and instruction of children in any school.</p> + +<p><b>The Problem of Compensation.</b>—Were such a standard adopted as a minimum, +salaries would immediately rise. (We do not often call them "salaries" +but <i>wages</i>, and probably with some discrimination.) If it is said that +teachers of such qualifications cannot be secured, the answer is that in +a short time things would so adjust themselves that the demand would +bring the supply. Salaries in the country must be higher before we can +hope to secure any considerable number of teachers as well equipped and +with as strong personalities<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> as those found in the cities. It may be +necessary for us to pay more than is paid in the city; for if a teacher +has two offers at $65 a month, one from a city and one from the country, +she will, without doubt, accept the city offer every time. True, she +will have to pay more for room and board in the city; nevertheless she +will prefer to be where there are the most opportunities and +conveniences, with probably a better prospect for promotion. And who can +blame her? It is probable that, in many instances, country districts +will have to pay five or ten dollars a month more than the city if they +wish to secure equally strong teachers. A country district can really +afford to pay more than the city in order to get a good, strong teacher; +for taxation in the country is usually lighter than it is in the city. +In the city there is taxation for lighting, for paving, for sidewalks, +for police protection, and for various other conveniences and +necessities. The country is free from most of such levies, and it could, +therefore, afford to pay a little more school tax in order to secure its +share of the best teachers.</p> + +<p><b>Consolidation as a Factor.</b>—In the solution of the school problem +consolidation will do much. This is being tried in almost every state of +the Union and is working in the direction of progress with great +satisfaction. We shall treat of this more at length in a later chapter.</p> + +<p><b>Better Supervision Necessary.</b>—Not only must we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> have better teachers in +the country, but we must have more and better supervision. There is no +valid reason why country superintendents should be elected on a +political platform. It is the custom everywhere to choose city +superintendents from among the best men or women anywhere in the field, +inside or outside of the state. Such should also be the practice in +choosing county superintendents. Then, too, a county should be divided +into districts and more assistance given the county superintendent in +the supervision of schools. In other words, supervision should be +persistent, consistent, and systematic; visits should be more frequent. +In the city a superintendent or principal has all his schools and +teachers either in one building or in several buildings at no great +distance apart. In the latter case he can go from one to another in a +few minutes, staying at each as long as he thinks necessary. Little time +is lost in travel. The opposite condition is one of the difficulties of +rural supervision, and it must be overcome in some satisfactory way.</p> + +<p><b>A Model Rural School.</b>—It would be a good plan for the state to +establish in each county one model rural school. Such schools might be +maintained wholly or in part by the state, and they would become models +for all the neighboring districts. Children are always imitative, and +people are only children of a larger growth. Most people learn to do +things better by imitation; and so these model state schools would serve +as patterns to be studied and copied by others.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span></p> + +<p><b>The Teacher Should Lead.</b>—The school should be the mainspring of +educational and social life in the community; hence, only such teachers +should be employed as are real originators of activity in rural schools +and in rural life. The teacher should be a "live wire" and should be +"doing things" all the time. He should be the leader of his community +and his people.</p> + +<p><b>A Good Boarding Place.</b>—A serious difficulty connected with teaching in +the country is that of securing a good boarding place and temporary +home. This may not be a troublesome problem in the older and +well-established communities, but in the newer states and sparsely +settled sections the condition is almost forbidding. Half the enjoyment +of life consists in having a comfortable home and a good room to +oneself. This is absolutely necessary in order to do one's work well, +especially the work of the teacher. Some of the experiences which +teachers have been obliged to go through are almost incredible. Almost +every teacher of a country school could give vivid and pathetic +illustrations and examples of the discomforts, the annoyances, and the +trials to which a boarder in a strange family is subjected. The question +of a boarding place should be in the mind and plan of every school board +when they employ a teacher for their district. It is they who should +solve this problem for the teacher by having a good available home +provided in advance.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2><div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents</a></div> + +<h3>CONSOLIDATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS</h3> + + +<p>Much has been said and written in regard to what is generally known as +the "consolidation of schools." Men and women interested in the cause of +popular education have come to feel that the rural schools throughout +the country are making little or no progress, and public attention has +therefore been turned to consolidation as one of the possible means of +improvement.</p> + +<p><b>The Process.</b>—As the name implies, the process is simply the bringing +together and the fusing of two or more schools into one. If two or more +communities, each having a small school of a few children, conclude that +their schools are becoming ineffective and that it would be advantageous +to unite, each may sell its own schoolhouse, and a new one may be built +large enough for all and more centrally located with regard to the whole +territory. They thus "consolidate" the schools of the several districts +and establish a single large one. In many portions of the country the +rural schools have, from various causes, grown smaller and smaller, +until they have ceased to be places of interest, of activity, and of +life. Now, a school, if it means anything, means a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> place where minds +are stimulated and awakened as well as where knowledge is communicated. +There can be but little stimulation in a school of only a few children. +The pupils feel it and so does the teacher. Life, activity, mental +aspiration are always found where large numbers of persons congregate. +For these reasons the idea of consolidating the small schools into +important centers, or units, is forcing itself upon the people of the +country. Where the schools are small and the roads are good, everything +favors the bringing of the children to a larger and more stimulating +social and educational center.</p> + +<p><b>When Not Necessary.</b>—It might happen, as it frequently does, that a +school is already sufficiently large, active, and enthusiastic to make +it inadvisable to give up its identity and become merged in the larger +consolidated school. If there are twenty or thirty children and an +efficient teacher we have the essential factors of a good school. +Furthermore, it is rather difficult to transport, for several miles, a +larger number than this.</p> + +<p><b>The District System.</b>—There are two different kinds of country school +organization. In some states, what is known as the district system is +the prevailing one. This means that a school district, more or less +irregular in shape and containing probably six to ten square miles, is +organized into a corporation for school purposes. The schoolhouse is +situated somewhere near the center of this district and is usually a +small, boxlike affair, often<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> located in a desolate place without trees +or other attractive environment. This school may be under the +administration of a trustee or of a school board having the management +of the school in every respect. This board determines the length of +term; it hires and dismisses teachers, procures supplies and performs +all the functions authorized by law. It is a case where one school board +has the entire management of one small school.</p> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<p><img src="images/png66_figure-1.jpg" width="640" height="474" alt="A frame building and adequate conveyances" title="A frame building and adequate conveyances" /></p> +<p class="caption">A frame building and adequate conveyances</p></div> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<p><img src="images/png66_figure-2.jpg" width="640" height="447" alt="A substantial and well-planned building" title="A substantial and well-planned building" /></p> +<p class="caption">A substantial and well-planned building</p></div> + + +<p class="caption"> TWO TYPES OF CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS +<br /> +<br /> +</p> + + +<p><b>The Township System.</b>—The other form of organization is what is known as +the township system. Here the several schools in one township are all +under the administration of one school board. There is not a school +board for each schoolhouse, as in the district system, but one school +board has charge of all the schools of the township. Under certain +conditions it has in its power the locating of schoolhouses within this +general district. The board hires the teachers for all the schools +within its jurisdiction, and in general manages all the schools in the +same manner as the board in the district system manages its one school.</p> + +<p><b>Consolidation Difficult in District System.</b>—The process of +consolidation is always difficult where the district system prevails. +Both custom and sentiment cause the people to hesitate or refuse to +abandon their established form of organization. If a community has been +incorporated for any purpose and has done business for some years, it is +always difficult to induce the people to make a change. They feel as if +they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> were abdicating government and responsibility. They hesitate to +merge themselves in a larger organization, and hence they advance many +objections to the consolidation of their schools. All this is but +natural. The several communities have been living apart educationally +and have been in a measure strangers. They have never had any occasion +to meet in conference, to exchange thought, and to do business together; +hence they fear and hesitate to take a leap in the dark, as they +conceive it, and to embark upon a course which they think they may +afterwards regret. Consolidation frequently fails because of false +apprehensions due to a lack of social organization.</p> + +<p><b>Easier in Township System.</b>—It is quite otherwise where the township +system exists. Here there are no separate corporations or organizations +controlling the various schools. The school board administers the +affairs of all the schools in the township. Hence there is no sentiment +in regard to the separate and distinct individuality of each school and +its patronage. There are no sub-districts or distinctly organized +communities; a whole township or two townships constitute one large +district and the schools are located at the most convenient points to +serve the children of the whole township. The people in such districts +have been accustomed to act together educationally as well as +politically, and to exchange thought on all such situations. Hence +consolidation, or the union of the several schools, is a comparatively +easy matter.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p> + +<p><b>Consolidation a Special Problem for Each District.</b>—It will, of course, +be seen at once that, in a school township where there are several small +and somewhat lifeless schools with only a few children in each, it would +be desirable for several reasons to bring together all the children into +one large and animated center. This process is a specific local problem. +Whether or not such consolidation is advisable depends upon many +conditions, among which are, (1) the size of the former schools, (2) the +unanimity of sentiment in the community, (3) the location of roads and +of residences, (4) the distance the pupils are to be transported, and +other local and special considerations. The people of each district +should get together and discuss these problems from various points of +view and decide for themselves whether or not they shall adopt the plan +and also the extent to which it shall be carried. Much will depend upon +the size of the schools and everything upon the unanimity of sentiment +in the community. If there is a large minority against consolidation the +wisdom of forcing it by a small majority is to be questioned. It would +be better to let the idea "work" a while longer.</p> + +<p><b>Disagreements on Transportation.</b>—The problem of transporting pupils is +always a puzzling one. Many details are involved in its solution and it +is upon details that communities usually disagree. Most enterprises are +wrecked by disagreements over small matters. Even among friends it is +the small details in mannerisms<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> or conduct that become with time so +irritating that friendship is often strained. Details are usually small, +but their obtrusive, perpetual presence is likely to disturb one's +nerves. This is true in deliberative bodies of all kinds. Important +measures are often delayed or killed because their advocates and +opponents cannot "give and take" upon small points. Almost every great +measure passing successfully through legislative bodies and, in fact, +the settlement of many social problems embody a compromise on details. +Many good people forget that, while there should be unanimity in +essentials, there should be liberty in non-essentials, and charity in +all things. Many people lack the power of perspective in the discussion +and solution of problems; for them all facts are of the same magnitude. +Large things which they do not wish are minimized and small things are +magnified. A copper cent may be held so near the eye that it will +obscure the sun. Probably there has been no difficulty greater in the +process of consolidation than the problems involved in the details +concerning the transportation of pupils.</p> + +<p><b>Each Community Must Decide for Itself.</b>—The particular mode of +transportation must be determined by the conditions existing in each +community. In some places the consolidated school district provides one +or more busses, or, as they are sometimes called, "vans"; and these go +to the homes of the children each morning in time to arrive at the +schoolhouse before nine o'clock.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> Of course, in this case the pupils +living farthest from the school must rise and be ready earliest; they +are on the road for the greatest length of time. But this is one of the +minor discomforts which must be borne by those families and their +children. All cannot live near the school. Sometimes a different plan of +transportation is found to give better satisfaction. The parents may +prefer to bring their own children to school or to make definite +arrangements with nearby neighbors who bring theirs. There is no one way +which is the only way, and, in fact, several methods may be used in the +same district.</p> + +<p><b>The Distance to Be Transported.</b>—If pupils must be transported over five +or six miles, consolidation becomes a doubtful experiment. Of course, +the vehicles used should be comfortable and every care should be taken +of the children; but six miles over country roads and in all kinds of +weather means, probably, an hour and a quarter on the road both morning +and evening. It could, of course, be said in reply that six miles in a +comfortable wagon and an hour and a quarter on the road are not nearly +so bad as a mile and a quarter on foot at certain seasons of the year.</p> + +<p><b>Responsible Driver.</b>—Another point upon which all parents should insist +is that the transportation of their children should be performed by +reliable and responsible drivers. This is important and most necessary. +Under such conditions there would be no danger<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> of children being +drenched with rain in summer and exposed to cold in winter, for the +vehicles would be so constructed as to offer protection against both. +There would also be no danger of the large boys bullying and browbeating +the smaller children on the way, as is often done when they walk to +school over long and lonely roads; for all would be under the care of a +trustworthy driver until they were landed at the door of the schoolhouse +or the home.</p> + +<p><b>Cost of Consolidation.</b>—The cost of consolidation is always an important +consideration. Under the district system one district may be wealthy and +another poor, the former having scarcely any taxation and the latter a +high rate of taxation. It is usual that, in such cases, the districts +having a small rate of taxation are unwilling to consolidate with +others. This is one of the difficulties. Consolidation will bring about +uniformity of taxation in the whole territory affected. This is an +advantage in itself. If the old schoolhouses are in good condition there +will be somewhat of a loss in selling them and in building a large new +central building. This is another situation which always complicates the +problem. If the old buildings are worthless and if they must be replaced +in any event by new buildings, then the time is opportune for +considering consolidation.</p> + +<p>Even after the reorganization is effected, and the new central building +located, the cost of education, all things considered, is not increased. +It is undoubtedly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> true that a larger amount of money may be needed to +maintain the consolidated school than to maintain all the various small +schools which have previously existed. But other factors must be taken +into account. The total amount of dollars and cents in the one situation +as compared with the total amount in the other does not tell the whole +story. For it has been found that, everywhere in the country, there is a +larger and better attendance of pupils in the consolidated school, that +more pupils go to school, that they attend more regularly, and that the +school terms are longer. Therefore the proper test of expense is the +cost of a day's schooling for each pupil, or the cost "per pupil per +day." Measured by this standard education in the consolidated school is +no more expensive than in the unconsolidated schools; indeed it is +usually less expensive. It is a good thing for society to give a day's +education to one child; then education pays as it goes, and the more +days' education it can offer, the better.</p> + +<p><b>More Life in the Consolidated School.</b>—No one can deny that in this +larger school there can be more life and activity of all kinds, and a +much finer school spirit than was possible in the smaller schools. +Education means stimulation and where a great many children are brought +together and properly organized and graded there is a more stimulating +atmosphere and environment.</p> + +<p><b>Some Grading Desirable.</b>—In these consolidated<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> schools a reasonable +amount of grading can be secured. It may be true that in some of the +large cities an extreme degree of grading defeats education and the true +aim of organization, but certainly in consolidated rural schools no such +degree of refinement need be reached or feared. Grading can remain here +in the golden mean and will be beneficial to pupils and teachers alike. +The pupils thus graded will have more time for recitation and +instruction, and teachers will have more time to do efficient work. In +the one-room rural school one teacher usually has eight grades and often +more, and sometimes she is required to conduct thirty or forty different +recitations in a day. Under such conditions the lack of time prevents +the attainment of good results.</p> + +<p><b>Better Teachers.</b>—It is also true that, where a school is larger and +attains to more of a system, better teachers are sought and secured by +the authorities. As we have already said, the cities are able to bid +higher for the best trained teachers, so the country districts suffer in +the economic competition. But the consolidated school being organized, +equipped, and graded, and representing, as it does, a large community or +district, the tendency will be to secure as good teachers as possible. +This is helped along by the comparison and competition of teachers +working side by side within the walls of the same building. In such +schools, too, there is usually a principal, and he exercises the +function of selection and rejection in the choice of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> teachers. All this +conduces to the securing of good teachers in the consolidated center.</p> + +<p><b>Better Buildings and Inspection.</b>—Similar improvements are attained in +the building as a whole, in the individual rooms, and in the interior +equipment. Such buildings are usually planned by competent architects +and are more adequate in all their appointments. All things are subject +to inspection, both by the community and the authorities. It is natural +that such inspection and criticism will be satisfied only with the best; +and so the surroundings of pupils become much more favorable to their +mental, moral, and physical well-being than was possible in the isolated +one-room school building.</p> + +<p><b>Longer Terms.</b>—The same discussion, agitation, inspection, and +supervision will inevitably lead to longer terms of school. Whereas the +one-room schools usually average six and a half months of school per +year, the consolidated schools average over eight months. This is in +itself a most important gain.</p> + +<p><b>Regularity, Punctuality, and Attendance.</b>—The larger spirit and life of +the consolidated school induce greater punctuality and regularity of +attendance. When pupils are transported to school they are always on +time, and when they are members of a class where there is considerable +competition they attend school with great regularity. There are many +grown-up pupils in the district who would not go to the small schools, +but who will go to a larger school where they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> find their equals; and so +the school attendance is greatly increased. We have, then, the +advantages of greater punctuality, greater regularity, and more pupils +in attendance.</p> + +<p>The school spirit is abroad in the consolidated school district; people +are thinking and talking school. It becomes the customary and +fashionable thing to send children to school.</p> + +<p><b>Better Supervision.</b>—There is also much better supervision in the +consolidated school; for, in addition to the supervision given by the +county superintendent or his assistants, there is also the supervision +of the principal, or head teacher. This is in itself no small factor in +the making of a good school. Good supervision always makes strongly for +efficiency.</p> + +<p><b>The School as a Social Center.</b>—Other effects than those above mentioned +will necessarily follow. The consolidated school can and should become a +social center. There should be an assembly room for lectures, debates, +literary and musical entertainments, and meetings of all kinds. The +lecture hall should be provided with a stage, and good moving-picture +exhibitions might be given occasionally. There, also, the citizens may +gather to hear public questions discussed. It could thus become a civic +and social center as well as an educational center. All problems +affecting the welfare of the community might be presented here; the +people could assemble to listen to the discussion of political and other +social and public questions, which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> are the subjects of thought and of +conversation in the neighborhood. This is real social and educational +life.</p> + +<p><b>Better Roads.</b>—Not only does consolidation tend to all the above results +but it does many other things incidentally. It leads to the making of +better roads; for where a community has to travel frequently it will +provide good roads. This is one of the crying needs of the day +throughout the country.</p> + +<p><b>Consolidation Coming Everywhere.</b>—Consolidation is now under way in +almost every state of the Union and wherever tried it has almost +invariably succeeded. In but very few places have rural communities +abandoned the educational, social, and civic center, and gone back to +their former state of isolation and deadly routine.</p> + +<p><b>The Married Teacher and Permanence.</b>—In order to make the consolidated +school a success, the policy will have to be adopted in America of +building, at or near the school, a residence for the teacher, and of +selecting as teacher a married man, who will make his home there among +the people whose children he is to teach. Such a teacher should be a +real community leader in every way, and his tenure of service should be +permanent. Grave and specific reasons only should effect his removal. +With single men and women it is impossible to secure the permanence of +tenure that is desirable and necessary to the educational and social +welfare of a school and a community. This has been demonstrated over and +over again, and foreign<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> countries are far ahead of us in this respect. +Such a real leader and teacher will, it is true, command a high salary; +but a good home, permanence of position, a small tract of land for +garden and field purposes, and the coming policy everywhere of an +"insurance and retirement fund" would offer great inducements to strong +men to take up their abode and cast their lot in such educational and +community centers.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2><div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents</a></div> + +<h3>THE TEACHER</h3> + + +<p><b>The Greatest Factor.</b>—Now, although we may have a beautiful school +campus, an adequate and artistic building, a library, laboratories and +workshops with all necessary physical or material appointments complete, +we may yet have a poor school; these things, however desirable, will not +teach alone. The teacher is the mainspring, the soul of the school; the +"plant," as it may be called, is only the body. A great person is one +with a great soul, not necessarily with a great body. Hence it is that a +great teacher with poor buildings and inferior equipments is +incomparably better than great buildings and equipments without a +competent teacher.</p> + +<p><b>What Education Is.</b>—Education is essentially and largely the stimulation +and transformation of one mind or personality by another. It is the +impression of one great mind or soul upon another, giving it a manner of +spirit, a bent, an attitude, as well as a thirst for knowledge. This is +too often lost sight of in the complexity of things. Many people are +inclined to think that educational equipment and machinery alone will +educate. There is nothing further from the truth.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> Mark Hopkins would be +a great teacher without equipment; buildings, grounds, apparatus, and +laboratories will not really educate without a great personality behind +the desk. There is probably nothing more inspiring, more suggesting, +more stimulating, or more transforming than intimate contact with great +minds. Thought like water seeks its level, and for children to come into +living and loving communication with a great teacher is a real uplift +and an education in itself.</p> + +<p>As a saw will not saw without some extraneous power to give it motion, +neither will the gun do execution without the man behind it. The +locomotive is not greater than the man at the throttle, and the ship +without the man at the helm flounders aimlessly upon the sea. Just so, a +great personality must be behind the teacher's desk or there cannot be +in any sense a real school.</p> + +<p><b>What the Real Teacher Is.</b>—The true teacher is an inspirer; that is, he +breathes into his pupils his spirit, his love of learning, his method of +study, his ideals. He is a real leader in every way. Children—and we +are all children to a certain extent—are great imitators, and so the +pupils tend to become like the teacher.</p> + +<p>The true teacher stimulates to activity by example. Where you find such +a teacher, things are constantly "doing"; people are thinking and +talking school all the time; education is in the atmosphere. The real +teacher is, to use a popular phrase, a "live wire." Something new is +undertaken every day. He is a man of initiative<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> and push, and withal he +is a man of sincerity and tact. While he is retrospective and +circumspective he is also prospective—he is a man of the far-look-ahead +type.</p> + +<p><b>A Hypnotist.</b>—The teacher is in the true sense a suggester of good +things. He is an educational hypnotist. The longer I continue to teach +the more am I impressed with the fact that suggestion is the great art +of the teacher. Hence the true teacher is the leader and not the driver.</p> + +<p><b>Untying Knots.</b>—A man once said that the best lesson he ever learned in +school was the lesson of "untying knots." He meant, of course, that +every problem that was thrown to the school by the teacher was "tackled" +in the right spirit by the pupils. They investigated it and analyzed it; +they peered into it and through it to find all the strands of +relationship existing in it. It would be easier, of course, for the +teacher under these circumstances merely to cut the knot and have it all +done with, but this would be poor teaching. This would be <i>telling</i>, not +teaching. This would lead to passivity and not to activity on the part +of the pupils. And it may be said here that constant and too much +<i>telling</i> is probably the greatest and most widespread mistake in +teaching. Teachers are constantly cutting the knots for children who +should be left to untie them for themselves. To untie a knot is to see +through and through a subject, to see all around it, to see the various +relations of its parts and, consequently, to understand it. This is +solving a problem;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> it is <i>dissolving</i> it; that is, the problem becomes +a part of the pupil's own mind, and, having made it a part of himself, +he understands it and never forgets it.</p> + +<p>This is the difference between not being able to remember and not being +able to forget. In the former case the so-called knowledge is not a part +of oneself; it is not vital. The roots do not penetrate beneath the +surface of our minds; they are, as it were, merely stuck on; the mental +sap does not circulate. In the latter case the knowledge is real; it is +alive and growing; there is a vital connection between it and ourselves. +It would be as difficult to tear it from us as it would to have our +hearts torn out and still live.</p> + +<p><b>Too Much Kindness.</b>—An illustration of the same point appears in the +following incident. A boy who owned a pet squirrel thought it a kindness +to the squirrel to crack all the nuts for it. The consequence was that +the squirrel's incisors, above and below, grew so long that they +overlapped and the animal could not eat anything. Too many teachers are +so kind to their pupils that they crack all the educational nuts for +them, with the consequence that the children become passive and die +mentally for want of activity. The true teacher will allow his pupils to +wrestle with their problems without interruption until they arrive at a +conclusion. If some pupil "goes into the ditch" and flounders he should +usually be allowed to get out by his own efforts as best he can. Here is +the place where the teacher "should be cruel only to be kind."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p> + +<p><b>The Button Illustration.</b>—Another illustration may help to bring to us +one of the characteristics of the really good teacher. When children, we +have all, no doubt, amused ourselves by putting a string through two +holes of a button and, after twirling it around between our thumbs, +drawing it steadily in measured fashion so as to make the button spin +and hum. If the string is drawn properly this will be successful; +otherwise it will become a perfect snarl. This common experience has +often seemed to me to typify two different kinds of school. In one, +where there is a great teacher "drawing" the school properly, you will +hear, incidentally, the hum of industry, for all are active. A school +which may be thus characterized is always better than the one +characterized by silence and inaction. A little noise—in fact a +considerable noise—is not inconsistent with a good school, and it +frequently happens that what we call "the silence of death" is due to +fear, which is always paralyzing.</p> + +<p><b>The Chariot Race.</b>—Still another illustration may help to make clear +what is meant by a good school and a good teacher. Lew Wallace, in his +account of the chariot race, makes Ben Hur and his rival approach the +goal with their horses neck and neck. He says that Ben Hur, in getting +the best out of his steeds, <i>sent his will out along the reins</i>. A +really spirited horse responds to the throb of his driver's hand upon +the rein. A good driver gets the best out of his horse; he and his horse +are in accord and the horse takes as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> much pride in the performance as +the driver does. This is analogously true of a good school.</p> + +<p>The schoolroom is not a complete democracy—in fact, it is not a +democracy at all in the lower grades; it is or should be a benevolent +autocracy. The teacher within the schoolroom is the law-making body, the +interpreter of the laws, and the executor of the laws. The good teacher +does all this justly and kindly, and so elicits the admiration, the +respect, and the active support of the governed. He sends his will out +along the reins. Some schools—those with great teachers in charge—are +in this condition; they are coming in under full speed toward the goal, +guided by a master whose will stimulates the pupils to the greatest +voluntary activity. Other schools, we are sorry to say, illustrate the +conditions where the reins are over the dashboard and the school is +running away, pell-mell!</p> + +<p><b>Physically Sound.</b>—What are some of the characteristic attributes or +traits which a masterful and inspiring teacher should possess? In the +first place he should be physically sound. It may seem like a lack of +charity to say, and yet it is true, that any serious physical defect +should militate against, if not bar, one from the schoolroom. Any +serious blemish or noticeable defect becomes to pupils an ever-present +suggestive picture, and to some extent must work against, rather than +for, education. Other things being equal, those who are personally +attractive and have the most agreeable manners should be chosen. Since +children are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> extremely plastic and impressionable, and so susceptible +to the influence of ideas and ideals, beauty and perfection should, +whenever possible, be the attributes of the person who is to guide and +fashion them.</p> + +<p><b>Character.</b>—A teacher should be morally sound; he should "ring true." +One can give only what one has. A liar cannot teach veracity; a +dishonest person can not teach honesty; the impure cannot teach purity. +One may deceive for a time, but in the long run the echo of what we are, +and hence what we can give, will be returned. It is often thought that +children are better judges of moral defects and of shams than are grown +people; but, while this is not true, it is nevertheless a fact that many +children, in a short time, divine or sense the true moral nature of the +teacher. Children appreciate justice and will endure and even welcome +severity if they know that justice is coupled with it. They are not +averse to being governed with a firm hand. If pupils are allowed to do +just as they please they may go home at the close of the first day, +saying that they had a "lovely time" and liked their teacher, but in a +very few days they will tire of it and begin to complain.</p> + +<p><b>Well Educated.</b>—We need not, of course, contend at any length that a +teacher should be well educated, in the academic sense of the word. In +order to teach well, one must understand his subject thoroughly. It is +quite generally held that a teacher should be at least four years in +advance, academically, of the pupils<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> whom he is to teach. Whether this +is true or not in particular cases, the fact remains that the teacher +should be full of his subject, should be at home in it, and should be +able to illustrate it in its various phases; he should be free to stand +before his class without textbook in hand and to give instruction from a +full and accurate mind. There is probably nothing that so destroys the +confidence of pupils as the lamentable spectacle of seeing the teacher +compelled at every turn to refer to the book for verification of the +answers given. It is a sign of pitiable weakness. If a distinction is to +be made between knowledge and wisdom a true teacher should be possessed +of the latter to a considerable extent. He should also have prudence, or +practical wisdom. Wisdom and prudence imply that fine perspective which +gives a person balance and tact in all situations. It should be noted +that there is a policy, or diplomacy, in a good sense, which does not in +any way conflict with principle; and the true teacher should have the +knowledge, the wisdom, and the tact to do and to say the right thing at +the right time and to leave unsaid and undone many, many things.</p> + +<p><b>Professional Preparation.</b>—In addition to a thorough knowledge of +subject matter every teacher should have had some professional +preparation for his work. Teaching, like government, is one of the most +complicated of arts, and to engage in it without any previous study of +its problems, its principles, and its methods seems like foolhardiness. +There are scores, if not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> hundreds, of topics and problems which should +be thought out and talked over before the teacher engages in actual work +in the schoolroom. When the solutions of these problems have become a +part of his own mind, they will come to his rescue as occasion demands; +and, although much must be learned by experience, a sound knowledge of +the fundamental principles of education and teaching will always throw +much light upon practical procedure. It is true that theory without +practice is often visionary, but it is equally true that practice +without any previous knowledge, or theory, is very often blind.</p> + +<p><b>Experience.</b>—In addition to the foregoing qualifications the teacher, in +order to be really masterful, must have had some—indeed +considerable—actual experience. It is this that gives confidence and +firmness to all our procedure. The young lawyer when he appears at the +bar, to plead his first case, finds his knees knocking together; but +after a few months or years of practice he acquires ease, confidence, +and mastery in his work. The same is true of the physician and the +teacher. Some successful experience always counts for much. School +boards, however, often over-estimate <i>mere</i> experience. Poor experience +may be worse than none; and some good superintendents are willing, and +often prefer, to select promising candidates without experience, and +then train or build them up into the kind of teachers they wish them to +become.</p> + +<p><b>Choosing a Teacher.</b>—If I were a member of a school<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> board in a country +district where there is either a good one-room school or a consolidated +school, I should go about securing a good teacher somewhat as follows: I +should keep, so to speak, my "weather eye" open for a teacher who had +become known to some extent in all the surrounding country; one who had +made a name and a reputation for himself. I should inquire, in regard to +this teacher, of the county superintendent and of his supervising +officers. I should make this my business; and then, if I should become +convinced that such a person was the one needed in our school, and if I +had the authority to act, I should employ such a person regardless of +wages or salary. If after a term or two this teacher should make a +satisfactory record, I would then promote him, unsolicited, and endeavor +to keep him as long as he would stay.</p> + +<p><b>A "Scoop."</b>—Sometimes there is considerable rivalry among the newspapers +of a city. The editors or local reporters watch for what they call a +"scoop." This is a piece of news that will be very much sought by the +public and which remains unknown to the people or, in fact, to the other +papers until it appears in the one that has discovered it. This is +analogous to what I should try to do in securing a teacher: I should try +to get a veritable educational "scoop" on all the other districts of the +surrounding country. The only way to secure such persons is for some +individual or for the school board to make this a specific business. In +the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> country districts this might be done by one of the leading +directors; in a consolidated school, by the principal or superintendent. +If it is true that "as the teacher so is the school," it is likewise +true that as is the principal or superintendent so are the teachers.</p> + +<p><b>What Makes the Difference.</b>—It will be found that a small difference in +salary will frequently make all the difference between a worthless and +an excellent teacher. It is often the ten or fifteen dollars a month +additional which secures the prize teacher; and so I should make the +difference in salary a secondary consideration; for, after all, the +difference amounts to very little in the taxation on the whole +community.</p> + +<p><b>A Question of Teachers.</b>—The question of teachers is the real problem in +education, from the primary school to the great universities. It is the +poor teaching of poor teachers everywhere that sets at naught the +processes of education; and when the American people, and especially the +rural people, realize that this is the heart and center of their +problem, and when they realize also that the difference, financially, +between a poor teacher and a good one is so small, they will rise to the +occasion and proceed to a correct solution of their problem.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2><div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents</a></div> + +<h3>THE THREE INSEPARABLES</h3> + + +<p>In the preceding chapter we discussed the type of person that should be +in evidence everywhere in the teaching profession. Such a type is +absolutely necessary to the attainment of genuine success. In rural +schools this type is by no means too common, and in the whole field of +elementary and higher education it is much more rare than it should be. +Because of the frequent appearance of the opposite type in colleges and +in other schools, the teacher and the professor have been often +caricatured to their discredit. There is usually some truth underlying a +caricature; a cartoon would lack point if it did not possess a +substratum of fact.</p> + +<p><b>The "Mode."</b>—Now, there is often in the public mind this poorer type of +teacher; and when an idea or an ideal, however low, becomes once +established, it is changed only with difficulty. The commonplace +individual, the mediocre type of man or of woman, is by many regarded as +a fairly typical representative of what the teacher usually is; or, as +the statistician would express it, he is the "mode" rather than the +average. The "mode" in any class of objects or of individuals<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> is the +one that occurs oftenest, the one most frequently met with. And so this +inactive, nondescript sort of person is often thought of as the typical +teacher. He has no very high standing either financially or socially, +and so has no great influence on the individuals around him or on the +community in general. This conception has become so well established in +the public mind, and is so frequently met with, that all teachers are +regarded as being of the same type. The better teachers, the strong +personalities, are brought into this same class and must suffer the +consequences.</p> + +<p><b>The "Mode" in Labor.</b>—This same process of classifying individuals may +be seen in other spheres also. In some sections of the country it is the +method of estimating the worth of laboring men; all in the same class +are considered equal; all of a class are reduced to the same level and +paid the same wages. One man can do and often does the work of two or +three men, and does it better; yet he must labor for the same common +wage.</p> + +<p><b>The "Mode" in Educational Institutions.</b>—The same is to a great extent +true of the popular estimate of educational institutions. In the public +mind an institution is merely an "institution." One is thought of as +doing practically the same work as another; so when institutions come +before legislatures for financial recognition in the way of +appropriations, one institution is considered as deserving as another. +The great public is not keen in its discriminations, whether<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> it be a +case of educational institutions, of laboring men, or of teachers.</p> + +<p><b>No "Profession."</b>—The fact is that, in the lower ranks of the teachers' +calling, there is really no <i>profession</i>. The personality of many who +engage in the work is too ordinary to professionalize any calling.</p> + +<p><b>Weak Personalities.</b>—This condition of affairs has grown partly out of +the fact that we have not, in the different states and in the country at +large, a sufficiently high standard. The examinations are not +sufficiently extensive and intensive to separate the sheep from the +goats. The unqualified thus rush in and drive out the qualified, for the +efficient cannot compete with the inefficient. The calling is in no +sense a "closed" profession, and consequently in the lower ranks it is +scarcely a profession at all.</p> + +<p><b>Low Standard.</b>—There is also established in the public mind a certain +standard, or test, for common school teaching. This standard has been +current so long that it has become quite stable, and it seems almost +impossible to change it. As in the case of some individuals when they +become possessed of an idea, it is almost impossible to dispossess the +social mind of this low standard.</p> + +<p><b>The Norm of Wages Too Low.</b>—In regard to the wages of teachers it may be +said that there is fixed in the social mind also, a certain <i>norm</i>. As +in the case of personality and of standard qualifications, a certain +amount of wages has long been regarded as representing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> the sum which a +teacher ought to receive. For rural schools this is probably about fifty +dollars a month; in fact, in most states the average wage paid to rural +school teachers is below that amount. But let us say that fifty dollars +is the amount that has become established in the popular mind as a +reasonable salary. Here, as in the other cases, it is very difficult to +change ideas established by long custom. For many years people have been +accustomed to think of teachers receiving certain salaries, and they +refuse to consider any higher sums as appropriate. This, of course, is +an egregious blunder. The rural schools can never be lifted above their +present plane of efficiency until these three conceptions, (1) that of +personality, (2) that of standard, and, (3) that of wages, are revised +in the public mind. There will have to be a great revolution in the +thought of the people in regard to these inseparable things.</p> + +<p><b>The Inseparables.</b>—The fact is that, (1) strong personalities, (2) a +high standard of qualifications, (3) and a respectable salary go hand in +hand. They rise and fall together; they are reactive, one upon the +other. The strong personality implies the ability to meet a high +standard and demands reasonable compensation. The same is true of the +high standard—it selects the strong personality and this in turn cannot +be secured except at a good salary. It may be maintained that if school +boards really face the question in earnest, and are willing to offer +good salaries,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> strong personalities who are able to meet that high +standard can always be secured. Professor Hugo Münsterberg says: "Our +present civilization shows that in every country really decisive +achievement is found only in those fields which draw the strongest +minds, and that they are drawn only where the greatest premiums are +tempting them."<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> + +<p><b>Raise the Standard First.</b>—The best way, then, to attack the problem is, +first, to raise the standard. This will eliminate inferior teachers and +retain or attract those of superior qualifications. It is to be +regretted that we have not, in the United States, a more uniform +standard for teaching in the common schools. Each state has its own +laws, its own standard. It would not, we think, be asking too much to +provide that no person should teach in any grade of school, rural or +elementary, in the United States, unless such person has had a course +for teachers equivalent to at least three years of work in the high +school or normal school, with pedagogical preparation and training. In +fact, a national law making such a uniform standard among the teachers +in the common schools of the country would be an advantage. But this is +probably more than we can expect in the near future. As it is, there +should be a conference of the educational authorities in each state to +agree upon a standard for teaching, with a view to uniform state +legislation.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p> + +<p><b>More Men.</b>—One of the great needs of the calling is more men. There was +a time when all teachers were men; now nearly all teachers are women. +There is as much reason for one condition as for the other. Without +going into an analysis of the situation or the causes which make it +desirable that there should be more men in the teaching profession, it +is, we think, generally granted that the conditions would be better, +educationally, socially, and every other way, if the number of men and +women in the work were about evenly divided.</p> + +<p><b>Coöperation Needed.</b>—Educational movements and influences have spread +downward and outward from above. The great universities of the world +were established before the secondary and elementary school systems came +into existence. Thought settles down from leaders who are in high +places. We have shown in a former chapter that the state universities, +the agricultural colleges, the normal schools, and the high schools have +had a wonderful development within the last generation, while the rural +school has too often lagged perceptibly behind. The country districts +have helped to support in every way the development of the higher +schools; now an excellent opportunity presents itself for all the higher +and secondary educational influences to unite in helping to advance the +interests and increase the efficiency of the rural schools.</p> + +<p><b>The Supply.</b>—The question is sometimes asked whether the right kind of +teachers can be secured, if<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> higher salaries are offered. There can be +no doubt at all on this point. Where the demand exists and where there +is sufficient inducement offered, the supply is always forthcoming. Men +are always at hand to engage in the most menial and even the most +dangerous occupations if a sufficient reward, financial or otherwise, is +offered. For high wages men are induced to work in factories where +mercury must be handled and where it is well known that life is +shortened many years as a consequence. Men are secured to work long +hours in the presence of red-hot blast furnaces and in the lowest depths +of the holds of ships. Can it be possible that with a reasonable salary +the strongest kind of men would not be attracted to a calling that has +as many points of interest and as many attractions as teaching?</p> + +<p><b>Make It Fashionable.</b>—A great deal depends upon making any work or any +calling fashionable. All that is needed is for the tide to turn in that +direction. It is difficult to say how much salary will stop the outward +tide and cause it to set in the other direction; but one thing is +certain, we shall never completely solve the rural school problem until +the tide turns.</p> + +<p><b>The Retirement System.</b>—Strong personalities will, then, help to make +teaching attractive and fashionable, as well as effectual. There is a +movement now becoming quite extensive which will also add to the +attractiveness of the teacher's calling. A system or plan of insurance +and retirement is now being installed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> in many states for the benefit of +teachers who become incapacitated or who have taught a certain period of +time. This plan gives a feeling of contentment, and also a feeling of +security against the stress and needs of old age, which will do much to +hold strong people in the profession. The fear of being left penniless +in later life and dependent upon others or upon the state, induces, +without doubt, a great many persons to leave a calling so poorly paid, +in order that they may, in more generous vocations, lay something by for +"a rainy day." The truth of this is borne in upon us more strongly when +we remember that teaching is different from law, medicine, or other +professions. In these vocations a man's service usually becomes more and +more in demand as he advances in years, on account of the reputation and +experience he has gained; while in teaching, when a person arrives at +the middle line of life or after, school boards begin to say and to +think, that he is getting too old for the schoolroom, and so they seek +for younger talent. The consequence is that the good and faithful public +servant who has given the best years of his life to the education of the +young is left stranded in old age without an occupation and without +money. The insurance and retirement fund plan is a movement in the right +direction and will do something to help turn the tide of strong +personalities toward the teachers' calling.</p> + +<p><b>City and Country Salaries—Effects.</b>—The average<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> salary for rural +school teachers in one state I find to be $45 a month. In that same +state the average salary of teachers in the city and town schools is $55 +a month. Now, under such conditions, it is very difficult to secure a +good corps of teachers for the rural schools. If the ratio were reversed +and the rural schools paid $55 a month, while the cities and towns paid +only $45, there would be more chance of each securing teachers of equal +ability. Even then, teachers would prefer to go to the city at the lower +salary on account of the additional attractions and conveniences and the +additional facilities and opportunities of every kind for +self-improvement.</p> + +<p>In the state referred to, the average salary of all teachers in the +common schools was $51 a month. It is utterly impossible to realize a +"profession" on such a financial basis as this. Forty-five or fifty +dollars a month for rural teachers is altogether too low. This must be +raised fifty, if not one hundred per cent, in order that a beginning may +be made in the solution of the rural school problem. Where $50 a month +seems to be the going wage, if school boards would offer $75 and then +see to it that the persons whom they hire are efficient, an attempt at +the solution of the problem in that district or neighborhood would be +made. Is it possible that any good, strong, educated, and cultured +person can be secured for less than $75 a month? If in such a district +there were eight months of school this would mean only 8 x $25,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> or $200 +more than had been paid previously. For ten sections of land this would +mean about $20 a section, or $5 a quarter section, in addition to what +they had been paying with unsatisfactory results.</p> + +<p>This sum often represents the difference between a poor school and a +good school. With a fifty-dollar teacher, constructive work was likely +lacking. There was little activity in the neighborhood; the pupils or +the people had not been fully waked up. There had not been enough +thinking and talking of education and of schools, enough reading, or +talking about books, about education, about things of the higher life. +Under the seventy-five-dollar teacher, wisely chosen, all this is +changed.</p> + +<p><b>The Solution Demands More.</b>—Instead of $75, a community should pay to a +wide-awake person, who takes hold of a situation in a neighborhood and +keeps things moving, at least $100 a month. With nine months' school +this would mean $900; and it is strange, indeed, if a person in the +prime of life who has spent many years in the preparation of his work, +and who has initiative and push, is not worth $100 a month for nine +months in the year. To such a person the people of that neighborhood +intrust their dearest and priceless possessions—their own children. If +we remember that, as the twig is bent the tree is inclined, there need +be no hesitation about the value of efficient teaching during the +plastic period of childhood. In fact, it may easily be maintained that +the salary should<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> be even higher than this. But, if this be so, how far +are we at present from even a beginning of the solution of our rural +school problem!</p> + +<p><b>A Good School Board.</b>—A good school board is one whose members are alive +to their duties and wide-awake to the problems of education. They are +men or women who have an intelligent grasp of the situation and who will +earnestly attempt to solve the educational problems of school and of +life in their community.</p> + +<p><b>Board and Teacher.</b>—If a poor teacher and a good school board are +brought together the chances are that they will soon part company. A +good school board will not retain a poor teacher longer than it is +compelled to do so. A poor school board and a good teacher will also +part company, for the good teacher will not stay; he will leave and find +relief as soon as possible. Under a poor school board and a poor teacher +nothing will be done; the children, instead of being educated, will be +de-educated. Quarrels and dissensions will be created in the +neighborhood and a miserable condition, educationally and socially, will +prevail. If a good school board and a good teacher join hands, the +problem is solved, or at least is in a fair way to being solved. This +last condition will mean an interested school, a united neighborhood, a +live, wide-awake, and happy community.</p> + +<p><b>The Ideal.</b>—It is as impossible to describe a successful solution of the +problems of any particular school as it is to paint the lily, the rose, +or the rainbow.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> All are equally indescribable and intangible, but +nevertheless the more real, potent, and inspiring on that account. Such +a situation means the presence of a strong life, a strong mind, and a +strong hand exemplifying ideals every day. This is education, this is +growth, this is real life.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Psychology and Social Sanity, p. 82.</p></div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX</h2><div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents</a></div> + +<h3>THE RURAL SCHOOL CURRICULUM</h3> + + +<p><b>Imitation.</b>—There are two processes by which all progress is attained, +namely, imitation and invention. Imitation is found everywhere, in all +spheres of thought and of action. Children are great imitators, and +adults are only children grown up. Imitation, of course, is a necessary +thing. Without it no use could be made of past experience. When it +conserves and propagates the good it is to be commended; but the +worthless and the bad are often imitated also. As imitation is necessary +for the preservation of past experience, so invention is equally +essential in blazing new paths of thought and of action. It is probably +true that all persons are more prone to imitation than to invention.</p> + +<p><b>The Country Imitates the City.</b>—The rural schools have always imitated +the city schools, as rural life attempts to imitate city life. Many of +the books used in rural schools have been written largely with city +conditions in mind and by authors who have been city bred or city won. +These books have about them the atmosphere and the flavor of the city. +Their selections as a rule contain references and allusions<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> without +number to city life, and give a cityward bent; their connotation and +attitude tend to direct the mind toward the city. As a consequence even +school textbooks have been potent aids in the urban trend.</p> + +<p><b>Textbooks.</b>—It is not urged that the subject matter of textbooks be made +altogether rural in its applications and references. The books should +not be completely <i>ruralized</i>; nor should there be two sets of books, +one for the country and one for the city. But there should be a more +even balance between the city aspect and the rural aspect of textbooks, +whether used in the country or in the city. If some of the texts now +used were rewritten with the purpose of attaining that balance, they +would greatly assist the curriculum in both country and city schools. +There is no reason why city children should not have their minds touched +by the life, the thought, and the activities of the country; and it is +granted that country children should be made conscious and cognizant of +the life, the thought, and the activities of the city. There is no more +reason why textbooks should carry the urban message, than that they +should be dominantly ruralizing.</p> + +<p><b>An Interpreting Core.</b>—The experiences of country children are of all +kinds; rural life, thought, and aspirations constitute the very +development of their consciousness and minds. In all their practical +experiences rural life and thought form the anchorage of their later +academic instruction. This early experience<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> constitutes what the +Herbartians term their "apperception mass"; and children, as well as +grown-ups, can interpret new matter only in terms of the old. The +experiences of the child, which constitute his world of thought, of +discourse, and of action, are the only means by which he grasps and +interprets new thought and experience. Consequently, the texts which +rural children use should make a strong appeal to their apperception +mass—to their old stock and store of knowledge. It is the textbooks +that bring to the old knowledge new mental material which the teacher +and the textbook together attempt to communicate to the children. +Without an interpreting center—a stock and store of old knowledge which +constitute the very mental life of the child—it is impossible for him +to assimilate the new. The old experiences are, in fact, the mental +digestive apparatus of the child. Without this center, or core, the new +instead of being assimilated is, so to speak, merely stuck on. This is +the case with much of the subject matter in city-made texts. It does not +<i>grow</i>, but soon withers and falls away. It is, then, essential that the +textbooks used in rural schools should have the rural bent and +application, the rural flavor, the rural beck and welcome.</p> + +<p><b>Rural Teachers from the City.</b>—A great many teachers of country schools +come from the city. A number of these are young girls having, without +blame on their part, the tone and temper, the attitude, spirit, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> +training which the city gives. Their minds have been <i>urbanized</i>; all +their thoughts are city thoughts. The textbooks which they have used +have been city textbooks; their teachers have for the most part been +those in or from the city. It can scarcely be expected that such +teachers can do for the rural districts all that ought to be done. Very +naturally they inspire some of the children with the idea of ultimately +going to the city. This suggestion and this inspiration are given +unconsciously, but in the years of childhood they take deep root and +sooner or later work themselves out in an additional impetus to the +urban trend.</p> + +<p><b>A Course for Rural Teachers.</b>—What is needed is a course of instruction +for rural teachers, in every state of the Union. In some states the +agricultural colleges have inaugurated a movement to this end. In such +colleges, agricultural high schools, and institutions of a similar kind +in every state, a three-year course for teachers above the eighth year, +specially designed to prepare them for rural school teaching, should be +established. Such a school would furnish the proper atmosphere and the +proper courses of instruction to suffuse the minds of these prospective +teachers with appreciation and love of country life and rural school +work.</p> + +<p><b>All Not to Remain in the Country.</b>—It is not contended here that all who +are born and brought up in the country ought to remain there for life. +Many writers and speakers preach the gospel of "the country<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> for country +children," but this cannot be sound. Each one, as the years go by, +should "find" himself and his own proper place. There are many children +brought up in the country who find their place best in the heart of the +great city; and there are many brought up in the cities who ultimately +find themselves and their place in the country and in its work. While +all this is true it may still be maintained that the proper mental food +for country children is the life and the activities of the country; and +if this life and these activities are made pleasant and attractive a +larger percentage of country children will remain in the country for the +benefit of both country and city.</p> + +<p><b>Mere Textbook Teaching.</b>—Many teachers in the country, as well as in the +city, follow literally the textbooks provided for them. Textbooks, being +common and general, must leave the application of the thought largely to +the teacher. To follow them is probably the easiest kind of teaching, +for the mind then moves along the line of least resistance. Accordingly +the tendency is merely to teach textbooks, without libraries, +laboratories, and other facilities for the application of the thought of +the text. Application and illustration are always difficult. It +frequently happens that children go through their textbooks under the +guidance of their more or less mechanical teachers, without making any +application of their knowledge. Their learning seems to be stored away +in pigeonholes and never used again. That in one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> pigeonhole does not +mix with that in another. Their thoughts and their education in +different fields are in no sense united. Pupils are surprised if they +are asked or expected to use their knowledge in any practical manner. A +man who had a tank, seven feet in diameter and eight feet high, about +half full of gasoline, asked his daughter, who was completing the eighth +grade, to figure out for him how many gallons it contained. She had just +been over "weights and measures" and "denominate numbers" of all kinds. +After much figuring she returned the answer that there were in it about +seven and one half gallons, without ever suspecting the ridiculousness +of the result.</p> + +<p><b>A Rich Environment.</b>—The country is so rich in material of all kinds for +scientific observation, that some education should be given to the rural +child in this field. Agriculture and its various activities surround the +child; nature teems with life, both animal and vegetable; the country +furnishes long stretches of meadow and woodland for observation and +study. Yet in most places the children are blind to the beauties and +wonders around them. Nature study in such an environment should be a +fascinating subject, and agriculture is full of possibilities for the +application of the thought in the textbooks.</p> + +<p><b>Who Will Teach These Things?</b>—But who will teach these new sciences or +open the eyes of the child to the beauties around him? Not everyone can +do it. It will require a master. Teaching "at" these things<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> in a dull, +perfunctory way will do no good. It would be better to leave them +untaught. We have, everywhere, too much "attempting" to teach and not +enough teaching, too much seeming and not enough being, too much +appearance and not enough reality.</p> + +<p>An example will illustrate the author's meaning. Some years ago an +experienced institute conductor in a western state found himself the +sole instructor when the teachers of the county convened. He sought +among the teachers for someone who could and would give him assistance. +One man of middle age, who had taught for many years, volunteered to +take the subject of arithmetic and to give four lessons of forty minutes +each in it during the week. This was good news to the conductor; he +congratulated himself on having found some efficient help. His +assistant, however, after talking on arithmetic for ten minutes of his +first period, reached the limit of his capacity, either of thought or of +expression, and had to stop. He could not say another word on that +subject during the week! Now if this is true of an experienced +middle-aged teacher of a subject so universally taught as arithmetic, +how much more true must it be of an instructor in a subject like +agriculture. It should not be expected that a young girl, eighteen or +twenty years of age, who has probably been brought up in the city and +who has had the subject of agriculture only one period a day for a year, +can give any adequate instruction in that branch. She would be the butt +for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> ridicule among the practical boys and girls in the country who +would probably know more about such things than she. She would, +therefore, lose the respect and confidence of pupils and parents, and it +would really be better for her and for all concerned not to attempt the +teaching of that subject at all. What is worth doing at all is worth +doing well. A little instruction well given and well applied is worth +any amount of "stuff" poorly done and unapplied.</p> + +<p><b>The Scientific Spirit Needed.</b>—There is great need of teachers who are +thoroughly imbued with the scientific spirit. In the country especially +there is need of teachers who will rouse the boys and girls to the +investigation of problems from the facts at hand and all around them. +This should be done inductively and in an investigative spirit. Our +whole system of education seems somewhat vitiated by the deductive +attitude and method of teaching—the assuming of theories handed down by +the past, without investigation or verification. This is the kind of +teaching which has paralyzed China for untold generations. The easiest +thing to do is to accept something which somebody else has formulated +and then, without further ado, to be content with it. The truly +scientific mind, the investigative mind, is one that starts with facts +or phenomena and, after observing a sufficient number of them, +formulates a conclusion and tests it. This will result in real +thinking—which is the same as "thinging." It is putting <i>things</i> into +causal relation<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> and constructing from them, unity out of diversity. To +induce this habit of thought, to inspire this spirit of investigation +and observation in children is the essence of teaching. To teach is to +cause others to <i>think</i>, and the man or woman who does this is a +successful teacher.</p> + +<p><b>A Course of Study.</b>—There should be in every rural school a simple and +suggestive course of study. This should not be as large as a textbook. +The purpose of it is not to indicate at great length and in detail +either the matter or the manner of teaching any specific subject. It +should be merely an outline of the metes and bounds in the processes and +the progress of pupils through the grades. The course of study should be +a means, not an end; it should be a servant and not a master. It should +not entail upon the school or upon the teacher a vast complicated +machinery or an endless routine of red tape. If it does this it defeats +its true aim. Here again the country schools have attempted to imitate +the city schools. In all cities grading is much more systematized, and +is pushed to a greater extent than it is or should be in the country. +Owing to the necessities of the situation and also to the convenience of +the plan in the cities, the grades, with their appropriate books, amount +of work, and plan of procedure, are much more definite than is possible +or desirable in the country. To grade the country schools as definitely +and as systematically as is done in the city would be to do them an +irreparable injury. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> country would make a great mistake to imitate +the city school systems in its courses of study.</p> + +<p><b>Red Tape.</b>—It sometimes happens that county and state superintendents, +in performing the duties of their office, think it necessary to impose +upon the country schools a variety of tests, examinations, reports, and +what-not, which accomplish but little and may result in positive injury. +To pile up complications and intricacies having no practical educational +value is utterly useless. It indicates the lack of a true conception of +the school situation. Such haphazard methods will not teach alone any +more than a saw will saw alone. Behind it all must be the simple, great +teacher, and for him all these things, beyond a reasonable extent, are +hindrances to progress.</p> + +<p><b>Length of Term.</b>—In very many country districts the terms are frequently +only six months in the year. This should be extended to eight at least. +Even in this case, it gives the rural school a shorter term than the +city school, which usually has nine or ten months each year. But it is +very probable that the simplicity of rural school life and rural school +teaching will enable pupils to do as much in eight months as is done in +the city in nine.</p> + +<p><b>Individual Work.</b>—Individual work should be the rule in many subjects. +There is no need, on account of numbers, of a lock-step. In the cities, +where the teacher has probably an average of 35 to 40 children, all the +pupils are held together and in line. In such<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> cases the great danger is +to those above the average. There is the danger of forming what might be +called the "slow habit." The bright pupils are retarded in their work, +for they are capable of much more than they do. In such cases the +retardation is not on account of the inability of the pupil but on +account of the system. The bright ones are held back in line with the +slow. This need not be the case in rural schools. Here, in every subject +which lends itself to the plan, each pupil should be allowed to go as +far and as fast as he can, provided that he appreciates the thought, +solves the problems, and understands the work as he goes. I once knew a +large rural school in which there were enrolled about sixty pupils, +taking the subjects of all the grades, from the first to the eighth and +even some high school subjects. In such classes as arithmetic the pupils +were, so to speak, "turned loose" and all entered upon a race for the +goal. Each one did as much as he could, his attainments being subjected +to the test of examination. The plan worked excellently; no one was +retarded, and all were intensely busy.</p> + +<p><b>"Waking Up the Mind."</b>—The main thing in any school is not the amount of +knowledge which pupils get from textbooks or from the teacher, but the +extent to which the mind appropriates that knowledge and is "waked up" +by it. Mr. Page in his excellent classic, <i>The Theory and Practice of +Teaching</i>, has a chapter called "Waking Up the Mind" and some excellent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> +illustrations as to how it may be done. The main thing is not the amount +of mere knowledge or information held in memory for future delivery, but +the spirit and attitude of it all. The extent to which children's minds +are made awake and sensitive, and the extent to which they are inspired +to pursue with zest and spirit any new problem are the best criterions +of success in teaching. The spirit and method of attack is +all-important; quantity is secondary. If children have each other, so to +speak, "by the ears," over some problem from one day to the next, it +indicates that the school and the teacher are awake, that they are up +and doing, and that education, which is a process of leavening, is +taking place.</p> + +<p><b>The Overflow of Instruction.</b>—On account of the individual work which is +possible in the country schools, what is sometimes called the "overflow +of instruction" is an important factor in the stimulation and the +education of all the children in the room. In the city school, where all +are on a dead level, doing the same work, there is not much information +or inspiration descending from above, for there is no class above. But +in the rural school, children hear either consciously or unconsciously +much that is going on around them. They hear the larger boys and girls +recite and discuss many interesting things. These discussions wake up +minds by sowing the seeds which afterwards come to flower and fruit in +those who listen—in those who, in fact, cannot help hearing.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p> + +<p>I remember an incident which occurred during my experience as a pupil in +a country school. A certain county superintendent, who used to visit the +school periodically, was in the habit, on these occasions, of reading to +the school for probably half an hour. Just what he read I do not even +remember, but I recall vividly his quiet manner and attitude, his +beautiful and simple expression, and the whole tone and temper of the +man as he gathered the thought and expressed it so beautifully and so +artistically. This type of thing has great influence. It is often the +intangible thing that tells and that is valuable. In every case, that +which is most artistically done is probably that which leaves its +impression.</p> + +<p><b>Affiliation.</b>—In some states, notably in Minnesota, an excellent plan is +in vogue by which the schools surrounding a town or a city are +affiliated with the city schools in such a manner as to receive the +benefit of the instruction of certain special teachers from the city. +These teachers—of manual training, domestic science, agriculture, +etc.—are sent out from the city to these rural schools two or three +times a week, and in return the country children beyond a certain grade +are sent to the high school in the city. This is a process of +affiliation which is stimulating and economical, and can be encouraged +with good results.</p> + +<p><b>The "Liking Point."</b>—In the teaching of all subjects the important thing +is that the pupil reach what may be termed the "liking point." Until a +pupil has<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> reached that point in any subject of study his work is mere +drudgery—it is work which is probably disliked. The great problem for +the teacher is to bring the child as soon as possible to this liking +point, and then to keep him there. It is probable that every pupil can +be brought to the liking point of every subject by a good teacher. Where +there is difficulty in doing this, something has gone wrong somewhere, +either on the part of the pupil, his former teachers, his parents, or +his companions. When a pupil has reached the liking point it means that +he has a keen relish, an appetite for the subject, and in this condition +he will actively pursue it.</p> + + +<p class="figcenter"><img src="images/png115_figure-1.jpg" width="339" height="336" alt="A Christmas gathering at the new school" title="A Christmas gathering at the new school" /></p> +<p class="caption">A Christmas gathering at the new school</p> + + +<p class="figcenter"><img src="images/png115_figure-2.jpg" width="640" height="336" alt="A school garden in the larger center" title="A school garden in the larger center" /></p> +<p class="caption">A school garden in the larger center<br /> +<br /> +</p> + + + +<p><b>The Teacher the Chief Factor.</b>—The foregoing observations imply again +that the teacher, after all, is the great factor in the success of the +school. He is the "man behind the gun"; he is the engineer at the +throttle; he is the master at the helm; he is the guide, for he has been +over the road; he is the organizer, the center of things; he is the +mainspring; he is the soul of the school, and is greater than books or +courses of study. He is the living fire at which all the children must +light their torches. Again we ask, how can this kind of person be found? +Without him true education, in its best sense, cannot be secured; with +him the paltry consideration of salary should not enter. Without such +teachers there can be no solution of the rural school problems, nor, +indeed, of the rural life problems. With him and those of his class, +there is great hope.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X</h2><div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents</a></div> + +<h3>THE SOCIAL CENTER</h3> + + +<p>During the past few years we have heard much of what is called the +"social center," or the "community center," in rural districts. This +idea has grown with the spread of the consolidation of schools, and +means, as the name implies, a unifying, coördinating, organizing agency +of some kind in the midst of the community, to bring about a harmony and +solidity of all the interests there represented. It implies of course a +leader; for what is left to be done by people in general is likely to be +done poorly. There is no doubt that this idea should be encouraged and +promoted. People living in the country are of necessity forced to a life +of isolation. Their very work and position necessitate this, and +consequently it is all the more necessary that they should frequently +come together in order to know each other and to act together for the +benefit of all. "In union there is strength," but these people have +always been under a great disadvantage in every way, because they have +not organized for the purpose of united and effective coöperation.</p> + +<p><b>The Teacher, the Leader.</b>—There is no more appropriate person to bring +about this organization,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> this unification, this increased solidarity, +than the public school teacher of the community; but it will require the +head and the hand of a real master to lead a community—to organize it, +to unite it, and to keep it united. It requires a person of rare +strength and tact, a person who has a clear head and a large heart, and +who is "up and doing" all the time. A good second to such a person would +be the minister of the neighborhood, provided he has breadth of view and +a kindly and tolerant spirit. Much of the success of rural life in +foreign countries, notably in Denmark, is due to the combined efforts of +the schoolmaster and the minister of the community church.</p> + +<p><b>Some Community Activities.</b>—Let us suggest briefly some of the +activities that are conducive to the fuller life of such a social +center. It is true that these activities are more possible in the +consolidated districts than in the communities where consolidation has +not been effected; but many of them could be provided even in the small +schools.</p> + +<p><b>The Literary Society.</b>—There should be in every school district a +literary society of some kind. This of course must not be overworked, +for other kinds of activities also should be organized in order to give +the change which interest demands. In this literary society the interest +and assistance of the adults of the neighborhood and the district, who +are willing and able to coöperate, should be enlisted. There are in +every community a few men and women who will<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> gladly assist in a work of +this kind if their interest can be properly aroused. There is scarcely +any better stimulus to the general interest of a neighborhood, and +especially of the children in the school, than seeing and hearing some +of the grown-up men and women who are their neighbors participate in +such literary work.</p> + +<p><b>Debates.</b>—An important phase of the literary work of such a society +should be an occasional debate. This might be participated in sometimes +by adults who are not going to school, and sometimes by the bigger and +more advanced pupils. Topics that are timely and of interest to the +whole community should be discussed. There is probably no better way of +teaching a tolerant spirit and respect for the honest opinions of others +than the habit of "give and take" in debate. In such debates judges +could sometimes be appointed and at other times the relative merits of +the case and of the debaters might well be left to the people of the +neighborhood without any formal decision having been rendered. This +latter plan is the one used in practical life in regard to addresses and +debates on the political platform. The discussions and differences of +opinion following such debates constitute no small part of life and +thought manifested later in the community.</p> + +<p><b>The School Program.</b>—A program or exhibition by the school should be +given occasionally. This would differ from the work of the literary +society in that it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> would be confined to the pupils of the school. Such +a program should be a sample of what the pupils are doing and can do. It +should be a mental exhibition of the school activities. There is +scarcely anything that attracts the people and the parents of the +neighborhood more than the literary performances of their children, +younger and older. Such performances, as in other cases, may be +overdone; they may be put forward too frequently; they may also be too +lengthy. But the teacher with a true perspective will see to it that all +such extremes are avoided, for he realizes that there are other +activities which must be developed and presented in order to secure a +change of interest. These school programs occupy the mind and thought of +the community for some time. The performance of the different parts and +the efforts of the various children—both their successes and their +failures—become the subjects of thought and of talk in the +neighborhood. It acts like a kind of ferment in the social mind; it +keeps the school and the community talking and thinking of school and of +education.</p> + +<p><b>Spelling Schools.</b>—For a change, even an old-fashioned spelling school +is not to be scorned. Years ago this was quite the custom. An entire +school would, on a challenge, go as a sleigh-ride party to the +challenging school. There the spelling contest would take place. One of +the teachers, either the host or the guest, would pronounce the words, +and the visiting school would return, either victorious or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> vanquished. +A performance of this kind enlists the attention and the interest of +people and schools in the necessity of good spelling; it affords a +delightful social recreation, stirs up thought and wakes up mind in both +communities, by an interesting and courteous contest. Such results are +not to be undervalued.</p> + +<p><b>Lectures.</b>—If the school is a consolidated one, or even a large district +school, a good lecture course may be given to advantage. Here, again, +care must be taken that the lectures, even if few, shall be choice. +Nothing will kill a course of lectures sooner than to have the people +deceived a few times by poor ones. It would be better to have three good +lectures during the year than six that would be disappointing. These +lecture courses may be secured in almost every state through the +Extension Department of the various state institutions. Recently the +states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota have entered into an +arrangement whereby they will furnish any rural or urban community of +these states with good lecturers at a very small consideration. +Excellent lectures can be secured in this way on a great variety of +subjects, including those most interesting to rural communities and most +helpful in all phases of farm life. These might be secured in the winter +season when there is ample time and leisure for all to attend.</p> + +<p><b>Dramatic Performances.</b>—In the social centers where the conveniences +admit, simple dramatic performances might be worked up or secured from +the outside.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> It is a fact that life in some country communities is not +sufficiently cheered through the agency of the imagination. The tendency +is for farmers and farmers' families to live a rather humdrum existence +involving a good deal of toil. On the secluded farms during the long +winter months, there is not much social intercourse. It has been +asserted that the isolation and solitariness in sparsely settled +districts are causes of the high percentage of insanity in rural and +frontier communities. It is good for the mental and physical health of +both old and young to be lifted, once in a while, out of the world of +reality into that of the imagination. All children and young people like +to play, to act, to make believe. This is a part of their life, and it +is conducive to their mental and social welfare to express themselves in +simple plays or to see life in its various phases presented dramatically +by others.</p> + +<p><b>A Musical Program.</b>—If the teacher is a leader he will either be able, +himself, to arrange a musical entertainment, or he will secure some one +who can and will do so. All, it is contended, can learn to sing if they +begin early enough; and there is probably no better mode of +self-expression and no better way of waking up people emotionally and +socially than to engage them in singing. The importance of singing, to +secure good and right emotional attitudes toward life and mankind, is +indicated in the saying, "Let me make the songs of a nation and I care +not who makes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> her laws." The importance of singing is recognized to a +much greater extent in foreign countries, notably in Germany, than in +America. In Germany all sing; in America, it is to be regretted, but few +sing. There should be a real renaissance in music throughout the +country. As an aid in the teaching of music and of song, that marvelous +invention, the "talking machine," should be made use of. It would be an +excellent thing if a phonograph could be put in every school. Children +would become acquainted with the best music; they would grow to like it, +as the weeks, months, and years roll on. This machine is a wonderful +help in developing an appreciation of good music.</p> + +<p><b>Slides and Moving Pictures.</b>—In the consolidated schools, where there is +a suitable hall, a moving-picture entertainment of the right kind is to +be commended. The screens and the lantern enable us, in our +imaginations, to live in all countries and climes. The eye is the royal +road to the mind, and most people are eye-minded; and the moving picture +is a wonderful agency to convey to the mind, through the eye, accurate +pictures of the world around us, natural and social. The community +center—the school center—should avail itself of all such inventions.</p> + +<p><b>Supervised Dancing.</b>—Even the supervised dance, where the sentiment of +the community will allow, is not to be condemned. It is much better to +have young people attend dances that are supervised than to attend +public dances that are not supervised;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> and young people, as a rule, +will attend one or the other. The practical question or condition is one +of supervision or no supervision, for the dance is here. The dance +properly supervised, and conducted in a courteous, formal way, beginning +and closing at the right time, can probably be turned to good and made +an occasion for social and individual culture. The niceties and +amenities of life can there be inculcated. There is no good reason why +the dance activities should be turned over to the devil. There was a +time and there were places where violin playing was turned over to him +and banished from the churches. Dancing is too old, too general, too +instinctive, and too important, not to be recognized as a means to +social culture. Here again the sane teacher can be an efficient +supervisor. He can take care that the young people do not become +entirely dance-minded.</p> + +<p><b>Sports and Games.</b>—The various sports should not be forgotten. Skating, +curling, and hockey, basketball, and volley ball, are all fine winter +sports; in summer, teams should be organized in baseball, tennis, and +all the proper athletic sports and games. Play should be supervised to a +certain extent; over-supervision will kill it. Sometimes plays that are +not supervised at all degenerate and become worse than none. All of +these physical activities and sports should be found and fostered in the +rural center. They are healthful, both physically and mentally, and +should be participated in by both girls and boys.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span></p> + +<p>It is probably true that our schools and our education have stood, to +too great an extent, for mere intellectual acquisition and training. In +Sparta of old, education was probably nine tenths physical and one tenth +mental. In these modern days education seems to be about ninety-nine +parts mental. A sound body is the foundation of a sound mind, and time +is not lost in devoting much attention to the play and games of children +and young people. There is no danger in the schools of our day of going +to an extreme in the direction of physical education; the danger is in +not going far enough. I am not sure that it would not be better if the +children in every school were kept in the open air half the time +learning and participating in various games and sports, instead of, as +now, poring over books and memorizing a lot of stuff that will never +function on land or sea.</p> + +<p><b>School Exhibits.</b>—In the social centers a school exhibit could be +occasionally given with great profit. If domestic science is taught, an +occasion should be made to invite the people of the neighborhood to +sample the products, for the test of the pudding is in the eating. This +would make a delightful social occasion for the men and women of the +community to meet each other, and the after-effects in the way of +favorable comment and thought would be good. If manual training is an +activity of the school, as it ought to be, a good exhibit of the product +of this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> department could be given. If agriculture is taught and there +is a school garden, as there should be, an exhibit once a year would +produce most desirable effects in the community along agricultural +lines.</p> + +<p><b>A Public Forum.</b>—Aside from provisions for school activities in this +social center there should be a hall where public questions can be +discussed. All political parties should be given equal opportunities to +present their claims before the people of the community. This would tend +toward instruction, enlightenment, and toleration. The interesting +questions of the day, in political and social life, should be discussed +by exponents chosen by the social center committee. In America we have +learned the lesson of listening quietly to speakers in a public meeting, +whether we agree with them or not. In some countries, when a man rises +to expound his political theories, he is hissed down or driven from the +stage by force. This is not the American way. In America each man has +his hour, and all listen attentively and respectfully to him. The next +evening his opponent may have his hour, his inning, and the audience is +as respectful to him. This is as it should be; this is the true spirit +of toleration which should prevail everywhere and which can be +cultivated to great advantage in these rural, social centers. It makes, +too, for the fullness of life in rural communities. It makes country +life more pleasant and serves in some degree to counteract the strong +but regrettable urban trend.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span></p> + +<p><b>Courtesy and Candor.</b>—There are two extremes in debates and in public +discussions which should be equally avoided: The first is that brutal +frankness which forgets to be courteous; and the second is that extreme +of hypocritical courtesy which forgets to be candid. What is needed +everywhere is the candor which is also courteous and the courtesy which +is likewise candid. In impulsive youth and in lack of education and +culture, brutal candor without courtesy sometimes manifests itself; +while courtesy without candor is too often exhibited by shrewd +politicians and diplomatic intriguers.</p> + +<p><b>Automobile Parties.</b>—A delightful and profitable occasion could be made +by the men of the rural community who are the owners of automobiles, by +taking all the children of the community and of the schools, once in a +while, for an automobile ride to near or distant parts of the county. +Such an occasion would never be forgotten by them. It would be enjoyable +to those who give as well as to those who receive, and would have great +educational as well as social value. It would bind together both young +and old of the community. Occasions like these would also conduce to the +good-roads movement so commendable and important throughout the country. +The automobile and the consolidation of rural schools, resulting in +social centers, are large factors in the good-roads movement.</p> + +<p><b>Full Life or a Full Purse.</b>—The community which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> has been centralized +socially and educationally may often bring upon itself additional +expense to provide the necessary hall, playgrounds, and other +conveniences required to realize and to make all of these activities +most effective. But this is a local problem which must be tackled and +solved by each community for itself. The community where the right +spirit prevails will realize that they must make some sacrifices. If a +thing is worth while, the proper means must be provided. One cannot have +the benefit without paying the cost. It is a question as to which a +community will choose: a monotonous, isolated life <i>with</i> the +accumulation of some money, or an active, enthusiastic, educational, and +social life <i>without</i> so many dollars. It is really a choice between +money with little life on the one hand, and a little less money with +more fullness of life on the other. Life, after all, is the only thing +worth while, and in progressive communities its enrichment will be +chosen at any cost. Here again it is the duty of the teacher to bring +about the right spirit and attitude and the right decision in regard to +all these important questions.</p> + +<p><b>Organization.</b>—A community which is socially and educationally organized +will need a central post office and town hall, a community store, a +grain elevator, a church, and possibly other community agencies. All of +these things tend to solidify and bring together the people at a common +center.</p> + +<p>This suggests organization of some kind in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> community. The old +grange was good in its ideal; the purpose was to unite and bring people +together for mutual help. There should probably be a young men's society +of some kind, and an organization of the girls and women of the +community. It is true that the matter may be overdone and we may have +such a thing as activity merely for the sake of activity. It was Carlyle +who said that some people are noted for "fussy littleness and an +infinite deal of nothing." The golden mean should apply here as +elsewhere.</p> + +<p><b>The Inseparables.</b>—To bring all of these things about requires talent +and ingenuity on the part of the leader or leaders; and we come again to +the inseparables mentioned in a former chapter. It will require a great +personality to organize. The word "great" implies a high standard; and +strong personalities, such as are capable of managing a social center, +cannot possibly be secured without an adequate inducement in the way of +salary. Proper compensation cannot mean sixty, seventy-five, or one +hundred dollars a month. It must mean also permanence of position. Again +we come face to face with the problem of the teacher in our solution of +the problem of rural life and the rural school.</p> + +<p>In conclusion it must be said that nothing is too good for the country +which is not too good for the city. The rural community must determine +to have all these good things at any cost, if it wishes to work out its +own salvation.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI</h2><div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents</a></div> + +<h3>RURAL SCHOOL SUPERVISION</h3> + + +<p><b>Important.</b>—Supervision is fully as important as teaching. The +supervisor must be, to even a higher degree than the teacher, a strong +personality, and this too implies a high standard and an attractive +salary. The supervisor or superintendent must be somewhat of an expert +in the methods of teaching all the common school subjects. Not only must +he understand school discipline and organization in its details, but he +must possess the ability to "turn in" and exemplify his qualifications +at any time. It will be seen everywhere that the supervisor or +superintendent is the expensive person; for, having the elements of +leadership, he is in demand in educational positions as well as in +outside callings. Consequently it is only by a good financial +inducement, as a rule, that a competent supervisor can be retained in +the profession.</p> + +<p><b>Supervision Standardizes.</b>—Without the superintendent or supervisor, no +common standard can be attained or maintained. It is he who keeps the +force up to the line; without him each teacher is a law unto himself and +there will be as many standards as there are teachers. Human nature is +innately slothful and negligent, and needs the spirit of supervision to +keep<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> it toned up to the necessary pitch. Supervision over a large force +of workers of any kind is absolutely necessary to secure efficiency, and +to keep service up to a high standard.</p> + +<p><b>Supervision Can Be Overdone.</b>—The necessity for supervision is clearly +felt in the city systems. There they have a general superintendent, +principals of buildings, and supervisors in various special lines. A +system of schools in the city without supervision would simply go to +pieces. It would soon cease to be a system, and would become chaotic. It +may be, it is true, that in some cities there is too much supervision; +it may become acute and pass the line of true efficiency. Indeed, in +some cities the red tape may become so complicated and systematized that +it becomes an end, and schools and pupils seem to exist for supervisors +and systems instead of <i>vice versa</i>. It is probably true that the +constant presence of a supervisor who is adversely critical may do +injury to the efficiency of a good teacher. No one can teach as well +under disapprobation as he can where he feels that his hands are free; +and so in some places supervision may act as a wet blanket. It may +suppress spontaneity, initiative, and real life in the school. But this +is only an abuse of a good thing, and probably does not occur +frequently. In any event, the exception would only prove the rule. +Supervision is as necessary in a system of schools as it is in a +railroad or in large industries.</p> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<p><img src="images/png132_figure-1.jpg" width="640" height="417" alt="A basket ball team for the girls" title="A basket ball team for the girls" /></p> +<p class="caption">A basket ball team for the girls</p></div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 640px;"> +<p><img src="images/png132_figure-2.jpg" width="640" height="392" alt="A brass band for the young men" title="A brass band for the young men" /></p> +<p class="caption">A brass band for the young men</p></div> + +<p class="caption"> ACTIVITIES OF THE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL +<br /> +<br /> +</p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span></p> + +<p><b>Needed in Rural Schools.</b>—The country partakes of the same isolation in +regard to its schools as it does in regard to life in general. This +isolation is accentuated where there is little or no supervision. +Without it, the necessary stimulus seldom or never touches the life of +the teacher or the school. There is little uplift; the school runs along +in its ordinary, humdrum fashion, and never measures itself with other +schools, and is seldom measured by a supervisor. A poor teacher may be +in the chair one term and a good teacher another. The terms are short +and the service somewhat disconnected. The whole situation gives the +impression to people, pupils, and teacher that education is not of very +great value.</p> + +<p><b>No Supervision in Some States.</b>—In some states there is but little +supervision. There may be, it is true, a district board, but these are +laymen, much better acquainted with the principles of farming than with +those of teaching. They have no standards for judging a school and +seldom visit one. The selection known as the "Deestrict Skule" +illustrates fairly well the ability of the old-time school board to pass +judgment upon the professional merits of the teacher.</p> + +<p><b>Nominal Supervision.</b>—In other states there is a county superintendent +on part time who has a kind of general but attenuated supervision over +all the schools of a county. He is usually engaged in some other line of +work—in business, in medicine, in law, in preaching—and can give only +a small portion of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> his time to the work of superintendence. Indeed, +this means only an occasional visit to the school, probably once every +one or two years, and such simple and necessary reports as are demanded +by the state superintendent or State Board of Education. Such +supervision, however honestly performed, accomplishes but little. The +superintendent may visit the teacher to-day, but when he returns a year +hence, he is likely to find another teacher in charge. Under such +circumstances, what can he do? He has seen the teacher at work for half +an hour or an hour; he offers a suggestion, or makes some complimentary +remark, and goes his way. No one realizes better than he how little he +has been able to accomplish. And yet, under existing circumstances he +has done all that could be expected.</p> + +<p><b>Some Supervision.</b>—There are, elsewhere, county superintendents who +devote their whole time to the work, but who are chosen for short terms +and in a political campaign. Very frequently these men are elected for +political reasons quite as much as for educational fitness. If a +superintendent so elected is politically minded—and I regret to say +that sometimes this is the case—he will probably devote much time, +energy, and thought to paving the way for reëlection. Expecting to be a +candidate for a second term, he will use his best efforts to impress the +public mind in his favor. This sometimes results in greater attention to +the duties of his office and the consequent betterment of the schools; +but, too often, it works in the opposite<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> direction. Being elected for +only two years, he has not the time to carry out any educational policy +no matter how excellent his plans may be. Of course many persons chosen +in this way make excellent and efficient officers, but the plan is bad. +The good superintendent frequently loses out soonest.</p> + +<p><b>An Impossible Task.</b>—Superintendents sometimes have under their +jurisdiction from one hundred to two hundred, or even more, schools +separated by long distances. The law usually prescribes that the county +superintendent shall visit each school at least once a year. This means +that practically he will do no more; indeed it is often impossible to do +more. It means that his visits must of necessity be a mere perfunctory +call of an hour or two's duration with no opportunity to see the same +teacher again at work to determine whether or not she is making +progress, and whether she is carrying out his instructions. Such +so-called supervision, or superintendence, is not supervision at +all—how can it be? The superintendent is only a clerical officer who +does the work required by law, and makes incidentally an annual social +visit to the schools.</p> + +<p><b>The Problem Not Tackled.</b>—Such a situation is another evidence that the +states which tolerate the foregoing conditions have not, in any real and +earnest manner, attempted to solve the problem of rural school +supervision. They have merely let things drift along as they would, not +fully realizing the problem or else<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> trusting to time to come to their +aid. Micawber-like, they are waiting for "something to turn up." But +such problems will not solve themselves.</p> + +<p><b>City Supervision.</b>—Compare the supervision described above with that +which is usually found in cities. There we usually find a general +superintendent and assistant superintendents; there are high school +principals and a principal at the head of every grade building; there is +also a supervisor of manual training, of domestic science, of music, of +drawing, and possibly of other subjects. When we consider, too, that the +teachers in the city are all close at hand and that the supervisor or +superintendent may drop into any room at any time with scarcely a +minute's notice, we see the difference between city supervision and +country supervision. Add to this the fact that cities attract the strong +teachers—the professionally trained teachers, the output of the +professional schools—and we can see again how effective supervision +becomes in the city as compared with that in the country. In the country +we find only one superintendent for a county often as large as some of +the older states, and the possibility of visiting each school only about +once a year. Here also are the teachers who are not professionalized, as +a rule, and who, therefore, need supervision most.</p> + +<p><b>The Purpose of Supervision.</b>—The main purpose of supervision is to bring +teachers up to a required standard of excellence in their work and to +keep them there.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> It is always the easiest plan to dismiss a teacher who +is found deficient, but this is cutting the knot rather than untying it. +Efficient and intelligent supervision proceeds along the line of +building such a teacher up, of making her strong where she is weak, of +giving her initiative where she lacks it, of inculcating good methods +where she is pursuing poor ones, of inducing her to come out of her +shell where she is backward and diffident. In other words, the great +work of the supervisor is to elicit from teachers their most active and +hearty response in all positive directions. It should be understood by +teachers—and they should know that the superintendent or supervisor +indorses the idea—that it is always better to go ahead and blunder than +to stand still for fear of blundering; and so, in the presence of a good +supervisor, the teacher is not afraid to let herself out. In the +conference, later, between herself and her supervisor, mistakes may be +pointed out; but, better than this, the best traits of the teacher +should be brought to her mind and the weak ones but lightly referred to.</p> + +<p><b>What Is Needed.</b>—What is needed in the rural situation is a county +superintendent chosen because of his professional fitness by a county +board whose members have been elected at large. This board should be +elected on a nonpartisan ticket and so far as possible on a basis of +qualification and of good judgment in educational matters. It should +hold office for a period of years, some members retiring from the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> board +annually so that there shall not be, at any time, an entirely new board. +This would insure continuity. Another plan for a county board would be +to have the presidents of the district boards act as a county board of +education. Such a board should be authorized—and indeed this tradition +should be established—to select a county superintendent from applicants +from outside as well as inside the county. They should be empowered to +go anywhere in the country for a superintendent with a reputation in the +teaching profession. This is the present plan in cities, and it should +be true also in the selection of a county superintendent.</p> + +<p><b>The Term.</b>—The term of office of the county superintendent should be at +the discretion of the county board. It should be not less than three or +four years—of sufficient length to enable a man to carry out a line of +policy in educational administration. The status of the county +superintendency should be similar to that of the city superintendency.</p> + +<p><b>Assistants.</b>—The county board should be empowered to provide assistants +for the county superintendent. There should be one such assistant for +about thirty or thirty-five schools. It is almost impossible for a +supervisor to do efficient and effective work if he has more than this +number of schools, located, as they are, some distance apart. Provision +for such assistants, who should, like the superintendent himself, be +experts, is based upon the assumption that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> supervision is worth while, +and in fact necessary in any system if success is to be attained. If the +supervision of thirty-five schools is an important piece of work it +should be well done, and a person well qualified for that work should be +selected. He should be a person of sympathetic attitude, of high +qualifications, and of experience in the field of elementary education. +The assistants should be carefully selected by the board on the +recommendation of the county superintendent. Poor supervision is little +better than none.</p> + +<p><b>The Schools Examined.</b>—The county superintendent and his assistants +should give, periodically, oral and written examinations in each school, +thus testing the work of both the teacher and the pupils. These +examinations should not conform in any perfunctory or red-tape manner to +a literally construed course of study. The course of study is a means +and not an end, and should be, at all points and times, elastic and +adaptable. To make pupils fit the course of study instead of making the +course of study fit the pupils is the old method of the Procrustean +bed—if the person is not long enough for it he is stretched; if too +long, a piece is cut off. Any examination or tests which would wake up +mind and stimulate education in the neighborhood may be resorted to; but +it should be remembered that examinations are likewise a means and not +an end.</p> + +<p>Some years ago when I was a county superintendent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> I tried the plan of +giving such tests in any subject to classes that had completed a +definite portion of that subject and arrived at a good stopping place. +If, for example, the teacher announced that his class had acquired a +thorough knowledge of the multiplication table, I gave a searching test +upon that subject and issued a simple little certificate to the effect +that the pupil had completed it. These little certificates acted like +stakes put down along the way, to give incentive, direction, and +definiteness to the educative processes, and to stimulate a reasonable +class spirit or individual rivalry. I meet these pupils occasionally +now—they are to-day grown men and women—and they retain in their +possession these little colored certificates which they still highly +prize.</p> + +<p>One portion of my county was populated almost entirely by Scandinavians, +and here a list of fifty to a hundred words was selected which +Scandinavian children always find it difficult to pronounce. At the +first trial many or most of the children mispronounced a large +percentage of them. I then announced that, the next time I visited the +school, I would test the pupils again on these words and others like +them, and issue "certificates of correct pronunciation" to all who were +entitled to them. I found, on the next visit, that nearly all the +children could secure these certificates. These tests created a great +impetus in the direction of correct pronunciation and language. Some +teachers, from mistaken kindness,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> had been accustomed to refrain from +correcting the children on such words, but as superintendent I found +that both the parents and the children wished drill in pronunciation and +were gratified at their success. This is only a sample. I would advocate +the giving of tests, or examinations, on any subject in the school +likely to lead to good results and to stimulate the minds of the pupils +in the right direction. The county superintendent and his assistants +might agree to lay the accent or the emphasis on different subjects, or +lines of work, in different years.</p> + +<p><b>Keep Down Red Tape.</b>—In all the work of supervision, the formal +part—the accounting and reporting part—should be kept simple; the +tendency in administrative offices is too often in the direction of +complexity and red tape. Wherever there is form merely for the sake of +form, it is well worth while to sound a note of warning against it.</p> + +<p><b>Help the Social Centers.</b>—The county superintendent and his assistants +can be of inestimable value in all the work of the social centers. They +should advise with school boards in regard to consolidation and other +problems agitating the community. They should lend a helping hand to +programs that are being carried out in any part of the county. They +should give lectures themselves at such social centers and, if asked, +should help the local communities and local committees in every way +within their power.</p> + +<p><b>Conclusion.</b>—The problem, then, of superintendence<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> is, we conclude, one +of the large and important problems awaiting solution in rural life and +in rural schools. It is the binding force that will help to unify all +the educational activities of the county. It is one of the chief +stimulating and uplifting influences in rural education. As in the case +of most other school problems, the constant surprise is that the people +have not awakened sooner to the realization of its importance and to an +honest and earnest attempt at its solution.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII</h2><div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents</a></div> + +<h3>LEADERSHIP AND COÖPERATION</h3> + + +<p><b>The Real Leader.</b>—Real leadership is a scarce and choice article; true +leaders are few and far between. The best kind of leader is not one who +attempts to be at the head of every movement and to do everything +himself, but rather he who makes the greatest number of people active in +his cause. It frequently happens that the more a leader does himself, +the less his followers are inclined to do. The more active he is, the +more passive they are likely to become. As teaching is causing others to +know and react educationally, so genuine leadership is causing others to +become active in the direction of the leader's purpose, or aim. Some who +pose as leaders seek to be conspicuous in every movement, merely to +attract attention to themselves. They bid for direct and immediate +recognition instead of being content with the more remote, indirect, but +truer and more substantial reward of recognition through their followers +who are active in their leader's cause. The poor leader does not think +that there is glory enough for all, and so he monopolizes all he can of +it, leaving the remainder to those who probably do the greater part<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> of +the work and deserve as much credit as he. The spectacular football +player who ignores the team and team work, in order to attract attention +by his individual plays, is not the best leader or the best player. The +real leader will frequently be content to see things somewhat poorly +done or not so well done, in order that his followers may pass through +the experience of doing them. It is only by having such experiences that +followers are enabled, in turn, to become leaders.</p> + +<p><b>Teaching vs. Telling.</b>—As has been shown in an earlier chapter, the lack +of leadership is frequently exhibited in the classroom when the teacher, +instead of inducing self-activity and self-expression on the part of the +pupils, proceeds to recite the whole lesson himself. He asks leading +questions and then, at the slightest hesitation on the part of a pupil, +he suggests the answer; he asks another leading question from another +point of view; he puts words into the mouth of the pupil who is trying +in a pitiable way to recite; and ends by covering the topic all over +with words, words, words of his own. This is poor leadership on the part +of the teacher and gives no opportunity for real coöperation on the part +of the pupils. The teacher takes all the glory of reciting, and leaves +the pupil without an opportunity or the reward of self-expression.</p> + +<p><b>Enlisting the Coöperation of Pupils.</b>—All children—and in fact all +people—if approached or stimulated<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> in the proper way—like to <i>do</i> +things, to perform services for others. A pupil always considers it a +compliment to be asked by his teacher to do something for him, if the +relations between the teacher and pupil are normal and cordial. This +must, of course, be the case if any truly educative response is to be +elicited. Socrates once said that a person cannot learn from one whom he +does not love. The relation between pupil and teacher should be one of +mutual love and respect, if the educational process is to obtain. If +this relation does not exist, the first duty of the teacher is to bring +it about. Sometimes this is difficult. I once heard a teacher say that +it took him about three weeks to establish this relation between himself +and one of his pupils. He finally invited the pupil out hunting with him +one Saturday, and after that they were the best of friends. The pupil +became one of the leaders in his school and his coöperation was secured +from that time forward. In this instance the teacher showed marked +leadership as well as practical knowledge of psychology and pedagogy. +Francis Murphy, the great temperance orator, understood both leadership +and coöperation, for he always, as he said, made it a point to approach +a man from the "south side."</p> + +<p>A pupil, if approached in the right way, will do anything in his power +for his teacher. There may be times when wood or fuel must be provided, +when the room must be swept and cleaned, when little repairs<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> become +necessary, or an errand must be performed. In such situations, if the +teacher is a real leader and if his school and he are <i>en rapport</i>, +volunteers will vie with each other for the privilege of carrying out +the teacher's wishes. This would indicate genuine leadership and +coöperation.</p> + +<p><b>Placing Responsibility.</b>—Whether in school or some other station in +life, there is scarcely anything that so awakens and develops the best +that is in either man or child as the placing of responsibility. Every +person is educated and made greater according to the measure of +responsibility that is given to him and that he is able to live up to. +While it is true that too great a measure of responsibility might be +given, this is no reasonable excuse for withholding it altogether for +fear the burden would be too great. There is a wide middle ground +between no responsibility and too much of it, and it is in this field +that leadership and coöperation can be displayed to much advantage. The +greater danger lies in not giving sufficient responsibility to children +and youths. It is well known that, in parts of our country, where men +who have been proved to be, or are strongly suspected of being crooked, +have been placed upon the bench to mete out justice, they have usually +risen to the occasion and to their better ideals, and have not betrayed +the trust reposed in them, or the responsibility placed upon them. There +is probably no finer body of men in America than our railroad +engineers;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> and while it may be true that they are <i>picked</i> in a +measure, it is also true that their responsible positions and work bring +out their best manhood. As they sit or stand at the throttle, with hand +upon the lever and eyes on the lookout for danger, and as they feel the +heart-throbs of their engine drawing its precious freight of a thousand +souls through the darkness and the storm, they cannot help realizing +that this is real life invested with great responsibilities; and with +this thought ever before them, they become men who can be trusted +anywhere. There is little doubt that Abraham Lincoln's mettle was +tempered to the finest quality in the fires of the great struggle from +1860 to 1865, when every hour of his waking days was fraught with the +greatest responsibility.</p> + +<p><b>How People Remain Children.</b>—If children and young people are not given +responsibilities they are likely to remain children. The old adage, +"Don't send a boy to mill," is thoroughly vicious if applied beyond a +narrow and youthful range. In some neighborhoods the fathers even when +of an advanced age retain entire control of the farm and of all +activities, and the younger generation are called the "boys," and, what +is worse, are considered such till forty years of age or older—in fact +as long as the fathers live and are active. A "boy" is called "Johnnie," +"Jimmie," or "Tommie," and is never chosen to do jury duty or to occupy +any position connected in the local public mind with a man's work. The +father in such cases is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> not a good leader, for he has given no +responsibility to, and receives no genuine coöperation from, his sons, +who are really man grown, but who are regarded, even by themselves, from +habit and suggestion, as children. If these middle-aged men should move +to another part of the country they would be compelled to stand upon +their own feet, and would be regarded as men among men. They would be +called <i>Mr.</i> Jones, <i>Mr.</i> Smith, and <i>Mr.</i> Brown, instead of diminutive +and pet names; and, what is better, they would regard themselves as men. +This would be a wholesome and stimulating suggestion. Hence Horace +Greeley's advice to young men, to "Go West," would prove beneficial in +more ways than one.</p> + +<p>This state of affairs is illustrated on a large scale by the Chinese +life and civilization. From time immemorial the Chinese have been taught +to regard themselves as children, and the emperor as the common father +of all. The head of the family is the head as long as he lives and all +his descendants are mere sons and daughters. When he dies he is the +object of worship. This custom has tended to influence in a large +measure the thought and life of China and to keep the Chinese, for +untold generations, a childlike and respectful people. Whatever may come +to pass under the new regime, recently established in their country, +they have been, since the dawn of history, a passive people, the +majority of whom have not been honored with any great measure of +responsibility.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p> + +<p><b>On the Farm.</b>—Such lessons from history, written large, are as +applicable in rural life as elsewhere. Coöperation and profit-sharing +are probably the key to the solution of the labor problem. Many +industrial leaders in various lines, notably Mr. Henry Ford in his +automobile factories in Detroit, have come to the conclusion that +coöperation, or some kind of profit-sharing by the rank and file of the +workers, is of mutual benefit to employer and laborer. The interest of +workers must be enlisted for their own good as well as for the good of +society at large. It induces the right attitude toward work on the part +of the worker, and the right attitude of employer and employee toward +each other. This leads to the solidarity of society and the integrity of +the social bond. It tends to establish harmony and to bring contentment +to both parties.</p> + +<p><b>Renters.</b>—The renter of a farm must have sufficient interest in it and +in all its activities to improve it in every respect, rather than to +allow it to deteriorate by getting out of it everything possible, and +then leaving it, like a squeezed orange, to repeat the operation +elsewhere. A farm, in order to yield its best and to increase in +production and value, must be managed with care, foresight, and +scientific understanding. There must be, among other things, a careful +rotation of crops and the rearing of good breeds of animals of various +kinds. But these things cannot be intrusted to the mere renter or the +hired man who is nothing more. These<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> are not sufficiently interested. +The man who successfully manages a farm must be interested in it and in +its various phases, whether he be a renter or a worker. He must be +careful, watchful, industrious, intelligent, and a lover of domestic +animals; otherwise the farm will go backward and the stock will not +thrive and be productive of profits. The man who drives a farm to a +successful issue must be a leader, and, if he is not the owner, he must +coöperate with the owner in order that there may be interest, which is +the great essential.</p> + +<p><b>The Owner.</b>—If the farm is operated by the owner himself and his family, +there is still greater need of leadership on the part of the father and +of coöperation on the part of all. Money and profits are not the only +motives or the only results and rewards that come to a family in rural +life. As the children grow up to adult life, both boys and girls, for +their own education and development in leadership and in coöperation, +should be given some share in the business, some interest which they can +call their own, and whose success and increase will depend on their +attention, care, and industry. That father is a wise leader who can +enlist the active coöperation of all his family for the good of each and +of all. Such leadership and coöperation are the best forms and means of +education, and lead inevitably to good citizenship. How often do we see +a grasping, churlish father whose leadership is maintained by fear and +force and whose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> family fade away, one by one, as they come to +adolescence. There is no cementing force in such a household, and the +centrifugal forces which take the place of true leadership and cordial +coöperation soon do their work.</p> + +<p><b>The Teacher as a Leader.</b>—We have already spoken of the teacher as the +natural leader of the activities of a social center, or of a community. +In such situations the teacher should be a real leader, not one who +wishes or attempts to be the direct and actual leader in every activity, +but one "who gets things done" through the secondary leadership of a +score or more of men, boys, and girls. The leader in a consolidated +district, or social center, who should attempt to bring all the glory +upon himself by immediate leadership would be like the teacher who +insists on doing all the reciting for his pupils. That would be a false +and short-lived leadership. Hence the teacher who is a true leader will +keep himself somewhat in the background while, at the same time, he is +the hidden mainspring, the power behind the throne. "It is the highest +art to conceal art." Fitch, in his lectures on teaching, says that the +teacher and the leader should "keep the machinery in the background." +The teacher should start things going by suggestion and keep them going +by his presence, his attitude, and his silent participation.</p> + +<p>Too much participation and direction are fatal to the active coöperation +and secondary leadership of others.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> Hence the teacher will bring about, +in his own good time and way, the organization of a baseball team under +the direction of a captain chosen by the boys. The choice, it is true, +may probably be inspired by the teacher. The same would take place in +regard to every game, sport, or activity, mental, social, or physical, +in the community. The danger always is that the initial leader may +become too dominant. It is hard on flesh and blood to resist the +temptation to be lionized. But it is incomparably better to have partial +or almost total failures under self-government than to be governed by a +benevolent and beneficent autocrat. And so it is much better that boys +and girls work out their own salvation under leaders of their own +choice, than to be told to organize, and to do thus and so. It requires +a rare power of self-control in a real leader to be compelled to witness +only partial success and crude performance under secondary leaders +groping toward success, and still be silent and patient. But this is the +true process of education—self-activity and self-government.</p> + +<p><b>Self-activity and Self-government.</b>—In order to develop initiative, +which is the same thing, practically, as leadership, opportunity must be +given for free self-activity. Children and adults alike, if they are to +grow, must be induced to <i>do</i>. It is always better to go ahead and +blunder than to stand still for fear of blundering. Many kind mothers +fondly wish—and frequently attempt to enforce their wish—that +children<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> should learn how to swim without going into the water. +Children see the folly of this and, in order not to disturb the calm and +peace of the household, slip away to a neighboring creek or +swimming-hole, for which they ever after retain the most cherished +memories. In later years when all danger is over these grown-up children +smilingly and jokingly reveal the mysteries of the trick! Children +cannot learn to climb trees without climbing trees, or to ride calves +and colts without the real animals. Some chances must be taken by +parents and guardians, and more chances are usually taken by children +than their guardians ever hear of. Accidents will happen, it is true, +but in the wise provision of Mother Nature the world moves on through +these persistent and instinctive self-activities.</p> + +<p>Self-activity is manifested on a larger scale in society and among +nations and peoples. Civilization is brought about through self-activity +and coöperation. It were better for the Filipinos to civilize themselves +as much as possible than that we impose civilization upon them. It is +better that Mexico bring peace into her own household, than that we take +the leadership and enforce order among her people. When the Irish +captain said to his soldiers, "If you don't obey willingly I'll make you +obey willingly," he fused into one the military and the truly civic and +educational conceptions. An individual or a nation must energize from +within outward in order to truly express<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> itself and thus develop in the +best sense. Hence in any community the development of self-expression, +self-activity, and coöperation under true leadership is conducive to the +highest type of individuality and of citizenship.</p> + +<p><b>Taking Laws upon One's Self.</b>—It is under proper leadership and +coöperation that children and young people are induced to take laws upon +themselves. It is always a joy to a parent or a teacher when a pupil +expresses himself with some emotion to the effect that such and such a +deed is an "outrage," or "fine" as the case may be. It is an indication +that he has adopted a life principle which he means to live by, and that +it has been made his own to such an extent that he expresses and commits +himself upon it with such feeling. Moralization consists in just this +process—the taking upon one's self of a bundle of good life principles. +Under the right kind of leadership and coöperation this moralizing +process grows most satisfactorily. Children then take upon themselves +laws and become self-governing and law-abiding.</p> + +<p><b>An Educational Column.</b>—One of the best means of creating an atmosphere +and spirit of education and culture in a community is to conduct an +"educational column" in the local newspaper. The teacher as a real +leader in the community could furnish the matter for such a column once +every two weeks or once a month, and, before long, if he is the leader +we speak<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> of, the people will begin to look eagerly for this column; +they will turn to it first on receiving their paper. Here items of +interest on almost any subject might be discussed. The column need not +be limited narrowly to technically educational topics. The author of +such a column could thus create and build up in a community the right +kind of traditions and a good spirit, tone, and temper generally. His +influence would be potent outside the schoolroom and he would have in +his power the shaping and the guiding of the social, or community mind. +It is wonderful what can be done in this way by a prudent, intelligent, +and interesting writer. The community soon will wish, after the column +has been read through, that he had written more. This would be an +encouraging sign.</p> + +<p><b>All Along the Educational Line.</b>—The kind of leadership and coöperation +indicated in this chapter should be exemplified through the entire +common-school system. It should obtain between the state superintendent +and the county superintendents; between the county superintendents and +their deputies, or assistants on the one hand and the principals of +schools on the other; between principals and teachers; and between +teachers and pupils. It should exist between all of these officials and +the people variously organized for social and educational betterment. +Then there would be a "long pull, a strong pull, and a pull all +together" for the solution of the problems of rural life and the rural +school.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII</h2><div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents</a></div> + +<h3>THE FARMER AND HIS HOME</h3> + + +<p><b>Farming in the Past.</b>—In the past, successful farming was easier than it +is at present or is destined to be in the future. In the prairie regions +of the great central West, the virgin and fertile soil, the large +acreage of easy cultivation, and the good prices made success +inevitable. Indeed, these conditions were thrust upon the fortunate +farmer.</p> + +<p>But those days are passed. Increased population is reducing the acreage +and cultivation, while it is eliminating the surplus fertility; +competition and social and economic pressure are reducing the margin of +profits. Thrift, good management, and brains are becoming increasingly +important factors in successful farming.</p> + +<p><b>Old Conceit and Prejudice.</b>—Twenty years ago, when the agricultural +colleges were taking shape and attempting to impress their usefulness +upon the farmer, the latter was inclined to assume a derisive attitude, +and to refer to their graduates as "silk-stocking farmers"—or, as one +farmer put it, "theatrical" sort of fellows, meaning <i>theoretical</i>! In +the farming of the future, however, the agricultural college<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> and its +influence are bound to play a large part. There is plenty of room on a +good farm of one hundred and sixty acres for the best thinking and the +most careful planning. Foresight and ingenuity of the rarest kinds are +demanded there.</p> + +<p>We wish to enumerate, and discuss in brief, some of the important points +of vantage to be watched and carefully guarded, if farm life, which +means rural life, is to be pleasant and profitable. If rural life is to +retain its attractions and its people, it must be both of these. Let us, +in this chapter, investigate some things which, although apart from the +school and education in any technical sense, are truly educative, in the +best sense.</p> + +<p><b>Leveling Down.</b>—One thing that sometimes impresses the close observer +who is visiting in the country and in farm homes is that there exists in +some rural localities a kind of "leveling down" process. People become +accommodated to their rather quiet and unexciting surroundings. Their +houses and barns, in the way of repairs and improvements, are allowed +gradually to succumb to the tooth of time and the beating of the +elements. This process is so slow and insidious that those who live in +the midst of it scarcely notice the decay that is taking place. Hence it +continues to grow worse until the farm premises assume an unattractive +and dilapidated appearance. Weeds grow up around the buildings and along +the roads, so slowly, that they remain unnoticed and hence<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> uncut—when +half an hour's work would suffice to destroy them all, to the benefit of +the farm and the improvement of its appearance.</p> + +<p>In the country it is very easy, as we have said, to "level down." People +live in comparative isolation; imitation, comparison, and competition +enter but little into their thoughts and occupations. In the city it is +otherwise. People live in close proximity to each other, and one +enterprising person can start a neighborhood movement for the +improvement of lawns and houses. There is more conference, more +criticism and comparison, more imitation. In the city there is a kind of +compulsion to "level up."</p> + +<p>When one moves from a large active center to a smaller one, the life +tendency is to accommodate one's self to his environment; while if one +moves from a small, quiet place to a larger and more active center, the +life tendency is to level up. It is, of course, fortunate for us that we +are able to accommodate ourselves to our environment and to derive a +growing contentment from the process. The prisoner may become so content +in his cell that he will shed tears when he is compelled to leave it for +the outer world where he must readjust himself. The college man, over +whom there came a feeling of desolation on settling down in a small +country village with one store, comes eventually to find contentment, +sitting on the counter or on a drygoods box, swapping stories with +others like himself who have leveled down to a very circumscribed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> life +and living. Leveling down may be accomplished without effort or thought, +but eternal vigilance is the price of leveling up.</p> + +<p><b>Premises Indicative.</b>—A farmer is known by the premises he keeps, just +as a person is known by the company he keeps. If a man is thrifty it +will find expression in the orderliness of his place. If he is +intelligent and inventive it will show in the appointments and +adaptations everywhere apparent, inside and outside the buildings. If +the man and his family have a fine sense of beauty and propriety, an +artistic or æsthetic sense, there will be evidences of cleanliness and +simple beauty everywhere—in the architecture, in the painting, in the +pictures, and the carpets, in the kinds and positions of the trees and +shrubbery, and in the general neatness and cleanliness of the premises. +It is not so necessary that people possess much, but it is important +that they make much of what they do possess. The exquisite touch on all +things is analogous to the flavor of our food—it is as important for +appetite and for nourishment as the food itself.</p> + +<p><b>Conveniences by Labor-saving Devices.</b>—If there are ingenuity and the +power of ordinary invention in common things, system and devices for +saving labor will be evident everywhere. The motor will be pressed into +service in various ways. There will be a place for everything, and +everything will be in its place. Head work and invention, rather than +mere imitation, characterize the activities of the master.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span></p> + +<p><b>Eggs in Several Baskets.</b>—The day is past when success may be attained +by raising wheat alone. This was, of course, in days gone by, the +easiest and cheapest crop to produce. It was also the crop that brought +the largest returns in the shortest time. Wheat raising was merely a +summer's job, with a prospective winter's outing in some city center. It +was and is still the lazy farmer's trick. It was an effort similar to +that of attempting the invention of a perpetual motion machine; it was +an attempt, if not to get something for nothing, at least to get +something at the lowest cost, regardless of the future. But nature +cannot be cheated, and the modern farmer has learned or is learning +rapidly, that he must rotate and diversify his crops if he would succeed +in the long run. Consequently he has begun rotation. He also replenishes +his soil with nitrogen-producing legumes, along with corn planting and +with summer fallowing. He engages in the raising of chickens, hogs, +cattle, and horses. This diversification saves him from total loss in +case of a bad year in one line. The farmer does not carry all his eggs +in one basket. A bad year with one kind of crops may be a good year with +some other. Diversification also makes farming an all-year occupation, +every part of which is bringing a good return, instead of being a job +with an income for the summer and an outlay for the winter. Live stock, +sheep, hogs, and cattle grow nights, Sundays, and winters as well as at +other times,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> and so the profits are accumulating all the year round.</p> + +<p><b>The Best is the Cheapest.</b>—The modern farmer also realizes that it takes +no more, nor indeed as much, to feed and house the best kinds of animals +than it does to keep the scrub varieties. In all of this there is a +large field for study and investigation. But one must be interested in +his animals and understand them. They should know his voice and he +should know their needs and their habits. As in every other kind of work +there must be a reasonable interest; otherwise it cannot be an +occupation which will make life happy and successful.</p> + +<p><b>Good Work.</b>—The good farmer has the <i>feel</i> and the habit of good work. +The really successful man in any calling or profession is he who does +his work conscientiously and as well as he can. The sloven becomes the +bungler, and the bungler is on the high road to failure. It is always a +pleasant thing to see a man do his work well and artistically. It is the +habit, the policy, the attitude of thus doing that tell in the long run. +A farmer may by chance get a good crop by seeding on unplowed stubble +land, but he must feel that he is engaged in the business of trying to +cheat himself, like the boy playing solitaire—he does not let his right +hand know what his left hand is doing. The good farmer is an artist in +his work, while the poor farmer is a veritable bungler—blaming his +tools and Nature herself for his failures.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span></p> + +<p><b>Good Seed and Trees.</b>—The successful farmer knows from study and +experience that only healthy seed and healthy animals will produce good +grain and strong animals after their kind. He does not try tricks on +Nature. He selects the best kinds of trees and shrubbery and when these +are planted he takes care of them. He realizes that what is worth sowing +and planting is worth taking care of.</p> + +<p><b>A Good Caretaker.</b>—The successful and intelligent farmer keeps all his +buildings, sheds, and fences in good repair and well painted. He is not +penny-wise and pound-foolish. He knows the value of paint from an +economic and financial point of view as well as from an artistic and +æsthetic one. Knowing these things, and from an ingrained feeling and +habit, he sees to it that all his machinery and tools are under good +cover, and are not exposed to the gnawing tooth of the elements. This +habit and attitude of the man are typical and make for success as well +as for contentment. As it is not the saving of a particular dollar that +makes a man thrifty or wealthy, but the <i>habit</i> of saving dollars; so it +is not the taking care of this or that piece of machinery, or that +particular building, but the habit of doing such things that leads him +to success.</p> + +<p><b>Family Coöperation.</b>—Such a man will also enlist the interest and the +active coöperation of his sons and daughters by giving them property or +interests which they can call their own; he will make them, in a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> +measure, co-partners with him on the farm. There could be no better way +of developing in them their best latent talents. It would result in +mutual profit and, what is better, in mutual love and happiness. One of +the greatest factors in a true education is to be interested, +self-active, and busy toward a definite and worthy end. Under such +circumstances both the parents and the children might be benefited by +taking short courses in the nearest agricultural college; and a plan of +giving each his turn could be worked out to the interest and profit of +all the family. Such a family would become local leaders in various +enterprises.</p> + +<p><b>An Ideal Life.</b>—It would seem that such an intelligent and successful +farmer and his family could lead an ideal life. Every life worth while +must have work, disappointments, and reverses. But work—reasonable +work—is a blessing and not a curse. Work is an educator, a civilizer, a +sanctifier.</p> + +<p>A family like that described might in the course of a few years possess +most of the modern conveniences. The telephone, the daily mail, the +automobile, and other inventions are at hand, in the country as well as +in the city. The best literature of to-day and of all time is available. +Music and art are easily within reach. With these advantages any rural +family may have a happy home. This is more than most people in the +cities can have. More and more of our people should turn in the future +to this quiet but happy and ideal country life.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV</h2><div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents</a></div> + +<h3>THE RURAL RENAISSANCE</h3> + + +<p><b>Darkest Before the Dawn.</b>—Prior to the present widespread discussion, +which it is hoped will lead to a rural renaissance, the condition and +the prospects of country life and the country school looked dark and +discouraging. Country life seemed to be passing into the shadow and the +storm. It seemed as if the country was being not only deserted but +forgotten. The urban trend, as we have seen, moved on apace. Farms were +being deserted or, if cultivated at all, were passing more and more into +the hands of renters. The owners were farming by proxy. This meant +decreased production and impoverished soil. It meant one-crop, or +small-grain farming; it meant a class of renters or tenants with only +temporary homes, and hence with only a partial interest. The inevitable +result would be an impoverished rural life and poor rural schools. +Without a realization of the seriousness of the situation and the trend +on the part of the people at large, all these conditions prevailed to a +greater or less extent. The people seemed unaware of the fact that rural +life was not keeping pace with the progress of the world around. In New +England whole<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> districts were practically deserted, and her abandoned +farms told the tale. In Virginia and in most of the older states similar +conditions existed. The people migrated either to the cities or to the +newer and cheaper agricultural regions of the West.</p> + +<p><b>The Awakening.</b>—But the time came when the newer lands were not so +available and when social and economic pressure forced the whole problem +of rural life upon the attention of the nation. Difficulty in adjustment +to surroundings always constitutes a problem, and a problem always +arouses thought. When our adjustment is easy and successful it is +effected largely through habit; but when it is obstructed or thwarted, +thought and reason must come to the rescue. Investigation, comparison, +and reflection are then drafted for a solution. This is what happened a +few years ago. The whole situation, it is true, had been in mind +previously, but only in a half conscious or subconscious way. It was +being felt or sensed, more or less clearly, that there was something +wrong, that there was a great unsupplied need, in rural life; but the +thought had no definite shape. The restiveness, the restlessness, was +there but no distinct and articulate voices gave utterance to any +definite policy or determination. There was no clearly formulated +consensus of thought as to what ought to be done. Prior to this time the +thought of the people had not been focused on country life at all. The +attention of the rural districts was not on themselves;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> they were not +really self-conscious of their condition or that there was any important +problem before them. But not many years ago, owing to various movements, +which were both causes and effects, the whole country began to be +aroused to the importance of the subjects which I have been discussing. +The Committee of Twelve on Rural Schools appointed by the National +Educational Association had reported the phases of the rural life +problem in 1897; but many declarations and reports of that kind are +necessary to stir the whole country. Hence no decisive movement, even in +rural education, became noticeable for several years. But this report +did much good; it not only formulated educational thought and policy in +regard to the subject but it also awakened thought and discussion +outside of the teaching profession.</p> + +<p><b>The Agricultural Colleges.</b>—The agricultural colleges and experimental +stations in the several states had also been active for some years and +had formulated a body of knowledge in regard to agricultural principles +and methods. They had distributed this information widely among the +farmers of the country. The latter, at first, looked askance at these +colleges and their propaganda, and often refused to accept their +suggestions and advice on the ground that it was "mere theory," and that +farmers could not be taught practical agriculture by mere "book men" and +"theorizers." The practical man often despises theory, not realizing +that practice without theory<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> is usually blind. But the growing science +of agriculture was working like a leaven for the improvement of farm +life in all its phases, and to-day the agricultural colleges and +experiment stations are the well-springs of information for practical +farmers everywhere. Bulletins of information are published and +distributed regularly, and farmers are being brought into closer and +closer touch with these institutions.</p> + +<p><b>Conventions.</b>—During this awakening period, conventions of various kinds +are held, which give the farmers an opportunity to hear and to +participate in discussions pertaining to the problems with which they +are wrestling. They come together in district, county, or state +conventions, and the result has been that a class consciousness, an +<i>esprit de corps</i>, is being developed. Farmers hear and see bigger and +better things; their world is enlarged and their minds are stimulated; +they are induced to think in larger units. Thought, like water, seeks +its level, and in conventions of this kind the individual "levels up." +He goes home inspired to do better and greater things, and spreads the +new gospel among his neighbors. At the conventions he hears a variety of +topics discussed, including good roads, house plans, sanitation, +schools, and others too numerous to mention.</p> + +<p><b>Other Awakening Agencies.</b>—The agricultural paper, which practically +every farmer takes and which every farmer should take, brings to the +farm home each week<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> the most modern findings on all phases of country +life. The rural free delivery and the parcel post bring the daily mail +to the farmer's door. The rural telephone is becoming general, and also +the automobile and other rapid and convenient modes of communication and +transportation. All these things have helped to develop a clearer +consciousness of country life, its problems and its needs.</p> + +<p><b>The Farmer in Politics.</b>—Add to all the foregoing considerations the +fact that, in every state legislature and in Congress, the number of +rural representatives is constantly increasing, and we see clearly that +the country districts are awakening to a realization not only of their +needs but of their rights. All of these conditions have helped to turn +the eyes of the whole people, in state and nation, to long neglected +problems.</p> + +<p><b>The National Commission.</b>—So the various agencies and factors enumerated +above and others besides, all working more or less consciously and all +conspiring together, finally resulted in the appointment of a National +Commission on Rural Life, the results and findings of which were made +the subject of a special message from the president to Congress in 1909. +The report of the commission was issued from the Government Printing +Office in Washington as Document Number 705, and should be read by every +farmer in the country. This commission was the resultant of many forces +exerted around family firesides, in the schoolroom, in the press, on the +platform,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> in conventions, in legislatures, and in the halls of +Congress. For the first time in this country, the conditions and +possibilities of rural life were made the subjects of investigation and +report to a national body. Thus the Commission became thenceforth a +potent cause of the attention and impetus since given to the problems we +are discussing.</p> + +<p><b>Mixed Farming.</b>—In recent years, too, what may be called "scientific +farming" has become a decided "movement" and is now very extensively +practiced. This includes diversified farming, rotation of crops, stock +raising, the breeding of improved stock, better plowing, and a host of +matters connected with the farmer's occupation. Thus farming is becoming +neither a job nor an avocation, but a genuine vocation, or profession. +It requires for its success all the brains, all the ingenuity, all the +attention and push that an intelligent man can give it; and, withal, it +promises all the variety, the interest, the happiness, and the success +that any profession can offer.</p> + +<p><b>Now Before the Country.</b>—The movement in behalf of a richer rural life +and of better rural schools is now before the country. It is the subject +of discussion everywhere. It is in the limelight; the literature on the +subject is voluminous; books without number, on all phases of the +subject, are coming from the press. Educational papers and magazines, +and even the lay press, are devoting unstinted space to discussions on +country life and the rural school.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> The country has the whole question +"on the run," with a fair prospect of an early capture. On pages 182-186 +we give a bibliography of a small portion of the literature on these +questions which has come out recently.</p> + +<p><b>Educational Extension.</b>—Within the last few years the movement known as +"extension work," connected with the educational institutions, has had a +rapid growth. The state universities, agricultural colleges, and normal +schools in almost every state are doing their utmost to carry +instruction and education in a variety of forms to communities beyond +their walls. They are vying with each other in their extension +departments, in extra-mural service of every possible kind. In many +places institutions are even furnishing musical performances and other +forms of entertainment at cost, in competition with the private bureaus, +thus saving communities the profits of the bureau and the expense of the +middlemen. The University of Wisconsin has been in recent years the +leader in this extension work. Minnesota, and most of the central and +western states are active in the campaign of carrying education and +culture to outlying communities. Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota +have recently pooled their forces for some exchange of service in +extension work.</p> + +<p><b>Library Extension Work.</b>—In Wisconsin, the state library is under the +direction of the university extension department, and collections of +books, which may<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> be retained for a definite length of time, may be +secured by any town or community in the state. In this way a library may +do excellent service.</p> + +<p><b>Some Froth.</b>—No doubt some froth will be produced by the stirring of the +waters which are moving in some places with whirlpool rapidity. There is +considerable sound and fury, no doubt, in the discussions and in the +things attempted in these uplifting movements. There is a considerable +amount of smoke in proportion to the fire beneath. But, even with the +froth, the noise, and the smoke, there is some latent power, some +energy, beneath and behind it all. The main thing is that the power, the +energy, the thought, the enthusiasm of the nation have been started on +the right way. We can discount and overlook the vagaries and foibles +which will undoubtedly play around the outskirts of the movement. Every +new movement shows similar phenomena. Much will be said, written, and +done which is mere surface display. But while these may do little good, +they will do no harm and are indicative of the inner and vital +determination of the people to confront the difficulties.</p> + +<p><b>Thought and Attitude.</b>—Our thought and our attitude make any kind of +work or any kind of position desirable and worthy, or the reverse. Many +vicious leaders poison the minds of workers and make them dissatisfied +with their work and their employers by suggesting a wrong spirit and +attitude. We do not advocate passive submission to wrongs; nor on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> the +other hand do we think that the interests of the laborer are to be +subserved by infusing into his mind jealousy and envy and discontent +with his lot.</p> + +<p>A young man goes through the practice and games of football, enduring +exertion and pain which he would not allow any other person to force +upon him; at the same time, he has a song in his heart. On a camping +trip a person will submit to rigors and privations which he would think +intolerable at home. Whatever is socially fashionable is done with +pleasure; the mind is the great factor. If one is interested in his +work, it is pleasant—indeed more enjoyable than play; but if there is +no interest it is all drudgery and pain. The attitude, the motive, the +will make all the difference in the world. In the rural renaissance, +farm life may become more and more fashionable. This is by no means +impossible. Country life has no such rigors as the football field or the +outing in the wilds. When as a people we have passed from the sensuous +and erotic wave on the crest of which we seem at present to be carried +along, we can with profit, intellectually, morally, socially, and +physically, "go forth under the open sky and list to Nature's +teachings." Everything except the present glare of excitement beckons +back to the land, back to the country. Whether as a people we shall +effectively check the urban trend, will, in the not distant future, test +the self-control, the foresight, the wisdom, and the character of the +manhood and womanhood of this nation.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV</h2><div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents</a></div> + +<h3>A GOOD PLACE AFTER ALL</h3> + + +<p><b>Not Pessimistic.</b>—Some of the early chapters of this book may have left +the impression that a restoration, or rejuvenation, of country life, +such as will reverse the urban trend and make rural life the more +attractive by comparison, is difficult if not impossible. It is +difficult we grant; but we do not wish to leave the impression that such +is improbable, much less impossible. We were simply facing the truth on +the dark, or negative, side, and were attempting to give reasons for +conditions and facts which have been everywhere apparent. If there are +two sides to a question both should be presented as they really are. It +is always as useless and as wrong to minimize as it is to exaggerate, +and we were simply accounting for facts.</p> + +<p>We did not mean that there is no hope. The first essential in the +solution of any problem or in the improvement of any condition is to get +the condition clearly and accurately in mind—to <i>conceive</i> it exactly +as it is.</p> + +<p>There is no doubt that the city, with its material<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> splendor and its +social life, has attractions; but if we turn to rural life, we shall +find, if we go below the surface of human nature, the strongest appeals +to our deeper and more abiding interests. The surface of things and the +present moment are near to us, and powerful in the way of motivation. +These, however, are the aspects of human environment which appeal most +strongly to the child, to the savage, and to the uneducated person. If +we are optimists, believing that the race is progressing, and that our +own people and country are progressing as rapidly as or more rapidly +than any other, we must believe that motives which appeal to our deeper, +saner, and more disciplined nature will win out in the long run. Let us +see, then, what some of the appeals to this saner stratum of human +nature, in behalf of rural life, are.</p> + +<p><b>Fewer Hours of Labor than Formerly.</b>—The hours of labor have been +reduced everywhere. In the olden time labor was done by slaves or serfs, +and neither their bodies nor their time was their own. They labored +when, where, and as long as their masters dictated. Even a generation +ago there was little said, and there was no uniformity, as to how long a +working-man should labor. In busy seasons or on important pieces of +work, he labored as long as the light of day permitted. It was from sun +to sun, and often long after the sun had disappeared from the western +horizon. Sixteen hours was no uncommon day for him. Under such +conditions there was no room for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> mental, social, or spiritual +advancement. Later, the hours were reduced to a maximum of fourteen. +This proved to be so satisfactory that laws were passed providing for a +further decrease in hours. This standardizing of the day of labor, while +not general in the country, had its effect. The twelve-hour day, while +still long, was a decided betterment over the sixteen-hour day. There +was beginning to be a little possible margin for social, mental, and +recreational activity. But the twelve-hour day must inevitably get the +better of the human system and of the spirit of man. It is too long and +too steady a grind, and habit and long hours soon tell their story. They +inevitably lead to the condition of the "man with the hoe."</p> + +<p>As improvements in machinery were perfected and inventions of all kinds +multiplied and spread both in the factory and on the farm, the ten-hour +day was ushered in. It was inevitable in this age of inventions and +improvements. Capital had these inventions and improvements in its +possession and a laboring man could now do twice as much with the same +labor as formerly. But society as a whole could not assent to the theory +and the practice that the capitalist, the owner of the machines, should +reap all the advantages; and so, while the hours were still further +reduced, the wages were increased, thus more nearly equalizing the +benefits accruing to employer and employed. With the aid of inventions +the worker, on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> the average, can do more in the short day of eight or +ten hours than he did formerly in the sixteen-hour day. It is not +contended, however, that every laborer actually does this. This phase of +the question is a large factor in the labor problem. But from the point +of view of the average man and of society, labor with the aid of +machinery can produce probably twice as much as it produced formerly +without that aid. This fact has had great influence upon industrial life +everywhere, and makes for increased opportunities and growth.</p> + +<p><b>The Mental Factor Growing.</b>—The trend alluded to above implies that the +mental factor is growing larger and larger in occupations of all kinds. +Success is becoming more and more dependent on knowledge, ingenuity, +prudence, and foresight. Especially is this true on the farm. There is +scarcely any calling that demands or can make use of such varied +talents. All fields of knowledge may be drawn upon and utilized, from +the weather signals to the most recent findings and conclusions of +science and philosophy. As the hours of labor both in the factory and on +the farm are shortened still more—as is possible—the hours of study, +of play, and of social converse will be lengthened. Indeed this is one +of the by-problems of civilization and progress—to see that leisure +hours are profitably spent for the welfare of the individual. In any +event, the prospect of reasonable hours and of social and cultural +opportunities in rural life is growing from day to day. The intelligent +man with modern<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> machinery and ordinary capital, if he has made some +scientific study of agriculture, need have no fear of not living a +successful and happy life on the farm. A knowledge of his calling in all +its aspects, with the aid of modern machinery, and with sobriety, +thrift, and industry, will bring a kind of life to both adults and +children that the crowded factory and tenements and the tinsel show of +the city cannot give. But one must be willing to forego the social and +physical display of the surface of things and to choose the better and +more substantial part. If we are a people that can do this there is hope +for an early and satisfactory solution of the problems of rural life.</p> + +<p><b>The Bright Side of Old-time Country Life.</b>—Even in the country life of +twenty-five to fifty years ago, there was a bright and happy side. It +was not all dark, and, in its influence for training the youth to a +strong manhood, we shall probably not look upon its like again. If +strength and welfare rather than pleasure are the chief end of life, +many of the experiences which were undoubtedly hardships were blessings +in disguise. Every boy had his chores and every girl her household +duties to perform. The cows had to be brought home in the evening from +the prairie or the woods; they had to be milked and cared for; calves +and hogs had to be fed; horses had to be cared for both evening and +morning; barns, stables, and sheds had to be looked after. All the +animals of the farm, including the domestic fowls, such as chickens, +ducks,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174</a></span> and turkeys, became our friends and each was individually known.</p> + +<p>Though all the duties of farm life had to be done honestly and well, +nevertheless the farmer's boy found time to go fishing and hunting, +skating, coasting, and trapping. He learned the ways and the habits of +beasts, birds, and fish. He observed the squirrels garnering their +winter supply in the fall. He watched the shrewd pocket gopher as it +came up and deposited the contents of its cheek pockets upon the pile of +fresh dirt beside his hole. He learned how to trap the muskrat, and woe +to the raccoon that was discovered stealing the corn, for it was tracked +and treed even at midnight. The boy's eyes occasionally caught sight of +a red fox or of a deer; and the call of the dove, the drum of the +pheasant, the welcome "whip-poor-will" and the "to-whit, to-whit, +to-who" of the owl were familiar sounds. He ranged the prairie and the +woods; he climbed trees for nuts and for distant views, and knew every +hill, valley, and stream for miles and miles around. Even his daily and +regular work was of a large and varied kind. It was not like the making +of one tenth of a pin, which has a strong tendency to reduce the worker +to one tenth of a man.</p> + +<p>On the farm one usually begins and finishes a piece of work whether it +be a hay-rack or a barn; he sees it through—the whole of it receives +expression in him. It is <i>his</i> piece of work and it faces him as he has +to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> face it. The tendency is for both to be "honest." If there were so +much brightness and variety in days gone by, when all work was done by +hand, how much better the situation can be now and in the future, when +inventions and machines have come to the rescue of the laborer, and when +the hours of toil have been so materially shortened!</p> + +<p><b>The Larger Environment.</b>—There is no doubt that a large and varied +environment is conducive to the growth of a strong and active +personality. If one has to adjust himself at every turn to something +new, it will lead to self-activity and initiative, to ingenuity and +aggressiveness. If tadpoles are reared in jars of different sizes, the +growth and size of each will vary with the size of the vessel, the +smallest jar growing the smallest tadpole, and the largest jar the +largest tadpole. It is fighting against the laws of fate to attempt to +rear strong personalities in a "flat" or even in a fifty-foot lot. They +need the range of the prairies, the hills, and the woods. Shakespeare +was born and brought up in one of the richest and most stimulating +environments, natural and social, in the world; and this, no doubt, had +much to do with his matchless ability to express himself on all phases +of nature and of mind. Large and varied influences, while they do not +compel, at least <i>tend</i> to produce, large minds; for they leave with us +infinite impressions and induce correspondingly varied reactions and +experiences. Under such conditions a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> child is reacting continually and +thus becoming active and efficient. He is challenged at every turn, and +if stumbling blocks become stepping stones, the process is the very best +kind of education.</p> + +<p><b>Games.</b>—There are excellent opportunities in the country for all kinds +of games, for there ample room and many incentives to activity present +themselves. In the city, children are often content with seeing experts +and professionals give performances or "stunts," while they, themselves, +remain passive. In the country there are not so many attractions and +distractions—so many dazzling and overwhelmingly "superior" +things—that children may not be easily induced to "get into the game" +themselves. I fear that in recent years owing to imitation of the city +and its life, play and games in the country have become somewhat +obsolete. There needs to be a renaissance in this field. We have been +offered everywhere in recent years so much of what might be called the +"finished product" that the children are content merely to sit around as +spectators and watch others give the performances.</p> + +<p>As in the case of the rural school the play instincts of country +children must be awakened again in behalf of rural life in general. +There are scores of games and sports, from marbles to football, which +should receive attention. In recent years the social mind, in all +sports, seems to be directed to the <i>result</i>, the winning or losing, +instead of to the game, as a game,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> and the fun of it all. True +sportsmanship should be revived and cultivated. There is no reason why +there should not be found in every neighborhood, and especially at every +school center, all kinds of plays and games, each in its own time and +place and having its own patronage—marbles, tops, swings, horseshoes, +"I spy," anti-over, pull-away, prisoner's base, tennis, croquet, volley +ball, basketball, skating, coasting, skiing, baseball, and football. +Horizontal bars, turning pole, and other apparatus should be provided in +every playground. In the social centers, if the boys can be organized as +Boy Scouts, and the girls as Camp-Fire Girls, good results will ensue.</p> + +<p>Many more plays and games will suggest themselves, and those for girls +should be encouraged as well as those for boys. All the aspects of rural +life can thus be made most enjoyable. It is often well to introduce and +cultivate one game at a time, letting it run its course, something like +a fever, and then, at the psychological moment, introduce and try out +another. To introduce too many at one time would not afford an +opportunity for children to experience the rise and fall of a wave of +enthusiasm on any one, and this is quite important. Usually some +direction should be given to play, but this direction should not be +suppressive, and should be given by a leader who understands and +sympathizes with child nature.</p> + +<p><b>Inventiveness in Rural Life.</b>—In the city, where everything is +manufactured or sold ready-made, a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> person simply goes to the store and +buys whatever he needs. In the country this cannot be done, and one is +driven by sheer necessity to devise ways and means of supplying his +needs, himself. He simply has to invent or devise a remedy. Necessity is +the mother of invention.</p> + +<p>It is really better for boys and girls in the country if their parents +are compelled to be frugal and economical. If children get anything and +everything they wish, merely for the asking, they are undone; they +become weak for lack of self-exertion, self-expression, and invention; +they become dissatisfied if everything is not coming their way from +others. They become selfish and careless. Having tasted of the best, +merely for the asking, they become dissatisfied with everything except +the best. This is the dominant tendency in the city and wherever parents +are foolish enough to satisfy the child's every whim. If the parents +carry the child in this manner, the child, in later years, will have +weak legs and the parents will have weak backs. Moreover, love and +respect move in the direction of activity, and if everything comes the +child's way there will be little love, except "cupboard love," going the +other way.</p> + +<p>It is unfortunate for children to experience the best too early in life; +there is then no room for growth and development. It was Professor James +who said that the best doll he ever saw was a home-made rag doll; it +left sufficient room for the play of the imagination.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> With the perfect, +factory-made doll there is nothing more for the imagination to do; it is +complete, but it is not the little girl who has completed it. In the +country, men and women, boys and girls are induced to begin and complete +all kinds of things. Many things have to be made outright and most +things have to be repaired on the farm. Challenges of this kind to +inventiveness and activity are outstanding all the time. Sleds, both +large and small, wheelbarrows and hay racks, sheds, granaries, and barns +are both made and repaired. But in all there is no mad rush. It is not +as it is in the factory or in the sawmill. One is not reduced to the +instantaneous reactions of an automaton; he has time to breathe and to +think. One can act like a free man rather than like a machine. There is +room for thought and for invention.</p> + +<p><b>Activity Rather than Passivity.</b>—In this infinite variety of stimulation +and response, the youth is induced to become active rather than passive. +While he is not pushed unduly, he is reasonably active during all his +waking hours, and the habit of activity, of doing, is ingrained. This is +closely related to character and morality, to thrift and success. Such a +person is more likely to be a creditor than a debtor to society. In this +respect the country and the farm have been the salvation of many a +youth.</p> + +<p>In the city many children have no regular employment; they have no +chores to do and no regular<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> occupation. Evenings and vacations find +them on the streets. Then Satan always finds mischief for idle hands to +do. These children become passive except under the impulses of instinct +or of mischievous ideas; they have no regular and systematic work to do; +everything is done for them. During their early years habits of +idleness, of passive receptivity, of mischief, and possibly of crime, +are ingrained. And though this kind of life may be more <i>pleasurable</i>, +in a low sense, than the active life of the country, there can be no +doubt as to which is the more wholesome and strengthening.</p> + +<p><b>Child Labor.</b>—A good child-labor law is absolutely essential to the +welfare of the children for whom it has been enacted; nevertheless, +there has been a great omission in not providing that idle children +shall do some work. Even in large cities there are probably more +children who do not work enough than there are who are made to work too +hard. In our zeal we sometimes forbid children to work, when some work +would be the very best thing for them. It is true that on the farm as +well as in the factory ignorant and mercenary parents make dollars out +of the sweat of their children, when these should be going to school or +engaged in physical and mental recreation and development. It is +unfortunate that society is not able to see to it, that, as in Plato's +Republic, every child and every person engage in the work or study for +which he is best fitted, and to the extent that is best for him. Then +the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> hundreds of thousands of children who are idling would be engaged +in some kind of occupation, and those who are working too hard would be +given lighter tasks; and all would have the privilege of an appropriate +education.</p> + +<p><b>The Finest Life on Earth.</b>—In view of such circumstances and +opportunities, life in the country should be, and <i>could be made</i>, the +best and most complete life possible to a human being. Country life is +the best cradle of the race. To have a good home and rear a family in +the heart of a great city is well-nigh impossible for the average +laboring man. The struggle for existence is too fierce and the +opportunity, in childhood and youth, for self-expression and initiative +is too meager. The environment is too vast, complex, and overwhelming, +with nothing worth while for the child to do. "Individuals may stand, +but generations will slip" on such an inclined plane of life. From this +point of view it can be truly said, we think, that "God made the country +while man made the town."</p> + +<p>The real, vital possibilities of country life are without number. The +surface attractions of the city are most alluring. A focusing of the +public mind upon the problem, its <i>pros</i> and <i>cons</i>, will, it is to be +hoped, turn the scales without delay in favor of country life and its +substantial benefits.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="BIBLIOGRAPHY" id="BIBLIOGRAPHY"></a>BIBLIOGRAPHY</h2><div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents</a></div> + + +<p>The following bibliography is submitted as affording information and +suggestive helps to those who are interested in the problems herein +discussed. Although the books and references have been selected with +care, it is not to be inferred that the list includes any considerable +portion of the vast and still increasing output of literature in this +field of investigation. But it will prove to be a fairly comprehensive +list from which the reader may select such articles or books as make a +favorable appeal to him. The works referred to are all of recent date, +and express the current trend of thought upon the problems discussed in +this little volume.</p> + +<p><br /> +BOOKS<br /> +<br /> +American Academy of Political and Social Science. Philadelphia, 1912. +Vol. XL, No. 129, "Country Life": Butterfield, "Rural Sociology as a +College Discipline"; Cance, "Immigrant Rural Communities"; Carver, +"Changes in Country Population"; Coulter, "Agricultural Laborers"; +Davenport, "Scientific Farming"; Dixon, "Rural Home"; Eyerly, +"Coöperative Movements among Farmers"; Foght, "The Country School"; +Gillette, "Conditions and Needs of Country Life"; Gray, "Southern +Agriculture"; Hartman, "Village Problems"; Hamilton, "Agricultural +Fairs"; Henderson, "Rural Police"; Hibbard, "Farm Tendency"; Kates, +"Rural Conferences"; Lewis, "Tramp Problem"; Marquis, "The Press"; +Mumford, "Education for Agriculture"; Parker, "Good Roads"; Pearson, +"Chautauquas"; Roberts and Israel, "Y.M.C.A."; +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> +Scudder, "Rural Recreation"; True, "The Department of Agriculture"; +Van Norman, "Conveniences"; Watrous, "Civic Art"; Washington, B. T., +"The Rural Negro Community"; Wilson, "Social Life"; Wells, "Rural +Church".<br /> +<br /> +Bailey, L. H.: <i>The Country Life Movement in the U. S.</i> (1912) 220 pp. +Macmillan Co., New York. <i>Cyclopedia of American Agriculture.</i> 4 +vols. $20.00. Macmillan Co., New York. <i>The State and the Farmer.</i> +(1911) 177 pp. Macmillan Co., New York. <i>The Training of Farmers.</i> +(1909) 263 pp. Century Co., New York.<br /> +<br /> +Betts, George H.: <i>New Ideals in Rural Schools.</i> (1913) 127 pp. Houghton +Mifflin Co., Boston.<br /> +<br /> +Brown, H. A.: <i>Readjustment of a Rural High School to the Needs of a +Community.</i> (1912) Bureau of Education, Bulletin No. 20.<br /> +<br /> +Buell, Jennie: <i>One Woman's Work for Farm Women.</i> 50c. Whitcomb & +Barrows, Boston.<br /> +<br /> +Burnham, Ernest: <i>Two Types of Rural Schools.</i> (1912) 129 pp. Teachers +College, Columbia, New York.<br /> +<br /> +Butterfield, K. L.: <i>Chapters in Rural Progress.</i> $1.00. Univ. of +Chicago Press. <i>The Country Church and the Rural Problem.</i> (1911) +165 pp. Univ. of Chicago Press.<br /> +<br /> +Carney, Mabel: <i>Country Life and the Country School.</i> (1912) 405 pp. +Row, Peterson & Co., Chicago.<br /> +<br /> +Conference on Rural Education—<i>Proceedings.</i> (1913) 45 pp. Wright & +Potter, Boston.<br /> +<br /> +Coulter, John Lee: <i>Coöperation Among Farmers.</i> (1911) 75c. Sturgis & +Walton Co., New York.<br /> +<br /> +Cubberly, E. P.: <i>The Improvement of the Rural School.</i> (1912) 75 pp. +Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. <i>Rural Life and Education.</i> Houghton +Mifflin Co., Boston.<br /> +<br /> +Curtis, Henry S.: <i>Play and Recreation for the Open Country.</i> (1914) 265 +pp. Ginn & Co., Boston.<br /> +<br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> +Davenport, Mrs. E.: <i>Possibilities of the Country Home.</i> (Bulletin.) +University of Illinois, Urbana.<br /> +<br /> +Dodd, Helen C.: <i>The Healthful Farm House; by a Farmer's Wife.</i> (1911) +69 pp. Whitcomb & Barrows, New York.<br /> +<br /> +Eggleston, J. D., and Bruère, R. W.: <i>The Work of the Rural School.</i> +(1913) 287 pp. Harpers.<br /> +<br /> +Fiske, G. W.: <i>The Challenge of the Country.</i> (1912) 283 pp. Association +Press, New York.<br /> +<br /> +Foght, H. W.: <i>The American Rural School.</i> (1910) 361 pp. Macmillan Co., +New York.<br /> +<br /> +F. T.: <i>The Country School of To-morrow.</i> (1913) 15 pp. General +Education Board, New York.<br /> +<br /> +Gillette, J. M.: <i>Constructive Rural Sociology.</i> (1913) 301 pp. Sturgis +& Walton, New York.<br /> +<br /> +Haggard, H. R.: <i>Rural Denmark and its Lessons.</i> (1911) $2.25. Longmans, +Green & Co., New York.<br /> +<br /> +Hutchinson, F. K.: <i>Our Country Life.</i> (1912) 316 pp. A. C. McClurg & +Co., Chicago.<br /> +<br /> +Kern, O. J.: <i>Among Country Schools.</i> (1906) 366 pp. Ginn & Co., Boston.<br /> +<br /> +Macdonald, N. C.: <i>The Consolidation of Rural Schools in North Dakota.</i> +(1913) 35 pp. State Board of Education, Bismarck, N. D.<br /> +<br /> +McKeever, Wm. A.: <i>Farm Boys and Girls.</i> (1912) 326 pp. Macmillan Co., +New York.<br /> +<br /> +Monahan, A. C.: <i>The Status of Rural Education in the U. S.</i> Bureau of +Education, Washington, D. C.<br /> +<br /> +Page, L. W.: <i>Roads, Paths, and Bridges.</i> (1912) $1.00. Sturgis & Walton +Co., New York.<br /> +<br /> +Pennsylvania Rural Progress Association: <i>Proceedings, Rural Life +Conference.</i> (1912) 227 pp. Julius Smith, Secretary, Pennsdale, Pa.<br /> +<br /> +Plunkett, Sir Horace C.: <i>Rural Problem in the U. S.</i> (1910) 174 pp. +<br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span>Report of National Commission on Rural Life. Doc. No. 705. Government +Printing Office, Washington, D. C.<br /> +<br /> +Schmidt, C. C.: <i>Consolidation of Schools.</i> University of North Dakota. +<br /> +Seerley, H. H.: <i>The Country School.</i> (1913) 218 pp. Scribner's Sons, +New York. <i>Rural School Education.</i> (1912) 84 pp. University of<br /> +Texas.<br /> +<br /> +Wray, Angelina: <i>Jean Mitchell's School.</i> $1.00. Public School Pub. Co., +Bloomington, Ind.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +ARTICLES IN REPORTS AND PERIODICALS +<br /> +<br /> +Allman, L. J.: <i>Teachers for Rural Schools.</i> Report, N. E. A. (1910) pp. +280 and 575.<br /> +<br /> +Bailey, L. H.: <i>Why Boys Leave the Farm.</i> Century, 72: 410-16 (July, +1906).<br /> +<br /> +Barnes, F. R.: <i>Present Defects in the Rural Schools.</i> Report N. D. E. +A. (1909) pp. 259-266.<br /> +<br /> +Bruère, Martha Bensley: <i>The Farmer and His Wife.</i> Good Housekeeping +Mag., June, 1914, p. 820, New York.<br /> +<br /> +Conference for Education in the South; <i>Proceedings, 1909.</i> Foster, +Webb, and Parkes, Nashville, Tenn.<br /> +<br /> +Consolidation: Drop a postal card to Superintendents of Public +Instruction for latest printed matter.<br /> +<br /> +Cotton, F. A.: <i>Country Life and the Country School.</i> School and Home +Education, 28:90-94 (Nov., 1908).<br /> +<br /> +Coulter, J. C.: <i>Coöperative Farming.</i> World's Work, 23: 59-63 (Nov., +1911).<br /> +<br /> +<i>County Supervision.</i> Report N.E.A. 1908, p. 252.<br /> +<br /> +Cubberly, E. P.: <i>Politics and the Country School Problem.</i> Educ. +Review, 47:10-21 (Jan., 1914).<br /> +<br /> +Gillette, J. M.: <i>The Drift to the City.</i> Am. Journal of Sociology, +16:645-67 (Mar., 1911).<br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> +<br /> +Hibbard, B. H.: <i>Tenancy in the North Central States.</i> Quar. Journal of +Economics, 25:710-29 (Aug., 1911).<br /> +<br /> +Hill, J. J.: <i>What We Must Do to be Fed.</i> World's Work, 19: 12226-54 +(Nov., 1909).<br /> +<br /> +McClure, D. E.: <i>Education of Country Children for the Farm.</i> Education, +26:65-70 (Oct., 1905).<br /> +<br /> +Miller, E. E.: <i>Factors in the Re-making of Country Life.</i> Forum, +48:354-62 (Sept., 1912).<br /> +<br /> +<i>Passing of the Man With the Hoe.</i> World's Work, 20: 13246-58 (Aug., +1910).<br /> +<br /> +<i>Rural Life and Rural Education.</i> Report N. E. A. 1912, pp. 281-313.<br /> +<br /> +Supervision: Index of N. E. A. Reports For County. Report of 1908, pp. +252-71.<br /> +<br /> +Wells, George F.: <i>Is an Organized Country Life Movement Possible?</i> +Survey, 29:449-56 (Jan. 4, 1913). +</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX</h2><div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents</a></div> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Activity and passivity, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></p> + +<p>Affiliation, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></p> + +<p>Agricultural colleges, <a href="#Page_46">46,</a> <a href="#Page_162">162</a></p> + +<p>Apperception mass, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></p> + +<p>Assistant county superintendent, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></p> + +<p>Attendance in consolidated school, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></p> + +<p>Automobile parties, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></p> + +<p>"Back to the country," <a href="#Page_9">9</a></p> + +<p>Best, the—the cheapest, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></p> + +<p>Boarding place, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></p> + +<p>Boy Scouts, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></p> + +<p>Bright side of rural life, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></p> + +<p>Camp-Fire Girls, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></p> + +<p>Character, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></p> + +<p>Child labor, <a href="#Page_180">180</a></p> + +<p>China, <a href="#Page_107">107,</a> <a href="#Page_144">144</a></p> + +<p>Chores, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></p> + +<p>Cities, population of, <a href="#Page_19">19;</a><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">churches of, <a href="#Page_23">23;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">conveniences in, <a href="#Page_20">20,</a> <a href="#Page_21">21;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">schools of, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></span></p> + +<p>Commission, Rural, <a href="#Page_9">9,</a> <a href="#Page_164">164</a></p> + +<p>Committee of Twelve, <a href="#Page_162">162</a></p> + +<p>Community activities, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></p> + +<p>Consolidation, <a href="#Page_37">37,</a> <a href="#Page_60">60,</a> <a href="#Page_3">63,</a> <a href="#Page_65">65,</a> <a href="#Page_75">75;</a><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">cost, <a href="#Page_70">70;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">difficulties, <a href="#Page_64">64;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">effects of, <a href="#Page_71">71,</a> <a href="#Page_72">72,</a> <a href="#Page_73">73,</a> <a href="#Page_74">74;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">process, <a href="#Page_63">63;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">when not needed, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></span></p> + +<p>Conventions, <a href="#Page_163">163</a></p> + +<p>Coöperation, <a href="#Page_139">139,</a> <a href="#Page_140">140,</a><a href="#Page_145">145,</a> <a href="#Page_158">158</a></p> + +<p>County superintendence, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></p> + +<p>Course of study, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></p> + +<p>Curriculum in rural schools, <a href="#Page_100">100-113</a></p> + +<p>Dancing, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></p> + +<p>Debates, <a href="#Page_16">116</a></p> + +<p>District system, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></p> + +<p>Diversification in farming, <a href="#Page_156">156,</a> <a href="#Page_165">165</a></p> + +<p>Dramatic performances, <a href="#Page_11">118</a></p> + +<p>Driver, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></p> + +<p>Education, <a href="#Page_77">77;</a><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">of teachers, <a href="#Page_84">84;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">value of, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></span></p> + +<p>Educational centers, <a href="#Page_23">23;</a><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">column in press, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></span></p> + +<p>Environment, <a href="#Page_105">105,</a> <a href="#Page_175">175</a></p> + +<p>Examination of schools, <a href="#Page_15">135</a></p> + +<p>Exhibits, school, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></p> + +<p>Experience, teaching, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></p> + +<p>Extension work, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></p> + +<p>Farmer, the, and his home, <a href="#Page_152">152;</a><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">and his politics, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></span></p> + +<p>Forum, a rural, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></p> + +<p>Games, <a href="#Page_121">121,</a> <a href="#Page_176">176</a></p> + +<p>Grading, <a href="#Page_71">71</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span></p> + +<p>Harvesting machinery, <a href="#Page_38">38-41</a></p> + +<p>High schools, progress in, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></p> + +<p>Higher education, progress in, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></p> + +<p>Hopkins, Mark, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></p> + +<p>Hours of labor, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></p> + +<p>Ideal life, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></p> + +<p>Imitation, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></p> + +<p>Individual work, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></p> + +<p>Inseparables, the three, <a href="#Page_88">88,</a> <a href="#Page_91">91,</a> <a href="#Page_126">126</a></p> + +<p>Interpreting core, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></p> + +<p>Inventiveness in rural life, <a href="#Page_177">177-179</a></p> + +<p>Kindness, too much, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></p> + +<p>Knots, untying, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></p> + +<p>Labor, hours of, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></p> + +<p>Labor-saving devices, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></p> + +<p>Laws, self-imposed, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></p> + +<p>Leadership, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></p> + +<p>Lectures, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></p> + +<p>Leveling process, <a href="#Page_153">153,</a> <a href="#Page_154">154</a></p> + +<p>Library extension, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></p> + +<p>Literary society, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></p> + +<p>Literature, urbanized, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></p> + +<p>Machinery, caring for, <a href="#Page_158">158</a></p> + +<p>Married teachers, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></p> + +<p>Men needed in teaching, <a href="#Page_53">53,</a> <a href="#Page_93">93</a></p> + +<p>Mental factor, <a href="#Page_172">172</a></p> + +<p>Mixed farming, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></p> + +<p>"Mode," the, <a href="#Page_88">88,</a> <a href="#Page_9">89</a></p> + +<p>Model rural school, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></p> + +<p>Moving pictures, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></p> + +<p>Münsterberg, Prof. H., <a href="#Page_92">92</a></p> + +<p>Murphy, Francis, <a href="#Page_41">141</a></p> + +<p>Music, <a href="#Page_11">119</a></p> + +<p>Normal schools, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></p> + +<p>Ocean travel, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></p> + +<p>Organization, <a href="#Page_26">26,</a> <a href="#Page_125">125</a></p> + +<p>"Overflow of instruction," <a href="#Page_111">111</a></p> + +<p>Physical soundness, <a href="#Page_82">82,</a> <a href="#Page_122">122</a></p> + +<p>Plant, the educational, <a href="#Page_34">34,</a> <a href="#Page_35">35,</a> <a href="#Page_77">77</a></p> + +<p>Problem, rural, <a href="#Page_24">24,</a> <a href="#Page_36">36,</a> <a href="#Page_37">37,</a> <a href="#Page_57">57,</a> <a href="#Page_131">131</a></p> + +<p>Profession, <a href="#Page_57">57,</a> <a href="#Page_90">90</a></p> + +<p>Profit-sharing, <a href="#Page_145">145</a></p> + +<p>Progress, lines of, <a href="#Page_38">38-48</a></p> + +<p>Punctuality, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></p> + +<p>Reaping machines, <a href="#Page_14">14,</a> <a href="#Page_38">38</a></p> + +<p>Renaissance, rural, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></p> + +<p>Responsibility, <a href="#Page_142">142</a></p> + +<p>Retired farmers, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></p> + +<p>Retirement fund, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></p> + +<p>Roads, better, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></p> + +<p>Routine, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></p> + +<p>Rural Commission, <a href="#Page_9">9,</a> <a href="#Page_164">164</a></p> + +<p>Rural schools, <a href="#Page_49">49;</a><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">backward, <a href="#Page_15">15,</a> <a href="#Page_47">47,</a> <a href="#Page_49">49;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">buildings, <a href="#Page_28">28;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">course of study for, <a href="#Page_108">108;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">good, <a href="#Page_36">36,</a> <a href="#Page_61">61;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">interior, <a href="#Page_31">31;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">no progress in, <a href="#Page_50">50;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">organization, <a href="#Page_26">26;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ventilation of, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></span></p> + +<p>Rural teachers, <a href="#Page_102">102;</a><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">courses for, <a href="#Page_59">59,</a> <a href="#Page_103">103</a></span></p> + +<p>Salaries, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></p> + +<p>School board, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></p> + +<p>Scientific farming, <a href="#Page_165">165;</a> <br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">spirit, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></span></p> + +<p>Self-activity, <a href="#Page_148">148,</a> <a href="#Page_149">149,</a> <a href="#Page_150">150</a></p> + +<p>Social center, <a href="#Page_74">74,</a> <a href="#Page_114">114,</a> <a href="#Page_137">137;</a><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">cost of, <a href="#Page_124">124,</a> <a href="#Page_126">126;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">as business center, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></span></p> + +Spelling school, <a href="#Page_117">117</a><br /> + +Sports, <a href="#Page_121">121</a><br /> + +<p>Standards, <a href="#Page_54">54,</a> <a href="#Page_58">58,</a> <a href="#Page_90">90;</a><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">to be raised, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></span></p> + +<p>Steam engine, <a href="#Page_42">42</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span></p> + +<p>Storm, A. V., <a href="#Page_53">53</a></p> + +<p>Supervision, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74,</a> <a href="#Page_127">127,</a> <a href="#Page_129">129;</a><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">city, <a href="#Page_132">132;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">county, <a href="#Page_129">129,</a> <a href="#Page_131">131;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">importance of, <a href="#Page_127">127;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">nominal, <a href="#Page_129">129;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">overdone, <a href="#Page_128">128;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">purpose of, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></span><br /></p> + +<p>Surroundings, effect of, on children, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></p> + +<p>Teacher, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">chief factor, <a href="#Page_34">34;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">leader, <a href="#Page_62">62,</a> <a href="#Page_114">114,</a> <a href="#Page_147">147;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">courses for, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></span></p> + +<p>Terms, school, <a href="#Page_55">55,</a> <a href="#Page_109">109</a></p> + +<p>Textbook teaching, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></p> + +<p>Township system, <a href="#Page_65">65,</a> <a href="#Page_66">66</a></p> + +<p>Transportation of pupils, <a href="#Page_67">67,</a> <a href="#Page_69">69</a></p> + +<p>Urban trend, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></p> + +<p>Urbanized literature, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></p> + +<p>Value of education, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></p> + +<p>Ventilation, <a href="#Page_29">29</a><br /></p> + +<p>Wages, <a href="#Page_90">90,</a> <a href="#Page_96">96</a></p> + +<p>Waste land, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></p> + +<p>Winter work, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></p> + +<p>Women's condition, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></p> + +<p>Work, value of, <a href="#Page_10">10,</a> <a href="#Page_14">14,</a> <a href="#Page_157">157,</a> <a href="#Page_180">180;</a><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">city, <a href="#Page_23">23;</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">farm, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></span></p> + +<p>Yearly routine, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></p> +</div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Rural Life and the Rural School, by Joseph Kennedy + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RURAL LIFE AND THE RURAL SCHOOL *** + +***** This file should be named 29600-h.htm or 29600-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/6/0/29600/ + +Produced by Peter Vachuska, Val Wooff and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Rural Life and the Rural School + +Author: Joseph Kennedy + +Release Date: August 3, 2009 [EBook #29600] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RURAL LIFE AND THE RURAL SCHOOL *** + + + + +Produced by Peter Vachuska, Val Wooff and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + RURAL LIFE + AND THE RURAL SCHOOL + + BY + + JOSEPH KENNEDY + + DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION IN THE + UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA + + + + AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY + NEW YORK CINCINNATI CHICAGO + + + + + RURAL LIFE AND THE RURAL SCHOOL + W. P. 2. + + + + +PREFACE + + +This volume is addressed to the men and women who have at heart the +interests of rural life and the rural school. I have tried to avoid +deeply speculative theories on the one hand, and distressingly practical +details on the other; and have addressed myself chiefly to the +intelligent individual everywhere--to the farmer and his wife, to the +teachers of rural schools, to the public spirited school boards, +individually and collectively, and to the leaders of rural communities +and of social centers generally. I have tried to avoid the two extremes +which Guizot says are always to be shunned, viz.: that of the "visionary +theorist" and that of the "libertine practician." The former is +analogous to a blank cartridge, and the latter to the mire of a swamp or +the entangled underbrush of a thicket. The legs of one's theories (as +Lincoln said of those of a man) should be long enough to reach the +earth; and yet they must be free to move upon the solid ground of fact +and experience. Details must always be left to the _person_ who is to do +the work, whether it be that of the teacher, of the farmer, or of the +school officer. + +I am aware that there is a veritable flood of books on this and kindred +topics, now coming from the presses of the country. My sole reasons for +the publication of the present volume are the desire to deliver the +message which has come to fruition in my mind, and the hope that it may +reach and interest some who have not been benefited by a better and more +systematic treatise on this subject. + +By way of credential and justification, I would say that the message of +the book has in large measure grown out of my own life and thought; for +I was born and brought up in the country, there I received my elementary +education, and there I remained till man grown. Practically every kind +of work known on the farm was familiar to me, and I have also taught and +supervised rural schools. These experiences are regarded as of the +highest value, and I revert in memory to them with a satisfaction and +affection which words cannot express. + +If there should seem to be a note of despair in some of the earlier +chapters as to the desired outcome of the problems of rural life and the +rural school, it is not intended that such impression shall be complete +and final. An attempt is made simply to place the problem and the facts +in their true light before the reader. There has been much "palavering" +on this subject, as there has been much enforced screaming of the eagle +in many of our Fourth of July "orations." I feel that the first +requisite is to conceive the problems clearly and in all seriousness. + +If these problems are to be solved, true conceptions of _values_ must be +established in the social mind. Many present conceptions, like those of +the _personality_ of the teacher, _standards_ for teaching, +_supervision_, school _equipment_, _salary_, etc., must first be +_dis_-established, and then higher and better ones substituted. There +will have to be a genuine and intelligent "tackling" of the problems, +and not, as has been the case too often, a mere playing with them. There +will have to be some real statesmanship introduced into the present +_laissez-faire_ spirit, attitude, and methods of American rural life and +rural education. The nation in this respect needs a trumpet call to +action. There is need of a chorus, loud and long, and if the small voice +of the present discussion shall add only a little--however little--to +this volume of sound, there will be so much of gain. This is my aim and +my hope. + + JOSEPH KENNEDY + + THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + +CHAPTER I. RURAL LIFE 9 + + A generation ago; Chores and work; Value of work; Extremes; Yearly + routine; Disliked in comparison; Other hard jobs; Harvesting; + Threshing; Welcome events; Winter work; What the old days lacked; + The result; The backward rural school; Women's condition + unrelieved; The rural problem must be met; Facilities. + +CHAPTER II. THE URBAN TREND 19 + + Cityward; Attractive forces; Conveniences in cities; Urbanized + literature; City schools; City churches; City work preferred; + Retired farmers; Educational centers; Face the problem; Educational + value not realized; Wrong standard in the social mind; Rural + organization; Playing with the problem. + +CHAPTER III. THE REAL AND THE IDEAL SCHOOL 28 + + The building; No system of ventilation; The surroundings; The + interior; Small, dead school; That picture and this; Architecture + of building; Get expert opinion; Other surroundings; Number of + pupils; It will not teach alone; The teacher; A good rural school; + The problem. + +CHAPTER IV. SOME LINES OF PROGRESS 38 + + Progress; In reaping machines; The dropper; The hand rake; The self + rake; The harvester; The wire binder; The twine binder; Threshing + machine; The first machine; Improvements; The steam engine; + Improvements in ocean travel; From hand-spinning to factory; The + cost; Progress in higher education; Progress in normal schools; + Progress in agricultural colleges; Progress in the high schools; + How is the rural school? + +CHAPTER V. A BACKWARD AND NEGLECTED FIELD 49 + + Rural schools the same everywhere; Rural schools no better than + formerly; Some improvements; Strong personalities in the older + schools; More men needed; Low standard now; The survival of the + unfittest; Short terms; Poor supervision; No decided movement; + Elementary teaching not a profession; The problem difficult, but + before us; Other educational interests should help; Higher + standards necessary; Courses for teachers; The problem of + compensation; Consolidation as a factor; Better supervision + necessary; A model rural school; The teacher should lead; A good + boarding place. + +CHAPTER VI. CONSOLIDATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS 63 + + The process; When not necessary; The district system; The township + system; Consolidation difficult in district system; Easier in + township system; Consolidation a special problem for each district; + Disagreements on transportation; Each community must decide for + itself; The distance to be transported; Responsible driver; Cost of + consolidation; More life in the consolidated school; Some grading + desirable; Better teachers; Better buildings and inspection; Longer + terms; Regularity, punctuality, and attendance; Better supervision; + The school as a social center; Better roads; Consolidation coming + everywhere; The married teacher and permanence. + +CHAPTER VII. THE TEACHER 77 + + The greatest factor; What education is; What the real teacher is; A + hypnotist; Untying knots; Too much kindness; The button + illustration; The chariot race; Physically sound; Character; Well + educated; Professional preparation; Experience; Choosing a teacher; + A "scoop"; What makes the difference; A question of teachers. + +CHAPTER VIII. THE THREE INSEPARABLES 88 + + The "mode"; The "mode" in labor; The "mode" in educational + institutions; No "profession"; Weak personalities; Low standard; + The norm of wages too low; The inseparables; Raise the standard + first; More men; Cooperation needed; The supply; Make it + fashionable; The retirement system; City and country + salaries--effects; The solution demands more; A good school board; + Board and teacher; The ideal. + +CHAPTER IX. THE RURAL SCHOOL CURRICULUM 100 + + Imitation; The country imitates the city; Textbooks; An + interpreting core; Rural teachers from the city; A course for rural + teachers; All not to remain in the country; Mere textbook teaching; + A rich environment; Who will teach these things?; The scientific + spirit needed; A course of study; Red tape; Length of term; + Individual work; "Waking up the mind"; The overflow of instruction; + Affiliation; The "liking point"; The teacher, the chief factor. + +CHAPTER X. THE SOCIAL CENTER 114 + + The teacher, the leader; Some community activities; The literary + society; Debates; The school program; Spelling schools; Lectures; + Dramatic performances; A musical program; Slides and moving + pictures; Supervised dancing; Sports and games; School exhibits; A + public forum; Courtesy and candor; Automobile parties; Full life or + a full purse; Organization; The inseparables. + +CHAPTER XI. RURAL SCHOOL SUPERVISION 127 + + Important; Supervision standardizes; Supervision can be overdone; + Needed in rural schools; No supervision in some states; Nominal + supervision; Some supervision; An impossible task; The problem not + tackled; City supervision; The purpose of supervision; What is + needed; The term; Assistants; The schools examined; Keep down red + tape; Help the social centers; Conclusion. + +CHAPTER XII. LEADERSHIP AND COOPERATION 139 + + The real leader; Teaching _vs._ telling; Enlisting the cooperation + of pupils; Placing responsibility; How people remain children; On + the farm; Renters; The owner; The teacher as a leader; + Self-activity and self-government; Taking laws upon one's self; An + educational column; All along the educational line. + +CHAPTER XIII. THE FARMER AND HIS HOME 152 + + Farming in the past; Old conceit and prejudice; Leveling down; + Premises indicative; Conveniences by labor-saving devices; Eggs in + several baskets; The best is the cheapest; Good work; Good seed and + trees; A good caretaker; Family cooperation; An ideal life. + +CHAPTER XIV. THE RURAL RENAISSANCE 160 + + Darkest before the dawn; The awakening; The agricultural colleges; + Conventions; Other awakening agencies; The farmer in politics; The + National Commission; Mixed farming; Now before the country; + Educational extension; Library extension work; Some froth; Thought + and attitude. + +CHAPTER XV. A GOOD PLACE AFTER ALL 169 + + Not pessimistic; Fewer hours of labor than formerly; The mental + factor growing; The bright side of old-time country life; The + larger environment; Games; Inventiveness in rural life; Activity + rather than passivity; Child labor; The finest life on earth. + + + + +RURAL LIFE AND THE RURAL SCHOOL + + + + +CHAPTER I + +RURAL LIFE + + +It is only within the past decade that rural life and the rural school +have been recognized as genuine problems for the consideration of the +American people. Not many years ago, a president of the United States, +acting upon his own initiative, appointed a Rural School Commission to +investigate country life and to suggest a solution for some of its +problems. That Commission itself and its report were both the effect and +the cause of an awakening of the public mind upon this most important +problem. Within the past few years the cry "Back to the country" has +been heard on every hand, and means are now constantly being proposed +for reversing the urban trend, or at least for minimizing it. + +=A Generation Ago.=--Rural life, as it existed a quarter of a century or +more ago, was extremely severe and indeed to our mind quite repellent. +In those days--and no doubt they are so even yet in many places--the +conditions were too often forbidding and deterrent. Otherwise how can +we explain the very general tendency among the younger people to move +from the country to the city? + +=Chores and Work.=--The country youth, a mere boy in his teens, was, and +still is, compelled to rise early in the morning--often at four +o'clock--and to go through the round of chores and of work for a long +day of twelve to fifteen hours. First, after rising, he had his team to +care for, the stables were to be cleaned, cows to be milked, and hogs +and calves to be fed. + +After the chores were done the boy or the young man had to work all day +at manual labor, usually close to the soil; he was allowed about one +hour's rest at dinner time; in the evening after a day's hard labor, he +had to perform the same round of chores as in the morning so that there +was but a short time for play and recreation, if he had any surplus +energy left. He usually retired early, for he was fatigued and needed +sleep and rest in order to be refreshed for the following day, when he +very likely would be required to repeat the same dull round. + +=Value of Work.=--Of course work is a good thing. A moderate and +reasonable amount of labor is usually the salvation of any individual. +No nation or race has come up from savagery to civilization without the +stimulating influence of labor. It is likewise true that no individual +can advance from the savagery of childhood to the civilization of adult +life except through work of some kind. Work in a reasonable amount is a +blessing and not a curse. It is probably due to this fact that so many +men in our history have become distinguished in professional life, in +the forum, on the bench, and in the national Congress; in childhood and +youth they were inured to habits of work. This kept them from +temptation, and endowed them with habits of industry, of concentration, +and of purpose. The old adage that "Satan finds some mischief still for +idle hands to do," found little application in the rural life of a +quarter of a century ago. + +=Extremes.=--Even with all its unrecognized advantages, the fact remains +that farm life has been quite generally uninteresting to the average +human being. There are individuals who become so accustomed to hard work +that the habit really grows to be pleasant. This, no doubt, often +happens. Habit accustoms the individual to accommodate himself to +existing conditions, no matter how severe they may be. A very old man +who was shocking wheat under the hot sun of a harvest day was once told +that it must be hard work for him. He replied, "Yes, but I like it when +the bundles are my own." So the few who are interested and accustomed by +habit to this kind of life may enjoy it, but to the great majority of +people the conditions would be decidedly unattractive. + +=Yearly Routine.=--The yearly routine on the farm used to be about as +follows: In early spring, before seeding time had come, all the seed +wheat had to be put through the fanning mill. The seed was sown by +hand. A man carried a heavy load of grain upon his back and walked from +one end of the field to the other, sowing it broadcast as he went. After +the wheat had been sown, plowing for the corn and potatoes was begun and +continued. These were all planted by hand, and when they came above +ground they were hoed by hand and cultivated repeatedly by walking and +holding the plow. + +=Disliked in Comparison.=--All of this work implies, of course, that the +person doing it was close to the soil; in fact, he was _in_ the soil. He +wore, necessarily, old clothes somewhat begrimed by dirt and dust. His +shoes or boots were heavy and his step became habitually long and slow. +Manual labor too frequently carries with it a neglect of cleanliness. +The laborer on the farm necessarily has about him the odor of horses, of +cows, and of barns. Such conditions are not bad, but they are +nevertheless objectionable, when compared with the neatness and +cleanliness of the clerk in the bank or behind the counter. We do not +write these words in any spirit of disparagement, but merely from the +point of view at which many young people in the country view them. We +are trying to face the truth in order to understand the problem to be +solved. It is essential to look at the situation squarely and to view it +steadily and honestly. Hiding our heads in the sand will not clarify our +vision. + +=Other Hard Jobs.=--The next step in the yearly round was haymaking. +Frequently, the grass was cut with scythes. In any event the work of +raking, curing, and stacking the hay, or the hauling it and pitching it +into the barns was heavy work. There was no hayfork operated by +machinery in those days. When not haying, the youth was usually put to +summer-fallowing or to breaking new ground, to fencing or splitting +rails,--all heavy work. No wonder that he always welcomed a rainy day! + +=Harvesting.=--Then came the wheat-harvest time. Within the memory of +the author some of the grain was cut with cradles; later, simple reaping +machines of various kinds were used; but with them went the binding, +shocking, and stacking, all performed by hand and all arduous pieces of +work. These operations were interspersed with plowing and threshing. +Then came corn cutting, potato digging, and corn husking. + +=Threshing.=--In those days most of the work around a threshing machine +was also done by hand. There was no self-feeding apparatus and no +band-cutting device; there was no straw-blower and no measuring and +weighing attachments. It usually required about a dozen "hands" to do +all the work. These men worked strenuously and usually in dusty places. +The only redeeming feature of the business was the opportunity given for +social intercourse which accompanied the work. Men, being social by +instinct, always work more willingly and more strenuously when others +are with them. + +=Welcome Events.=--It is quite natural, as we have said, that under such +conditions as these the youth longed for a rainy day. A trip to the city +was always a delightful break in the monotony of his life, and a short +respite from severe toil. Sunday was usually the only social occasion in +rural life. It was always welcome, and the boys, even though tired +physically from work during the week, usually played ball, or went +swimming, or engaged in other sports on Sunday afternoons. Living in +isolation all the week and engaged in hard labor, they instinctively +craved companionship and society. + +=Winter Work.=--When the fall work was done, winter came with its own +occupations. There were usually about four months of school in the rural +district, but even during this season there was much manual labor to be +done. Trees were to be cut down and wood was to be chopped, sawed, and +split for the coming summer. Land frequently had to be cleared to make +new fields; the breaking of colts and of steers constituted part of the +sport as well as of the labor of that season of the year. + +=What the Old Days Lacked.=--There was little or no machinery as a +factor in the rural life of days gone by. In these modern times, of +course, many things have made country life more attractive than +formerly. Twenty-five years ago there was no rural delivery, no motor +cycle, no automobile; even horses and buggies were somewhat of a luxury, +for in the remote country districts the ox team or "Shanks' mares" +formed the usual mode of travel. + +=The Result.=--It is little wonder that under such circumstances +discontent arose and that people who by nature are sociable longed to go +where life was, in their opinion, more agreeable. Even with all the +later conveniences and improvements, the trend cityward still continues +and may continue indefinitely in the future. The American people may as +well face the facts as they are. It is difficult if not impossible to +make the country as attractive to young people as is the city; and +consequently to reverse or even stop the urban trend will be most +difficult. Indeed, some of the things which make rural life pleasant, +like the automobile, favor this trend, which probably will continue +until economic pressure puts on the brakes. Even now, with all our +improvements, the social factors in rural life are comparatively small. +Here is one of our greatest problems: How to increase the fullness of +social life in rural communities so as to make country life and living +everywhere more attractive. + +=The Backward Rural School.=--Although the material conditions and +facilities for work have improved by reason of various inventions in +recent years, the rural school of former days was frequently as good as, +if not better in some respects than, the school of to-day. Formerly +there were many able men engaged in teaching who could earn as much in +the schoolroom as they could earn elsewhere. There were consequently in +the rural schools many strong personalities, both men and women. Since +that time new opportunities and callings have developed so rapidly that +some of the most capable people have been enticed into other and more +profitable callings, and the schools are left in a weakened condition by +reason of their absence. + +=Women's Condition Unrelieved.=--With all our improvements and +conveniences, the work of women in country communities has been relieved +but little. Farm life has always been and still is a hard one for women. +It has been, in many instances, a veritable state of slavery; for women +in the country have always been compelled to do not only their own +proper work, but the work of two or three persons. The working hours for +women are even longer than those for men; for breakfast must be prepared +for the workmen, and household work must be done after the evening meal +is eaten. It is little to be wondered at that women as a rule wish to +leave the drudgery of rural life. Under the improved conditions of the +present day, with all kinds of machinery, the work of women is lightened +least.[1] + +[Footnote 1: There is an illuminating article, entitled "The Farmer and +His Wife," by Martha Bensley Bruere in _Good Housekeeping Magazine_, for +June, 1914, p. 820.] + +=The Rural Problem Must Be Met.=--I have given a short description of +rural life in order to have a setting for the rural school. The school +is, without doubt, the center of the rural life problem, and we are +face to face with it for a solution of some kind. The problems of both +have been too long neglected. Now forced upon our attention, they should +receive the thoughtful consideration of all persons interested in the +welfare of society. They are difficult of solution, probably the most +difficult of all those which our generation has to face. They involve +the reduction of the repellent forces in rural life and the increase of +such forces and agencies as will be attractive, especially to the young. +The great problem is, how can the trend cityward be checked or reversed? + +What attractions are possible and feasible in the rural communities? In +each there should be some recognized center to provide these various +attractions. There should be lectures and debates, plays of a serious +character, musical entertainments, and social functions; even the moving +picture might be made of great educational value. There is no reason why +the people in the country are not entitled to all the satisfying mental +food which the people of the city enjoy. These things can be secured, +too, if the people will only awake to a realization of their value, and +will show their willingness to pay for them. Something cannot be secured +for nothing. In the last resort the solution of most problems, as well +as the accomplishment of most aims, involves the expenditure of money. +Wherever the people of rural communities have come to value the finer +educational, cultural, civilizing, and intangible things more than they +value money, the problem is already being solved. It is certainly a +question of values--in aims and means. + +=Facilities.=--Many inventions might be utilized on the farm to better +advantage than they are at present. But people live somewhat isolated +lives in rural communities and there is not the active comparison or +competition that one finds in the city; improvements of all kinds are +therefore slower of realization. Values are not forced home by every-day +discussion and comparison. People continue to do as they have been +accustomed to do, and there are men who own large farms and have large +bank accounts who continue to live without the modern improvements, and +hence with but few comforts in life. A greater interest in the best +things pertaining to country life needs to be awakened, and to this end +rural communities should be better organized, socially, economically, +and educationally. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE URBAN TREND + + +In the preceding chapter we discussed those forces at work in rural life +which tend to drive people from the farm to the city. It was shown that, +on the whole, up to the present at least, farm life has not been as +pleasant as it should or could be made. Some aspects of it are +uncomfortable, if not painful. Hard manual labor, long hours of toil, +and partial isolation from one's fellows usually and generally +characterize it. Of course, there are many who by nature or habit, or +who by their ingenuity and thrift, have made it serve them, and who +therefore have come to love the life of the country; but we are speaking +with reference to the average men and women who have not mastered the +forces at hand, which can be turned to their service only by thought and +thrift. + +=Cityward.=--The trend toward the cities is unmistakable. So alarming +has it become that it has aroused the American people to a realization +that something must be done to reverse it or at least to minimize it. At +the close of the Revolutionary War only three per cent of the total +population of our country lived in what could be termed cities. In 1810 +only about five per cent of the whole population was urban; while in +1910 forty-six per cent of our people lived in cities. This means that, +relatively, our forces producing raw materials are not keeping pace with +the growth and demands of consumption. In some of the older Atlantic +states, as one rides through the country, vast areas of uncultivated +land meet the view. The people have gone to the city. Large cities +absorb smaller ones, and the small towns absorb the inhabitants of the +rural districts. Every city and town is making strenuous efforts to +build itself up, if need be at the expense of the smaller towns and the +rural communities. To "boom" its own city is assumed to be a large and +legitimate part of the business of every commercial club. This must +mean, of course, that smaller cities and towns and the rural communities +suffer accordingly in business, in population, and in life. + +=Attractive Forces.=--The attractive forces of the city are quite as +numerous and powerful as the repellent forces of the country. The city +is attractive from many points of view. It sets the pace, the standard, +the ideals; even the styles of clothing and dress originate there. It is +where all sorts of people are seen and met with in large numbers; its +varied scenes are always magnetic. Both old and young are attracted by +activities of all kinds; the "white way" in every city is a constant bid +for numbers. In the city there is always more liveliness if not more +life than in the country. Activity is apparent everywhere. Everything +_seems_ better to the young person from the country; there is more to +see and more to hear; the show windows and the display of lighting are a +constant lure; there is an endless variety of experiences. Life seems +great because it is cosmopolitan and not provincial or local. In any +event, it _draws_ the youth of the country. Things, they say, are +_doing_, and they long to be a part of it all. There is no doubt that +the mind and heart are motivated in this way. + +=Conveniences in Cities.=--In the city there are more conveniences than +in the country. There are sidewalks and paved streets instead of muddy +roads; there are private telephones, and the telegraph is at hand in +time of need; there are street cars which afford comfortable and rapid +transportation. There are libraries, museums, and art galleries; there +are free lectures and entertainments of various kinds; and the churches +are larger and more attractive than those in the country. As in the case +of teachers, the cities secure their pick of preachers. Doctors are at +hand in time of need, and all the professions are centered there. Is it +any wonder that people, when they have an opportunity, migrate to the +city? There is a social instinct moving the human heart. All people are +gregarious. Adults as well as children like to be where others are, and +so where some people congregate others tend to do likewise. Country life +as at present organized does not afford the best opportunity for the +satisfaction of this social instinct. The great variety of social +attractions constitutes the lure of the city--it is the powerful social +magnet. + +=Urbanized Literature.=--Most books, magazines, and papers are published +in cities, hence most of them have the flavor of city life about them. +They are made and written by people who know the city, and the city +doings are usually the subject matter of the literary output of the day. +Children acquire from these, even in their primary school days, a +longing for the city. The idea of seeing and possibly of living in the +city becomes "set," and it tends sooner or later to realize itself in +act and in life. + +=City Schools.=--The city, as a rule, maintains excellent schools; and +the most modern and serviceable buildings for school purposes are found +there. Urban people seem willing to tax themselves to a greater extent; +and so in the cities will be found comparatively better buildings, +better teachers, more and better supervision, more fullness of life in +the schools. Usually in the cities the leading and most enterprising men +and women are elected to the school board, and the people, as we have +said, acquiesce in such taxation as the board deems necessary. Cities +endeavor to secure the choice of the output of normal schools, +regardless of the demands of rural districts. Every city has a +superintendent, and every building a principal; while, in the country, +one county superintendent has to supervise a hundred or more schools, +situated too, as they are, long distances apart. + +=City Churches.=--Something similar may be said with respect to the +churches. In every city there are several, and people can usually go to +the church of their choice. In many parts of the country the church is +decadent, and in some places it is becoming extinct. Even the automobile +contributes its influence against the country church as a rural +institution, and in favor of the city; for people who are sufficiently +well-to-do often like to take an automobile ride to the city on Sunday. + +=City Work Preferred.=--Workingmen and servant girls also prefer the +city. They dislike the long irregular hours of the country; they prefer +to work where the hours are regular, where they do not come into such +close touch with the soil, and where they do not have to battle with the +elements. In the city they work under shelter and in accordance with +definite regulations. Hence it is that the problem of securing +workingmen and servant girls in the country is every day becoming more +and more perplexing. + +=Retired Farmers.=--Farmers themselves, when they have become reasonably +well-to-do, frequently retire to the city, either to enjoy life the rest +of their days or to educate their children. Individuals are not to be +blamed. The lack of equivalent attractions and conveniences in the +country is responsible. + +=Educational Centers.=--As yet, it is seldom that good high schools are +found in the country. To secure a high school education country people +frequently have to avail themselves of the city schools. Many colleges +and universities are located in the cities and, consequently, much of +the educational trend is in that direction. + +=Face the Problem.=--The rural problem is a difficult one and we may as +well face the situation honestly and earnestly. There has been too much +mere oratory on problems of rural life. We have often, ostrich-like, +kept our heads under the sand and have not seen or admitted the real +conditions, which must be changed if rural life is to become attractive. +Say what we will, people will go where their needs are best satisfied +and where the attractions are greatest. People cannot be _driven_--they +must be attracted and won. If "God made the country and man made the +town," God's people must be neglecting to give God's country "such a +face and such a mien as to be loved needs only to be seen." Where the +element of nature is largest there should be a more truly and deeply +attractive life than where the element of art predominates, however +alluring that may be. How can country life and the country itself be +made to attract? + +=Educational Value Not Realized.=--People generally have never been able +to estimate education fairly. The value of lands, horses, and money can +easily be measured, for these are tangible things; but education is very +difficult of appraisal, for it is intangible. Yet it is true that +intangible things are frequently of greater worth than are tangible +things. There are men who pay more to a jockey to train their horses +than they are willing to pay to a teacher to train their children. This +is because the services of the jockey are more easily reckoned. The +effects or results of the horse training are measured by the proceeds in +dollars and cents on the racetrack, and so are easily realized; while +the growth in education, refinement, and culture on the part of the +child is difficult indeed to measure or estimate. And yet how much more +valuable it is! The jockey gives the one, the teacher the other. + +=Wrong Standard in the Social Mind.=--In some rural communities the idea +exists that a teacher is worth about fifty dollars a month--perhaps not +so much. This idea has been encouraged until it has been too generally +accepted; and in many places the notion prevails that if a teacher is +receiving more than that amount, she is being overpaid, and the school +board is accused of extravagance. The rural school problem will never be +solved until the standard of compensation is readjusted. There are many +persons in the cities, who, for the performance of socially unimportant +things, are receiving larger salaries than are usually paid to +university professors and college presidents. Thus, the relative values +of services are misjudged and the recompense of labor is not properly +graded and proportioned. Unless there is, quite generally, a saner +perspective in the social mind and until values are reestimated, the +solution of the rural school problem and indeed of many problems of +rural life is well-nigh hopeless. Before a solution is effected +sufficient inducement must be held out to more strong persons to come +into the rural life and into the rural schools. These persons would and +could be leaders of strength among the people. + +=Rural Organization.=--Until recently there has been little or no +organization of rural life. Communities have been chaotic, socially, +economically, and educationally. Real leaders have been wanting--men and +women of strong and winning personality. The rural teacher, if he were a +man of power and initiative, often proved to be a real savior and +redeemer of social life in his community. But leaders of this type +cannot now be secured without a reasonable incentive. Such men will +seldom sacrifice themselves for the organization and uplift of a +community except for proper compensation. If teachers--or at least the +strong ones--were paid two or three times as much as they are to-day, +and if the standards were raised accordingly, so as to secure really +strong personalities as teachers, country life might be organized in +different directions and made so much more attractive than at present, +that the urban trend would be arrested or greatly minimized. + +=Playing with the Problem.=--The possibilities of the organization of +rural life and rural schools have not yet been realized; as a people we +have really played with this problem. It has taken care of itself; it +has been allowed to drift. Rural life at present is a kind of easy +social adjustment on the basis of the minimum of expense and of +exertion toward a solution. We have not realized the value of genuine +social, economic, and educational organization with all the activities +in these lines which the terms imply. We have not grappled with the +problem in an earnest, scientific way; we have never thought out +systematically what is needed, and then decided to employ the necessary +means to bring about the desired end. It may be that the problem will +remain unsolved for generations to come; but if country life and country +schools are to be made as attractive and pleasant as city life and city +schools, the people will have to face the problem without flinching and +use the only means which will bring about the desired result. The +problem could be easily solved if the people realized the true value of +rural life and of _good_ rural schools. Where there is a will there is a +way; but where there is no will there is no possible way. Country life +can be made fully as pleasant as city life, and the rural schools can be +made fully as good as the city schools. Of course some things will be +lacking in the country which are found in the city; but, conversely, +many things and probably better things will be found in the country than +could be found in the city. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE REAL AND THE IDEAL SCHOOL + + +This chapter will have reference to the one-room rural school as it has +existed in the past and as it still exists in many places; it will also +discuss the rural school as it ought to be. It is assumed that, although +consolidation is spreading rapidly, the one-room rural school as an +institution will continue to exist for an indefinite time. Under +favorable conditions it probably should continue to exist; for, as we +shall see, it has many excellent features which are real advantages. + +=The Building.=--The old-fashioned country schoolhouse was in many +respects a pitiable object. The "little red schoolhouse" in story and +song has been the object of much praise. As an ideal creation it may be +deserving of admiration, but this cannot be asserted of it as a reality. +The common type was an ordinary box-shaped building without +architecture, without a plan, and, as a rule, without care or repair. +Frequently it stood for years without being repainted, and in the midst +of chaotic and ill-cared-for surroundings. The contract for building it +was usually awarded to some carpenter who was also given _carte blanche_ +to do as he pleased in regard to its construction, the only provision +being that he keep within the amount of money allowed--probably eight +hundred or a thousand dollars. The usual result was the plainest kind of +building, without conveniences of any kind. If a blackboard were +provided in the specifications (which were often oral rather than +written), it was perhaps placed in such a position as to be useless. In +the course of my experience as county superintendent of schools, I once +visited a rural school in which the blackboard began at the height of a +man's head and extended to the ceiling, the carpenter probably thinking +that its one purpose was to display permanently the teacher's program. + +=No System of Ventilation.=--No system of ventilation was provided in +former days, and in some schoolhouses such is the condition to-day. +Nevertheless, within the past fifteen years, there has been a gratifying +improvement in this direction. It used to be necessary to secure fresh +air, if at all, by opening windows. In some sections, where the climate +is mild, this is the best method of ventilation; but certainly, in +northern latitudes where the winters are long and cold, some system of +forced or automatic ventilation should be provided. It may not be amiss +to assert that it would be an excellent plan to decide first upon a good +system of ventilation and then to build the schoolhouse around it. +Without involving great expense there are simple systems of ventilation +and heating combined which are very efficient for such houses. In +former times, and in some places even yet, the usual method of heating +was by an unjacketed stove which made the pupils who sat nearest it +uncomfortably warm, while those in the farther corners were shivering +with cold. With new systems of ventilation there is an insulating jacket +which equalizes the temperature of the room by heating the fresh air and +distributing it evenly. + +It is strange how slowly people change their habits and even their +opinions. Many are ignorant of the fact that in an unventilated +schoolroom each child is breathing over and over again an atmosphere +vitiated by the air exhaled from the lungs of every child in the room. +The fact that twenty to forty pupils are often housed in +poorly-ventilated schools accounts for much sickness and disease among +country children. Whatever it is that makes air "fresh," and healthful, +that factor is not found under the conditions described. Changes in the +temperature and movement of the air are, no doubt, important in securing +a healthful physiological reaction, but air contaminated and befouled by +bodies and lungs has stupefying effects which cannot be ignored. +Frequent change of air is essential. + +=The Surroundings.=--The typical country schoolhouse, as it existed in +the past, and as it frequently exists to-day, has not sufficient land to +form a good yard and a playground appropriate for its needs. The farmer +who sold or donated the small tract of land often plows almost to the +very foundation walls. There are usually no trees near by to afford +shelter or to give the place a homelike and attractive appearance. Some +trees may have been planted, but owing to neglect they have all died +out, and nothing remains but a few dead and unsightly trunks. There is +usually no fence around the school yard, and the outbuildings are +frequently a disgrace, if not a positive menace to the children's +morals. If a choice had to be made it would be better to allow children +to grow up in their native liberty and wildness without a school +"education" than to have them subjected to mental and moral degradation +by the vicious suggestions received in some of these places. Weak +teachers have a false modesty in regard to such conditions and school +boards are often thoughtless or negligent. + +=The Interior.=--Within the building there is frequently no adequate +equipment in the way of apparatus, supplementary reading, or reference +books of any kind. There are no decorations on the walls except such as +are put there by mischievous children. The whole situation both inside +and out brings upon one a feeling of desolation. Men and women who live +in reasonably comfortable homes near by allow the school home of their +precious children to remain for years unattractive and uninspiring in +every particular. Again this is the result of ignorance, +thoughtlessness, or negligence--a negligence that comes alarmingly close +to guilt. + +=Small, Dead School.=--In many a lone rural schoolhouse may be found +ten to twenty small children; and behind the desk a teacher holding only +a second or third grade elementary or county certificate. The whole +institution is rather tame and weak, if not dead; it is anything but +stimulating (and if education means anything it means stimulation). It +is this kind of situation which has led in recent years to a discussion +of the rural school as one of the problems most urgently demanding the +attention of society. + +=That Picture and This.=--Let us now consider, after looking upon that +picture, what the situation ought to be. In the first place, there +should be a large school ground, or yard--not less than two acres. The +schoolhouse should be properly located in this tract. The ground as a +whole should be platted by a landscape architect, or at least by a +person of experience and taste. Trees of various kinds should be planted +in appropriate places, and groups of shrubbery should help to form an +attractive setting. The school grounds should have a serviceable fence +and gate and there should be a playground and a school garden. + +=Architecture of Building.=--No school building should be erected that +has not first been planned or passed upon by an architect; this is now +required by law in some states. A building with handsome appearance and +with appropriate appointments is but a trifle, if any, more costly than +one that has none. Art of all kinds is a valuable factor in the +education of children and of people generally; and a building, beautiful +in construction, is no exception to the rule. Every person is educated +by what impresses him. It is only within the last few years that much +attention has been given to the necessity of special architecture in +schoolhouses. + +Men of intelligence sometimes draw up their own plans for a building and +then, having become enamored of them, proceed to construct a residence +or a schoolhouse along those lines. If they had shown their plans to an +architect of experience he would probably have pointed out numerous +defects which would have been admitted as soon as observed. Neither the +individual nor the district school boards can afford, in justice to +themselves and the community they represent, to ignore the wide and +varied knowledge of the expert. + +=Get Expert Opinion.=--Expert opinion should govern in the matter of +heating and ventilating, in the kind of seating, in the arrangement of +blackboards, in the decorations, and in all such technical and +professional matters. Every rural school should have a carefully +selected library, suited to its needs, including a sufficient number of +reference books. The pupils should have textbooks without delay so that +no time may be wasted in getting started after the opening of school. +The walls should be adorned with a few appropriate and beautiful +pictures. + +=Other Surroundings.=--On this school ground there should be a shop of +some kind. The resourceful teacher would find a hundred uses for some +such center of work. The closets should be so placed and so devised as +to be easily supervised. This would prevent them from being moral plague +spots, as is too often the case, as we have already said. There should +be stables for sheltering horses, if the school is, as it should be, a +social center for the community. There should be a flagpole in front of +the schoolhouse, from the top of which the stars and stripes should be +often unfurled to the breeze. + +=Number of Pupils.=--In this architecturally attractive building, amid +beautiful surroundings both inside and out, there should be, in order to +have a good rural school, not less than eighteen or twenty pupils. Where +there are fewer the school should be consolidated with a neighboring +school. Twenty pupils would give an assurance of educational and social +life, instead of the dead monotony which often prevails in the smaller +rural school. There should be, during the year, at least eight, and +preferably nine, months of school work. + +=It Will Not Teach Alone.=--But with all of these conditions the school +may still be far from effective. All the material equipment--the total +environment of the pupils, both inside and outside the building--may be +excellent, and still we may fail to find there a good school. Garfield +said of his old teacher that Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and a +pupil on the other made the best kind of college. This indicates an +essential factor other than the physical equipment. + +I remember being once in a store when a man who had bought a saw a few +days previously returned it in a wrathful mood. He was angry through and +through and declared that the saw was utterly worthless. He had brought +it back to reclaim his money. The merchant had a rich vein of humor in +his nature and he listened smilingly to the outburst of angry language. +Then he merely took the saw, opened his till and handed the man his +money, quietly asking, with a twinkle in his eyes for those standing +around, "Wouldn't it saw alone?" + +Now, we may have a fine school ground, or site, with a variety of +beautiful trees and clumps of shrubbery; we may have a playground and a +school garden; we may have it all splendidly fenced; the schoolhouse may +have an artistic appearance and may be kept in excellent repair; it may +be well furnished inside with blackboards, seats, library, reference +books, good textbooks, and all else that is needed; it may be +beautifully decorated; it may have twenty or even more pupils, and yet +we may not have a good school. It will not "saw alone"; the one +indispensable factor may still be lacking. + +=The Teacher.=--"As is the teacher, so is the school." Mark Hopkins on +the end of a log made a good college, compared with the situation where +the building is good and the teacher poor. The teacher is like the +mainspring in a watch. Without a good teacher there can be no good +school. Live teacher, live school; dead teacher, dead school. The +teacher and the school must be the center of life, of thought, and of +conversation, in a good way, in the neighborhood. The teacher is the +soul of the school; the other things constitute its body. What shall it +profit a community to have a great building and lack a good teacher? + +If we were obliged to choose between a good teacher and poor material +conditions and environment on the one hand, and excellent material +conditions and environment and a poor teacher on the other, we should +certainly not hesitate in our choice. + +=A Good Rural School.=--Now, if we suppose a really good teacher under +the good conditions described above, we shall have a _good_ rural +school. There is usually better individual work done in such a school +than is possible in a large system of graded schools in a city. In such +a school there is more single-mindedness on the part of pupils and +teacher. These pupils bring to such a school unspoiled minds, minds not +weakened by the attractions and distractions, both day and night, of +city life. In such a school the essentials of a good education are, as a +rule, more often emphasized than in the city. There is probably a truer +perspective of values. Things of the first magnitude are distinguished +from things of the second, fifth, or tenth magnitude. This inability to +distinguish magnitudes is one of the banes of common school education +everywhere--so many things are appraised at the same value. + +=The Problem.=--We have tried in this discussion to put before the +reader a fairly accurate picture, on the one hand, of the undesirable +conditions which have too often prevailed, and, on the other, of a rural +school which would be an excellent place in which to receive one's +elementary education. The reader is asked to "look here, upon this +picture, and on this." The transition from the one to the other is one +of the great problems of rural life and of the rural school. +Consolidation of schools, which we shall discuss more at length in a +later chapter, will help to solve the problem of the rural school, and +we give it our hearty indorsement. It is the best plan we know of where +the conditions are favorable; but it is probable that the one-room rural +school will remain with us for a long time to come. Indeed there are +some good reasons why it should remain. Where the good rural school +exists, whether non-consolidated or consolidated, it should be the +center and the soul of rural life in that community--social, economical, +and educational. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +SOME LINES OF PROGRESS + + +=Progress.=--The period covering the last sixty or seventy-five years +has seen greater progress in all material lines than any other equal +period of the world's history. Indeed, it is doubtful if a similar +period of invention and progress will ever recur. It has been one of +industrial revolution in all lines of activity. + +=In Reaping Machines.=--Let us for a few moments trace this development +and progress in some specific fields. Within the memory of many men now +living the hand sickle was in common use in the cutting of grain. In the +fifties and sixties the cradle was the usual implement for harvesting +wheat, oats, and similar grains. One man did the cradling and another +the gathering and the binding into sheaves. Then came rapid development +of the reaping machine. + +=The "Dropper."=--The most important step was probably the invention of +the sickle-bar, a slender steel bar having V-shaped sections attached, +to cut the grass and grain; this was pushed and pulled between what are +called guards, by means of a rod called the "Pitman rod," attached to a +small revolving wheel run by the gearing of the machine. This was a +wonderful invention and its principle has been extensively applied. The +first reaping machine using the sickle and guard device was known as the +"dropper." A reel, worked by machinery, revolved at a short distance +above the sickle, beating the wheat backward upon a small platform of +slats. This platform could be raised and lowered by the foot, by means +of a treadle. When there was sufficient grain on this slat-platform it +was lowered and the wheat was left lying in short rows on the ground, +behind the machine. The bundles had to be bound by hand and removed +before the machine could make the next round. This machine, though +simple, was the forerunner of other important inventions. + +=The Hand Rake.=--The next type of machine was the one in which the +platform of slats was replaced by a stationary platform having a smooth +board floor. A man sat at the side of the machine, near the rear, and +raked the bundles off sidewise with a hand rake. A boy drove the team +and the man raked off the grain in sufficient quantities to make +bundles. These were thrown by the rake a sufficient distance from the +standing grain to allow the machine to proceed round and round the +field, even if these bundles of grain, so raked off, were not yet bound +into sheaves. + +=The Self Rake.=--The next advance consisted in what is known as the +"self rake." This machine had a series of slats or wings which did both +the work of the reel in the earlier machine and also that of the man +who raked the wheat off the later machine. This saved the labor of one +man. + +=The Harvester.=--The next improvement in the evolution of the reaping +machine--if indeed an improvement it could be called--was what is known +as the "harvester." In this there was a canvas elevator upon which the +grain was thrown by the reel, and which brought the grain up to the +platform on which two men stood for the purpose of binding it. Each man +took his share, binding alternate bundles and throwing them, when bound, +down on the ground. Such work was certainly one of the repellent factors +in driving men and boys from the country to the city. + +=The Wire Binder.=--Another step in advance was the invention of the +wire binder. Everything was now done by machinery: the cutting, the +elevating, the binding, and even the carrying of the sheaves into piles +or windrows. There was an attachment upon the machine by which the +bundles were carried along and deposited in bunches to make the +"shocking" easier. + +=The Twine Binder.=--But the wire was found to be an obstruction both in +threshing and in the use of straw for fodder; and, as necessity is the +mother of invention, the so-called twine "knotter" soon came into +existence and with it the full-fledged twine binder with all its varied +improvements as we have it to-day. + +=Threshing Machine.=--The development of the perfected threshing machine +was very similar. Fifty years ago, the flail was an implement of common +use upon the barn floor. Then came the invention called the "cylinder"; +this was systematically studded with "teeth" and these, in the rapid +revolutions of the cylinder, passed between corresponding teeth +systematically set in what is known as "concaves." This tooth +arrangement in revolving cylinder and in concave was as epochal in the +line of progress in threshing machines as the sickle, with its +"sections" passing or being drawn through guards, was in reaping +machines. + +=The First Machine.=--The earliest of these threshing machines +containing a cylinder was run by a treadmill on which a horse was used. +It was literally a "one-horse" affair. Of course the first type of +cylinder was small and simple, and the work as a rule was poorly done. +The chaff and the straw came out together and men had to attend to each +by hand. The wheat was poorly cleaned and had to be run through a +fanning-mill several times. + +=Improvements.=--Then came some improvements and enlargements in the +cylinder, and also the application of horse power by means of what was +known as "tumbling rods" and a gearing attached to the cylinder. All +this at first was on rather a small scale, only two, three, or four +horses being used. But improvements and enlargements came step by step, +until the ten and twelve horse power machine was achieved, resulting in +the large separator that would thresh out several hundred bushels of +wheat in a day. The separator had also attached to it what was called +the "straw carrier," which conveyed both the straw and the chaff to +quite a distance from the machine. But even then most of the work around +the machine was done by hand. The straw pile required the attention of +three or four men; or if the straw were "bucked," as they said, it +required a man with a horse or team hitched to a long pole. In this +latter case the straw was spread in various parts of the field and +finally burned. + +=The Steam Engine.=--Then came the portable steam engine for threshing +purposes. At first, however, this had to be drawn from place to place by +teams. The power was applied to the separator by a long belt. Following +this, came the devices for cutting the bands, the self-feeder, and +finally the straw blower, as it is called, consisting of a long tube +through which the straw is blown by the powerful separator fanning-mill. +This blower can be moved in different directions, and consequently it +saves the labor of as many men as were formerly required to handle the +straw and chaff. About the same time, also, the device for weighing and +measuring the grain was perfected. The "traction" engine has now +replaced the one which had to be drawn by teams, and this not only +propels itself but also draws the separator and other loads after it +from place to place. In all this progress the machinery has constantly +become more and more perfect and the cylinder and capacity of the +machine greater and greater. Not many years ago, six hundred bushels in +a day was considered a big record in the threshing of wheat. Now the +large machines separate, or thresh out, between three and four thousand +bushels in one day. Such has been the development in reaping machines +from the sickle to the self-binder, and in threshing machines from the +flail to the modern marvel just described. + +=Improvement in Ocean Travel.=--A similar story may be told in regard to +ocean traffic and ocean travel. Our ancestors came from foreign lands on +sailing ships that required from three weeks to several months to cross +the Atlantic. I am acquainted with a German immigrant who, many years +ago, left a seaport town of Germany on January 1st and landed at Castle +Garden in New York City on the 4th of July. The inconvenience of travel +under such circumstances was equal to the slowness of the journey. In +those days leaving home in the old country meant never again seeing +one's relatives and friends. If such conditions are compared with those +of to-day we can readily realize the vast progress that has been made. +To-day the great ocean liners cross the Atlantic in a little more than +five days. These magnificent "ocean greyhounds" are fitted out with all +modern conveniences and improvements, so that one is as comfortable in +them and as safe as he is in one of the best hotels of the large cities. + +=From Hand-spinning to Factory.=--Weaving in former times was done +entirely by hand. Fifty years ago private weavers were found in almost +every community. Wool was raised, carded, spun, and woven, and the +garments were all made, practically, within the household. All that is +now past. In the great manufacturing establishments one man at a lever +does the work of 250 or 500 people. This great industrial advancement +has taken place within the memory of people now living. And similar +progress has been made in almost every other line of human endeavor. + +=The Cost.=--Very few people realize what it has cost the human race to +pass from one condition to the other in these various lines. Hundreds +and thousands of men have worked and died in the struggle and in the +process of bringing about improvements. Every calamity due to inadequate +machines or to poor methods has had its influence toward causing further +advancements in inventions for the benefit of mankind. + +=Progress in Higher Education.=--Let us now turn our attention to the +progress that has been made in the field of academic education. It is +true that many of the great universities were established centuries ago. +These were at first endowed church institutions or theological +seminaries; but the great state universities of this country are +creations of the progressive period under consideration. General +taxation for higher education is comparatively a modern practice. The +University of Michigan was one of the first state universities +established. Since then nearly every commonwealth, whether it has come +into the Union since that time or whether it is one of the older states, +has established a university. There has been a great development of +higher education by the states. No institutions of the country have +grown more rapidly within the last thirty or forty years than the state +universities. They have established departments of every kind. Besides +the college of liberal arts there are in most of them colleges or +schools of law, medicine, engineering in its several lines, education, +pharmacy, dentistry, commerce, industrial arts, and fine arts. The state +university is abroad in the land; it has, as a rule, an extension +department by which it impresses itself upon the people of the state, +outside its walls. The principle of higher education by taxation of all +the people is no longer questioned; it is no longer an experiment. The +state university is relied upon to furnish the country with the leaders +of the future--and leaders will always be in demand, for they are always +sorely needed. + +=Progress in Normal Schools.=--While the state universities have been +enjoying this marvelous development, nearly every state has been +establishing normal schools for the professional preparation of +teachers. The normal school as an institution is also modern. As an +institution established and supported by state taxation it is, as a +rule, more recent than the universities. Forty years ago many good +people regarded the normal school idea as visionary and its realization +as a doubtful experiment. Indeed in one western state, as late as the +eighties, its legislature debated the abolition of its normal schools on +the ground that they were not fulfilling or accomplishing any useful +mission. To-day, however, no such charge of inefficiency can be made. +The normal schools, like the universities, have proved their right to +exist. They have been weighed in the balance and have not been found +wanting. It is now generally recognized that those who would teach +should make some preparation for that high calling; and so the normal +schools in every state have demonstrated their "right of domicile" in +the educational system. It is now generally recognized that teaching, +both as a science and as an art, is highly complicated, and that, if it +is to be a profession, there must be special preparation for it. +Consequently the normal schools of the country have had a wonderful and +rapid development from the experimental stage to that in which they have +well-nigh realized their ideals. School boards everywhere look to the +normal schools for their supply of elementary teachers. + +=Progress in Agricultural Colleges.=--Similar statements may be made +concerning the agricultural colleges of the country. They are modern +creations in the United States; and with the aid of both the state and +the national government they have come to be vast institutions, devoting +themselves to the teaching and the spreading of scientific farming among +the people. Here there is a vast work to be done. On account of the +trend of population toward the cities, and on account of the vast tracts +of country land lying idle, scientific agriculture should be brought in +to aid in production and thus to keep down the cost of living. The +agricultural colleges of the country have a large part to play in the +solution of the problems of rural life. + +=Progress in the High Schools.=--A similar development characterizes the +high schools of the country. Education has extended downward from above. +Universities everywhere have come into existence before the +establishment of secondary schools. Not only are the universities, the +normal schools, and the agricultural colleges of recent origin, but the +high schools also are modern institutions, at least in their present +systematized form. The high schools of the cities constitute to-day one +of the most efficient forms of school organization. At the present time +the better high schools of the cities are veritable colleges--in fact +their curricula are as extensive as were those of the colleges of sixty +years ago. Vast numbers attend them; their faculties are composed of +college graduates or better; they have, as a rule, various departments, +such as manual training, domestic science, agriculture, commercial +subjects, normal courses, etc. In addition to the traditional curricula, +the high schools, like the universities, normal schools, and +agricultural colleges, have kept pace, in large measure, with the +material progress described in the first part of this chapter. + +=How Is the Rural School?=--We have described the progress that has +been made in various fields of the industrial world and also in several +kinds of educational institutions. At this point the question may, with +propriety, be asked whether the rural schools have generally kept pace +in their progress with the other and higher institutions which we have +mentioned. We believe that they have not. The rural schools have too +often been the last to attract public interest and to receive the +attention which their importance deserves. + +[Illustration: A neglected school in unattractive surroundings] + +[Illustration: A lonely road to school. No conveyances provided] + +[Illustration: A better type of building with some attempt at +improvements] + +[Caption for the above illustrations: THE ONE-ROOM SCHOOL] + + + + +CHAPTER V + +A BACKWARD AND NEGLECTED FIELD + + +=Rural Schools the Same Everywhere.=--The one-room country school of +to-day is much the same the whole country over. Such schools are no +better in Michigan, Wisconsin, or Minnesota than they are in the +Dakotas, Montana, or Idaho. They are no better in Ohio or New York than +they are in Minnesota or Wisconsin, and no better in the New England +states than in New York and Ohio. There is a wonderful similarity in +these schools in all the states. + +Nevertheless, it may be maintained with some plausibility that the rural +schools of the West are superior to those farther east. The East is +conservative and slow to change. The West has fewer traditions to break. +Many strong personalities of initiative and push have come out of the +East and taken up their abode in the West. Young men continue to follow +Horace Greeley's advice. Sometimes these young men file upon lands and +teach the neighboring school; and while this may not be the highest +professional aim and attitude, it remains true nevertheless that such +teachers are often earnest, strong, and educated persons. + +Not long ago I had occasion to visit a teacher's institute in a +northwestern state, in which there were enrolled 350 teachers. Some of +these were college graduates and many of them were normal school +graduates from various states. One had only to conduct a round table in +order to experience a very spirited reaction. Colonel Homer B. Sprague, +who was once president of the University of North Dakota, used to say +that it always wrenched him to kick at nothing. There would be no +danger, in such a body of teachers as I have referred to, of wrenching +oneself. I have had occasion many times every year to meet these western +teachers in local associations, in teachers' institutes, and in state +conventions; and from my observations and experience I can truthfully +state that they are fully as responsive and as progressive as the +teachers in other parts of the country. + +=Rural Schools no Better than Formerly.=--Notwithstanding all this, it +is probably true that the rural schools of to-day are, on the whole, but +little better than those of twenty years ago. About that time I served +four years as county superintendent of schools in a western state. As I +recall the condition of the schools of that day I feel sure that there +has been but little real progress. Indeed, for reasons which will be +stated later on, it can be safely asserted that in some parts of the +country there has been a deterioration. + +About thirty years ago I had the experience of teaching rural schools +for several terms. Being acquainted with my coworkers, I met them +frequently in teachers' gatherings and in conventions of various kinds. +If my memory is to be trusted I can again affirm that the teachers of +those days do not compare unfavorably with the rural school teachers of +the present time. And if the teacher is the measure of the school, the +same may be said of the schools. + +Nor is this all. About forty years ago I was attending a rural school +myself. I received all of my elementary education in such schools and I +am convinced that many of my teachers were stronger personalities than +the teachers of to-day. + +=Some Improvement.=--It is not intended here to assert or to convey the +impression that there has been no progress in any direction in the rural +schools. It is the personnel of the country school--the strength and +power of initiative in the teachers of that day--that is here referred +to. Although there has been some progress in many lines it has not been +in the direction of stronger teachers. The textbooks in use to-day in +various branches are decidedly superior to those used in former days, +although some of these older books were by no means without their points +of strength and excellence. Indeed, I sometimes think that textbooks are +often rendered less efficient by being refined upon in a variety of ways +to conform to the popular pedagogical ideas of the day. + +It is no doubt true also that there has been, in the last thirty or +forty years, much discussion along the lines of psychology and pedagogy +and the methods of teaching the various branches. The professional +spirit has been in the air, and there has been much writing and much +talking on the science and art of teaching. But it must be confessed +that, while this is desirable and in fact indispensable, much of it may +be little more than a mere whitewash; much of it is simply parrot-like +imitation; much of it is only "words, words, words." Far be it from me +to underestimate the value of this professional and pedagogical phase of +the teacher's equipment. Nevertheless, when all is said and duly +considered, it is personality that is the greatest factor in the +teacher. A good, sound knowledge of the subjects to be taught comes +next; and last, though probably not least, should come the professional +preparation and training. Without the first two requisites, however, +this last is worth little. It is a lamentable fact that, in almost every +section of our country, there are persons engaged in teaching rural +schools, who are not only deficient in personal power but whose academic +education is not such as to afford an adequate foundation for +professional training. + +=Strong Personalities in the Older Schools.=--As an example of strong +personalities I remember one teacher who in middle life was recognized +as a leader in his community; another one, after serving an +apprenticeship in the country schools, became a prominent and successful +physician; a third became a leading architect; a fourth, a lawyer; a +fifth went west and became county judge in the state of his adoption; a +sixth entered West Point Military Academy and rose rapidly in the United +States army. These instances are given to show that many of the old-time +country teachers were men of force and initiative. They became to their +pupils ideals of manhood worthy to be patterned after. These all taught +in one neighborhood, but similar strong characters were no doubt engaged +in the schools of surrounding neighborhoods. What rural school of to-day +in any state can boast of the uplifting presence of so many men teaching +in one decade? + +A. V. Storm, of the Minnesota Agricultural College, says: + + "But we lack one thing nowadays that these old schools possessed. + Twenty or thirty years ago the country schools were taught for the + most part by men. Such men as Shaw and Dolliver, and a great many + other leading men of to-day, were at one time country school + teachers. They exercised a great influence upon the pupils. They + were the angels who put the coals of fire upon the lips of the + young men, giving them the ambition that made for future greatness. + The country schools now are not so good as they were twenty years + ago. The chief reason is that their teachers are not so capable." + +=More Men Needed.=--To secure the best results, there should be fully as +many men as women teaching in the rural schools. One hundred years ago +both city and country schools were taught by men alone. Now the rural +schools and most of the city schools are taught by women alone. There is +probably as much reason against all teachers being women as there is +against all teachers being men. + +=Low Standard Now.=--Thirty or forty years ago about half of the +teachers were men and half women, both sexes representing the strong and +the weak. Very many of the schools of to-day are under the charge of +young girls from eighteen to twenty years of age who have had little +more than a common elementary education. Some have just finished the +eighth grade and have had a smattering of pedagogy or what is sometimes +called "the theory and practice of teaching." This they could have +secured in a six weeks' summer school, while reviewing the so-called +"common branches." These teachers are holders merely of a second grade +elementary, or county, certificate, which requires very little +education. Almost any person who has taken the required course in +reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, grammar, geography, history, and +hygiene of the elementary school can pass the usual examination and +obtain a certificate to teach. In some states the matter is made still +easier by the issuing of third grade county certificates, and even, in +some cases, by the giving of special permits. Indeed, the standards are +usually so low that the supply of teachers is far beyond the demand. + +=The Survival of the Unfittest.=--Such is the standard which prevails +extensively throughout the country in respect to the qualifications of +rural school teachers. As inferior goods sometimes drive out the better +in the markets, so poor teachers holding the lowest grade of certificate +will sometimes drive out the better, for they are ready to teach for +"less than anybody else." The men and women of strength and initiative +are constantly tempted to go out of the calling into other lines of work +where progress is more pronounced and where salaries or wages are +higher; and so the doors of the teachers' calling swing outward. The +good teachers will desert us, or refuse to come, and the rural schools +will be left with what might be called the survival of the unfittest. + +=Short Terms.=--Add to the foregoing considerations the short terms of +service which prevail in rural schools and we have indeed a pitiable +condition. The average yearly duration of such schools in most states is +about seven months--sometimes less. This leaves about five months of +vacation, or of time between terms, when much that has been learned is +forgotten. Under such conditions how is it possible to give the children +of these communities an education which is at all comparable to that +afforded by the city? + +=Poor Supervision.=--Then, again, there is often little supervision of +country schools. When a county superintendent has under his inspection +from fifty to two hundred schools, it is utterly impossible for him to +give to each the desired number of visits or to supervise and +superintend the work of those schools in a manner that can be called +adequate in any true sense. Sometimes he can visit each school only once +a year, or twice at most, and, even then, there may be two different +teachers in the same school during the year; so that he sees each of his +teachers at work probably only once. What can a supervising officer do +for a school or for a teacher under such circumstances? Practically +nothing. The county superintendent is usually elected to office by the +people and frequently on a partisan ticket. This method of choosing +naturally tends to make him give more attention to politics than he +otherwise would think of giving. So the supervision or superintendency +of country schools is too often slighted or neglected--and who is to +blame? Of course there are many exceptional cases, but the exceptions +only prove the rule. + +=No Decided Movement.=--The whole movement of the rural school, whether +it has been backward or forward, has been too frequently without +definite or pronounced direction. It has moved along the line of least +resistance, sometimes this way, sometimes that, in some places forward, +in other places backward. Time, circumstances, and chance determine the +work. School problems have been settled by convenience and +circumstances. The whole situation has been one of _laissez faire_. It +is only within the past few years that people have become awakened to +the situation. They are beginning to be impressed with the progress that +is being made in all other lines, not only outside of the schools but +also in the fields of higher and secondary education. The rural school +interests have at last begun to ask, "Where do we come in?" + +=Elementary Teaching Not a Profession.=--There has been as yet no real +profession of teaching in the rural or elementary field. In about one +third of the schools there is a new teacher every year; so that every +three years the teaching force in any given county is practically +renewed. A _profession_ cannot be acquired in a day, or even in twelve +months. The work to be done is regarded as an important public work, and +the public is concerned in its own protection. Hence in every true +profession there is a somewhat lengthy period of preparation and a +standard of acquirements which must be attained. In other words, a true +profession is a closed calling which it is impossible for everyone to +join, and which only those can enter who have passed through a severe +preparation and have successfully met the required standard. School +teaching in the country is too frequently not a profession. It can be +entered too easily; the required period of preparation is so short and +the standard is placed so low that young and poorly prepared persons +enter too easily. + +=The Problem Difficult, but Before Us.=--What shall be done? The problem +is before the American people in every state of the Union. The people +themselves have become aroused to the situation, and this itself is +encouraging. Much has been done in some states, but much will be left +undone for the attention of coming generations. The masses of the +people can be aroused only with difficulty. The education of an +individual is a slow process. The education of a family, of a community, +or of a state is slower still. The education of a nation or of a race is +so slow that its progress is difficult of measurement. Indeed, the +movement of the race as a whole is so imperceptible that it leaves room +for debate as to whether humanity is going forward or backward. + +=Other Educational Interests Should Help.=--The higher institutions, +including the state universities, the agricultural colleges, the normal +schools, and the high schools, should all join hands in helping to +remedy conditions. Society has already, in large measure, solved the +problems in the higher educational fields; those institutions have been +advanced to such an extent that they have almost realized their ideals. +The rural population has helped them to attain to these high standards. +As one good turn deserves another, rural communities now look to these +interests for aid in the struggle to overcome the difficulties which +confront them. + +=Higher Standards Necessary.=--But before the rural schools can ever +hope to make the desired progress, higher standards must be set by +society, and the teachers in those schools must attain to them. The +United States, as a nation, is far behind foreign countries in setting +such a standard. In Denmark and elsewhere a country school teacher must +be a normal school graduate. A few national laws in the way of +standardization both in higher and lower education would produce +excellent results. The old fear of encroachment upon state's rights by +the national government has too long prevented national legislation of a +most beneficial kind in the educational field. + +=Courses for Teachers.=--In every normal school in the United States +there should be an elementary course of study extending at least three +years above the eighth grade, and the completion of this course should +be required as a minimum preparation for teaching in any school in the +country. This is certainly not asking too much. Pupils who complete the +eighth grade at fourteen or fifteen years, and then go to a normal +school, would complete this elementary course at the age of seventeen or +eighteen; and no person who has not reached this age should assume the +responsibility for the care and instruction of children in any school. + +=The Problem of Compensation.=--Were such a standard adopted as a +minimum, salaries would immediately rise. (We do not often call them +"salaries" but _wages_, and probably with some discrimination.) If it is +said that teachers of such qualifications cannot be secured, the answer +is that in a short time things would so adjust themselves that the +demand would bring the supply. Salaries in the country must be higher +before we can hope to secure any considerable number of teachers as well +equipped and with as strong personalities as those found in the cities. +It may be necessary for us to pay more than is paid in the city; for if +a teacher has two offers at $65 a month, one from a city and one from +the country, she will, without doubt, accept the city offer every time. +True, she will have to pay more for room and board in the city; +nevertheless she will prefer to be where there are the most +opportunities and conveniences, with probably a better prospect for +promotion. And who can blame her? It is probable that, in many +instances, country districts will have to pay five or ten dollars a +month more than the city if they wish to secure equally strong teachers. +A country district can really afford to pay more than the city in order +to get a good, strong teacher; for taxation in the country is usually +lighter than it is in the city. In the city there is taxation for +lighting, for paving, for sidewalks, for police protection, and for +various other conveniences and necessities. The country is free from +most of such levies, and it could, therefore, afford to pay a little +more school tax in order to secure its share of the best teachers. + +=Consolidation as a Factor.=--In the solution of the school problem +consolidation will do much. This is being tried in almost every state of +the Union and is working in the direction of progress with great +satisfaction. We shall treat of this more at length in a later chapter. + +=Better Supervision Necessary.=--Not only must we have better teachers +in the country, but we must have more and better supervision. There is +no valid reason why country superintendents should be elected on a +political platform. It is the custom everywhere to choose city +superintendents from among the best men or women anywhere in the field, +inside or outside of the state. Such should also be the practice in +choosing county superintendents. Then, too, a county should be divided +into districts and more assistance given the county superintendent in +the supervision of schools. In other words, supervision should be +persistent, consistent, and systematic; visits should be more frequent. +In the city a superintendent or principal has all his schools and +teachers either in one building or in several buildings at no great +distance apart. In the latter case he can go from one to another in a +few minutes, staying at each as long as he thinks necessary. Little time +is lost in travel. The opposite condition is one of the difficulties of +rural supervision, and it must be overcome in some satisfactory way. + +=A Model Rural School.=--It would be a good plan for the state to +establish in each county one model rural school. Such schools might be +maintained wholly or in part by the state, and they would become models +for all the neighboring districts. Children are always imitative, and +people are only children of a larger growth. Most people learn to do +things better by imitation; and so these model state schools would serve +as patterns to be studied and copied by others. + +=The Teacher Should Lead.=--The school should be the mainspring of +educational and social life in the community; hence, only such teachers +should be employed as are real originators of activity in rural schools +and in rural life. The teacher should be a "live wire" and should be +"doing things" all the time. He should be the leader of his community +and his people. + +=A Good Boarding Place.=--A serious difficulty connected with teaching +in the country is that of securing a good boarding place and temporary +home. This may not be a troublesome problem in the older and +well-established communities, but in the newer states and sparsely +settled sections the condition is almost forbidding. Half the enjoyment +of life consists in having a comfortable home and a good room to +oneself. This is absolutely necessary in order to do one's work well, +especially the work of the teacher. Some of the experiences which +teachers have been obliged to go through are almost incredible. Almost +every teacher of a country school could give vivid and pathetic +illustrations and examples of the discomforts, the annoyances, and the +trials to which a boarder in a strange family is subjected. The question +of a boarding place should be in the mind and plan of every school board +when they employ a teacher for their district. It is they who should +solve this problem for the teacher by having a good available home +provided in advance. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +CONSOLIDATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS + + +Much has been said and written in regard to what is generally known as +the "consolidation of schools." Men and women interested in the cause of +popular education have come to feel that the rural schools throughout +the country are making little or no progress, and public attention has +therefore been turned to consolidation as one of the possible means of +improvement. + +=The Process.=--As the name implies, the process is simply the bringing +together and the fusing of two or more schools into one. If two or more +communities, each having a small school of a few children, conclude that +their schools are becoming ineffective and that it would be advantageous +to unite, each may sell its own schoolhouse, and a new one may be built +large enough for all and more centrally located with regard to the whole +territory. They thus "consolidate" the schools of the several districts +and establish a single large one. In many portions of the country the +rural schools have, from various causes, grown smaller and smaller, +until they have ceased to be places of interest, of activity, and of +life. Now, a school, if it means anything, means a place where minds +are stimulated and awakened as well as where knowledge is communicated. +There can be but little stimulation in a school of only a few children. +The pupils feel it and so does the teacher. Life, activity, mental +aspiration are always found where large numbers of persons congregate. +For these reasons the idea of consolidating the small schools into +important centers, or units, is forcing itself upon the people of the +country. Where the schools are small and the roads are good, everything +favors the bringing of the children to a larger and more stimulating +social and educational center. + +=When Not Necessary.=--It might happen, as it frequently does, that a +school is already sufficiently large, active, and enthusiastic to make +it inadvisable to give up its identity and become merged in the larger +consolidated school. If there are twenty or thirty children and an +efficient teacher we have the essential factors of a good school. +Furthermore, it is rather difficult to transport, for several miles, a +larger number than this. + +=The District System.=--There are two different kinds of country school +organization. In some states, what is known as the district system is +the prevailing one. This means that a school district, more or less +irregular in shape and containing probably six to ten square miles, is +organized into a corporation for school purposes. The schoolhouse is +situated somewhere near the center of this district and is usually a +small, boxlike affair, often located in a desolate place without trees +or other attractive environment. This school may be under the +administration of a trustee or of a school board having the management +of the school in every respect. This board determines the length of +term; it hires and dismisses teachers, procures supplies and performs +all the functions authorized by law. It is a case where one school board +has the entire management of one small school. + +[Illustration: A frame building and adequate conveyances] + +[Illustration: A substantial and well-planned building] + +[Caption for the above illustrations: TWO TYPES OF CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS] + +=The Township System.=--The other form of organization is what is known +as the township system. Here the several schools in one township are all +under the administration of one school board. There is not a school +board for each schoolhouse, as in the district system, but one school +board has charge of all the schools of the township. Under certain +conditions it has in its power the locating of schoolhouses within this +general district. The board hires the teachers for all the schools +within its jurisdiction, and in general manages all the schools in the +same manner as the board in the district system manages its one school. + +=Consolidation Difficult in District System.=--The process of +consolidation is always difficult where the district system prevails. +Both custom and sentiment cause the people to hesitate or refuse to +abandon their established form of organization. If a community has been +incorporated for any purpose and has done business for some years, it is +always difficult to induce the people to make a change. They feel as if +they were abdicating government and responsibility. They hesitate to +merge themselves in a larger organization, and hence they advance many +objections to the consolidation of their schools. All this is but +natural. The several communities have been living apart educationally +and have been in a measure strangers. They have never had any occasion +to meet in conference, to exchange thought, and to do business together; +hence they fear and hesitate to take a leap in the dark, as they +conceive it, and to embark upon a course which they think they may +afterwards regret. Consolidation frequently fails because of false +apprehensions due to a lack of social organization. + +=Easier in Township System.=--It is quite otherwise where the township +system exists. Here there are no separate corporations or organizations +controlling the various schools. The school board administers the +affairs of all the schools in the township. Hence there is no sentiment +in regard to the separate and distinct individuality of each school and +its patronage. There are no sub-districts or distinctly organized +communities; a whole township or two townships constitute one large +district and the schools are located at the most convenient points to +serve the children of the whole township. The people in such districts +have been accustomed to act together educationally as well as +politically, and to exchange thought on all such situations. Hence +consolidation, or the union of the several schools, is a comparatively +easy matter. + +=Consolidation a Special Problem for Each District.=--It will, of +course, be seen at once that, in a school township where there are +several small and somewhat lifeless schools with only a few children in +each, it would be desirable for several reasons to bring together all +the children into one large and animated center. This process is a +specific local problem. Whether or not such consolidation is advisable +depends upon many conditions, among which are, (1) the size of the +former schools, (2) the unanimity of sentiment in the community, (3) the +location of roads and of residences, (4) the distance the pupils are to +be transported, and other local and special considerations. The people +of each district should get together and discuss these problems from +various points of view and decide for themselves whether or not they +shall adopt the plan and also the extent to which it shall be carried. +Much will depend upon the size of the schools and everything upon the +unanimity of sentiment in the community. If there is a large minority +against consolidation the wisdom of forcing it by a small majority is to +be questioned. It would be better to let the idea "work" a while longer. + +=Disagreements on Transportation.=--The problem of transporting pupils +is always a puzzling one. Many details are involved in its solution and +it is upon details that communities usually disagree. Most enterprises +are wrecked by disagreements over small matters. Even among friends it +is the small details in mannerisms or conduct that become with time so +irritating that friendship is often strained. Details are usually small, +but their obtrusive, perpetual presence is likely to disturb one's +nerves. This is true in deliberative bodies of all kinds. Important +measures are often delayed or killed because their advocates and +opponents cannot "give and take" upon small points. Almost every great +measure passing successfully through legislative bodies and, in fact, +the settlement of many social problems embody a compromise on details. +Many good people forget that, while there should be unanimity in +essentials, there should be liberty in non-essentials, and charity in +all things. Many people lack the power of perspective in the discussion +and solution of problems; for them all facts are of the same magnitude. +Large things which they do not wish are minimized and small things are +magnified. A copper cent may be held so near the eye that it will +obscure the sun. Probably there has been no difficulty greater in the +process of consolidation than the problems involved in the details +concerning the transportation of pupils. + +=Each Community Must Decide for Itself.=--The particular mode of +transportation must be determined by the conditions existing in each +community. In some places the consolidated school district provides one +or more busses, or, as they are sometimes called, "vans"; and these go +to the homes of the children each morning in time to arrive at the +schoolhouse before nine o'clock. Of course, in this case the pupils +living farthest from the school must rise and be ready earliest; they +are on the road for the greatest length of time. But this is one of the +minor discomforts which must be borne by those families and their +children. All cannot live near the school. Sometimes a different plan of +transportation is found to give better satisfaction. The parents may +prefer to bring their own children to school or to make definite +arrangements with nearby neighbors who bring theirs. There is no one way +which is the only way, and, in fact, several methods may be used in the +same district. + +=The Distance to Be Transported.=--If pupils must be transported over +five or six miles, consolidation becomes a doubtful experiment. Of +course, the vehicles used should be comfortable and every care should be +taken of the children; but six miles over country roads and in all kinds +of weather means, probably, an hour and a quarter on the road both +morning and evening. It could, of course, be said in reply that six +miles in a comfortable wagon and an hour and a quarter on the road are +not nearly so bad as a mile and a quarter on foot at certain seasons of +the year. + +=Responsible Driver.=--Another point upon which all parents should +insist is that the transportation of their children should be performed +by reliable and responsible drivers. This is important and most +necessary. Under such conditions there would be no danger of children +being drenched with rain in summer and exposed to cold in winter, for +the vehicles would be so constructed as to offer protection against +both. There would also be no danger of the large boys bullying and +browbeating the smaller children on the way, as is often done when they +walk to school over long and lonely roads; for all would be under the +care of a trustworthy driver until they were landed at the door of the +schoolhouse or the home. + +=Cost of Consolidation.=--The cost of consolidation is always an +important consideration. Under the district system one district may be +wealthy and another poor, the former having scarcely any taxation and +the latter a high rate of taxation. It is usual that, in such cases, the +districts having a small rate of taxation are unwilling to consolidate +with others. This is one of the difficulties. Consolidation will bring +about uniformity of taxation in the whole territory affected. This is an +advantage in itself. If the old schoolhouses are in good condition there +will be somewhat of a loss in selling them and in building a large new +central building. This is another situation which always complicates the +problem. If the old buildings are worthless and if they must be replaced +in any event by new buildings, then the time is opportune for +considering consolidation. + +Even after the reorganization is effected, and the new central building +located, the cost of education, all things considered, is not increased. +It is undoubtedly true that a larger amount of money may be needed to +maintain the consolidated school than to maintain all the various small +schools which have previously existed. But other factors must be taken +into account. The total amount of dollars and cents in the one situation +as compared with the total amount in the other does not tell the whole +story. For it has been found that, everywhere in the country, there is a +larger and better attendance of pupils in the consolidated school, that +more pupils go to school, that they attend more regularly, and that the +school terms are longer. Therefore the proper test of expense is the +cost of a day's schooling for each pupil, or the cost "per pupil per +day." Measured by this standard education in the consolidated school is +no more expensive than in the unconsolidated schools; indeed it is +usually less expensive. It is a good thing for society to give a day's +education to one child; then education pays as it goes, and the more +days' education it can offer, the better. + +=More Life in the Consolidated School.=--No one can deny that in this +larger school there can be more life and activity of all kinds, and a +much finer school spirit than was possible in the smaller schools. +Education means stimulation and where a great many children are brought +together and properly organized and graded there is a more stimulating +atmosphere and environment. + +=Some Grading Desirable.=--In these consolidated schools a reasonable +amount of grading can be secured. It may be true that in some of the +large cities an extreme degree of grading defeats education and the true +aim of organization, but certainly in consolidated rural schools no such +degree of refinement need be reached or feared. Grading can remain here +in the golden mean and will be beneficial to pupils and teachers alike. +The pupils thus graded will have more time for recitation and +instruction, and teachers will have more time to do efficient work. In +the one-room rural school one teacher usually has eight grades and often +more, and sometimes she is required to conduct thirty or forty different +recitations in a day. Under such conditions the lack of time prevents +the attainment of good results. + +=Better Teachers.=--It is also true that, where a school is larger and +attains to more of a system, better teachers are sought and secured by +the authorities. As we have already said, the cities are able to bid +higher for the best trained teachers, so the country districts suffer in +the economic competition. But the consolidated school being organized, +equipped, and graded, and representing, as it does, a large community or +district, the tendency will be to secure as good teachers as possible. +This is helped along by the comparison and competition of teachers +working side by side within the walls of the same building. In such +schools, too, there is usually a principal, and he exercises the +function of selection and rejection in the choice of teachers. All this +conduces to the securing of good teachers in the consolidated center. + +=Better Buildings and Inspection.=--Similar improvements are attained in +the building as a whole, in the individual rooms, and in the interior +equipment. Such buildings are usually planned by competent architects +and are more adequate in all their appointments. All things are subject +to inspection, both by the community and the authorities. It is natural +that such inspection and criticism will be satisfied only with the best; +and so the surroundings of pupils become much more favorable to their +mental, moral, and physical well-being than was possible in the isolated +one-room school building. + +=Longer Terms.=--The same discussion, agitation, inspection, and +supervision will inevitably lead to longer terms of school. Whereas the +one-room schools usually average six and a half months of school per +year, the consolidated schools average over eight months. This is in +itself a most important gain. + +=Regularity, Punctuality, and Attendance.=--The larger spirit and life +of the consolidated school induce greater punctuality and regularity of +attendance. When pupils are transported to school they are always on +time, and when they are members of a class where there is considerable +competition they attend school with great regularity. There are many +grown-up pupils in the district who would not go to the small schools, +but who will go to a larger school where they find their equals; and so +the school attendance is greatly increased. We have, then, the +advantages of greater punctuality, greater regularity, and more pupils +in attendance. + +The school spirit is abroad in the consolidated school district; people +are thinking and talking school. It becomes the customary and +fashionable thing to send children to school. + +=Better Supervision.=--There is also much better supervision in the +consolidated school; for, in addition to the supervision given by the +county superintendent or his assistants, there is also the supervision +of the principal, or head teacher. This is in itself no small factor in +the making of a good school. Good supervision always makes strongly for +efficiency. + +=The School as a Social Center.=--Other effects than those above +mentioned will necessarily follow. The consolidated school can and +should become a social center. There should be an assembly room for +lectures, debates, literary and musical entertainments, and meetings of +all kinds. The lecture hall should be provided with a stage, and good +moving-picture exhibitions might be given occasionally. There, also, the +citizens may gather to hear public questions discussed. It could thus +become a civic and social center as well as an educational center. All +problems affecting the welfare of the community might be presented here; +the people could assemble to listen to the discussion of political and +other social and public questions, which are the subjects of thought +and of conversation in the neighborhood. This is real social and +educational life. + +=Better Roads.=--Not only does consolidation tend to all the above +results but it does many other things incidentally. It leads to the +making of better roads; for where a community has to travel frequently +it will provide good roads. This is one of the crying needs of the day +throughout the country. + +=Consolidation Coming Everywhere.=--Consolidation is now under way in +almost every state of the Union and wherever tried it has almost +invariably succeeded. In but very few places have rural communities +abandoned the educational, social, and civic center, and gone back to +their former state of isolation and deadly routine. + +=The Married Teacher and Permanence.=--In order to make the consolidated +school a success, the policy will have to be adopted in America of +building, at or near the school, a residence for the teacher, and of +selecting as teacher a married man, who will make his home there among +the people whose children he is to teach. Such a teacher should be a +real community leader in every way, and his tenure of service should be +permanent. Grave and specific reasons only should effect his removal. +With single men and women it is impossible to secure the permanence of +tenure that is desirable and necessary to the educational and social +welfare of a school and a community. This has been demonstrated over and +over again, and foreign countries are far ahead of us in this respect. +Such a real leader and teacher will, it is true, command a high salary; +but a good home, permanence of position, a small tract of land for +garden and field purposes, and the coming policy everywhere of an +"insurance and retirement fund" would offer great inducements to strong +men to take up their abode and cast their lot in such educational and +community centers. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE TEACHER + + +=The Greatest Factor.=--Now, although we may have a beautiful school +campus, an adequate and artistic building, a library, laboratories and +workshops with all necessary physical or material appointments complete, +we may yet have a poor school; these things, however desirable, will not +teach alone. The teacher is the mainspring, the soul of the school; the +"plant," as it may be called, is only the body. A great person is one +with a great soul, not necessarily with a great body. Hence it is that a +great teacher with poor buildings and inferior equipments is +incomparably better than great buildings and equipments without a +competent teacher. + +=What Education Is.=--Education is essentially and largely the +stimulation and transformation of one mind or personality by another. It +is the impression of one great mind or soul upon another, giving it a +manner of spirit, a bent, an attitude, as well as a thirst for +knowledge. This is too often lost sight of in the complexity of things. +Many people are inclined to think that educational equipment and +machinery alone will educate. There is nothing further from the truth. +Mark Hopkins would be a great teacher without equipment; buildings, +grounds, apparatus, and laboratories will not really educate without a +great personality behind the desk. There is probably nothing more +inspiring, more suggesting, more stimulating, or more transforming than +intimate contact with great minds. Thought like water seeks its level, +and for children to come into living and loving communication with a +great teacher is a real uplift and an education in itself. + +As a saw will not saw without some extraneous power to give it motion, +neither will the gun do execution without the man behind it. The +locomotive is not greater than the man at the throttle, and the ship +without the man at the helm flounders aimlessly upon the sea. Just so, a +great personality must be behind the teacher's desk or there cannot be +in any sense a real school. + +=What the Real Teacher Is.=--The true teacher is an inspirer; that is, +he breathes into his pupils his spirit, his love of learning, his method +of study, his ideals. He is a real leader in every way. Children--and we +are all children to a certain extent--are great imitators, and so the +pupils tend to become like the teacher. + +The true teacher stimulates to activity by example. Where you find such +a teacher, things are constantly "doing"; people are thinking and +talking school all the time; education is in the atmosphere. The real +teacher is, to use a popular phrase, a "live wire." Something new is +undertaken every day. He is a man of initiative and push, and withal he +is a man of sincerity and tact. While he is retrospective and +circumspective he is also prospective--he is a man of the far-look-ahead +type. + +=A Hypnotist.=--The teacher is in the true sense a suggester of good +things. He is an educational hypnotist. The longer I continue to teach +the more am I impressed with the fact that suggestion is the great art +of the teacher. Hence the true teacher is the leader and not the driver. + +=Untying Knots.=--A man once said that the best lesson he ever learned +in school was the lesson of "untying knots." He meant, of course, that +every problem that was thrown to the school by the teacher was "tackled" +in the right spirit by the pupils. They investigated it and analyzed it; +they peered into it and through it to find all the strands of +relationship existing in it. It would be easier, of course, for the +teacher under these circumstances merely to cut the knot and have it all +done with, but this would be poor teaching. This would be _telling_, not +teaching. This would lead to passivity and not to activity on the part +of the pupils. And it may be said here that constant and too much +_telling_ is probably the greatest and most widespread mistake in +teaching. Teachers are constantly cutting the knots for children who +should be left to untie them for themselves. To untie a knot is to see +through and through a subject, to see all around it, to see the various +relations of its parts and, consequently, to understand it. This is +solving a problem; it is _dissolving_ it; that is, the problem becomes +a part of the pupil's own mind, and, having made it a part of himself, +he understands it and never forgets it. + +This is the difference between not being able to remember and not being +able to forget. In the former case the so-called knowledge is not a part +of oneself; it is not vital. The roots do not penetrate beneath the +surface of our minds; they are, as it were, merely stuck on; the mental +sap does not circulate. In the latter case the knowledge is real; it is +alive and growing; there is a vital connection between it and ourselves. +It would be as difficult to tear it from us as it would to have our +hearts torn out and still live. + +=Too Much Kindness.=--An illustration of the same point appears in the +following incident. A boy who owned a pet squirrel thought it a kindness +to the squirrel to crack all the nuts for it. The consequence was that +the squirrel's incisors, above and below, grew so long that they +overlapped and the animal could not eat anything. Too many teachers are +so kind to their pupils that they crack all the educational nuts for +them, with the consequence that the children become passive and die +mentally for want of activity. The true teacher will allow his pupils to +wrestle with their problems without interruption until they arrive at a +conclusion. If some pupil "goes into the ditch" and flounders he should +usually be allowed to get out by his own efforts as best he can. Here is +the place where the teacher "should be cruel only to be kind." + +=The Button Illustration.=--Another illustration may help to bring to us +one of the characteristics of the really good teacher. When children, we +have all, no doubt, amused ourselves by putting a string through two +holes of a button and, after twirling it around between our thumbs, +drawing it steadily in measured fashion so as to make the button spin +and hum. If the string is drawn properly this will be successful; +otherwise it will become a perfect snarl. This common experience has +often seemed to me to typify two different kinds of school. In one, +where there is a great teacher "drawing" the school properly, you will +hear, incidentally, the hum of industry, for all are active. A school +which may be thus characterized is always better than the one +characterized by silence and inaction. A little noise--in fact a +considerable noise--is not inconsistent with a good school, and it +frequently happens that what we call "the silence of death" is due to +fear, which is always paralyzing. + +=The Chariot Race.=--Still another illustration may help to make clear +what is meant by a good school and a good teacher. Lew Wallace, in his +account of the chariot race, makes Ben Hur and his rival approach the +goal with their horses neck and neck. He says that Ben Hur, in getting +the best out of his steeds, _sent his will out along the reins_. A +really spirited horse responds to the throb of his driver's hand upon +the rein. A good driver gets the best out of his horse; he and his horse +are in accord and the horse takes as much pride in the performance as +the driver does. This is analogously true of a good school. + +The schoolroom is not a complete democracy--in fact, it is not a +democracy at all in the lower grades; it is or should be a benevolent +autocracy. The teacher within the schoolroom is the law-making body, the +interpreter of the laws, and the executor of the laws. The good teacher +does all this justly and kindly, and so elicits the admiration, the +respect, and the active support of the governed. He sends his will out +along the reins. Some schools--those with great teachers in charge--are +in this condition; they are coming in under full speed toward the goal, +guided by a master whose will stimulates the pupils to the greatest +voluntary activity. Other schools, we are sorry to say, illustrate the +conditions where the reins are over the dashboard and the school is +running away, pell-mell! + +=Physically Sound.=--What are some of the characteristic attributes or +traits which a masterful and inspiring teacher should possess? In the +first place he should be physically sound. It may seem like a lack of +charity to say, and yet it is true, that any serious physical defect +should militate against, if not bar, one from the schoolroom. Any +serious blemish or noticeable defect becomes to pupils an ever-present +suggestive picture, and to some extent must work against, rather than +for, education. Other things being equal, those who are personally +attractive and have the most agreeable manners should be chosen. Since +children are extremely plastic and impressionable, and so susceptible +to the influence of ideas and ideals, beauty and perfection should, +whenever possible, be the attributes of the person who is to guide and +fashion them. + +=Character.=--A teacher should be morally sound; he should "ring true." +One can give only what one has. A liar cannot teach veracity; a +dishonest person can not teach honesty; the impure cannot teach purity. +One may deceive for a time, but in the long run the echo of what we are, +and hence what we can give, will be returned. It is often thought that +children are better judges of moral defects and of shams than are grown +people; but, while this is not true, it is nevertheless a fact that many +children, in a short time, divine or sense the true moral nature of the +teacher. Children appreciate justice and will endure and even welcome +severity if they know that justice is coupled with it. They are not +averse to being governed with a firm hand. If pupils are allowed to do +just as they please they may go home at the close of the first day, +saying that they had a "lovely time" and liked their teacher, but in a +very few days they will tire of it and begin to complain. + +=Well Educated.=--We need not, of course, contend at any length that a +teacher should be well educated, in the academic sense of the word. In +order to teach well, one must understand his subject thoroughly. It is +quite generally held that a teacher should be at least four years in +advance, academically, of the pupils whom he is to teach. Whether this +is true or not in particular cases, the fact remains that the teacher +should be full of his subject, should be at home in it, and should be +able to illustrate it in its various phases; he should be free to stand +before his class without textbook in hand and to give instruction from a +full and accurate mind. There is probably nothing that so destroys the +confidence of pupils as the lamentable spectacle of seeing the teacher +compelled at every turn to refer to the book for verification of the +answers given. It is a sign of pitiable weakness. If a distinction is to +be made between knowledge and wisdom a true teacher should be possessed +of the latter to a considerable extent. He should also have prudence, or +practical wisdom. Wisdom and prudence imply that fine perspective which +gives a person balance and tact in all situations. It should be noted +that there is a policy, or diplomacy, in a good sense, which does not in +any way conflict with principle; and the true teacher should have the +knowledge, the wisdom, and the tact to do and to say the right thing at +the right time and to leave unsaid and undone many, many things. + +=Professional Preparation.=--In addition to a thorough knowledge of +subject matter every teacher should have had some professional +preparation for his work. Teaching, like government, is one of the most +complicated of arts, and to engage in it without any previous study of +its problems, its principles, and its methods seems like foolhardiness. +There are scores, if not hundreds, of topics and problems which should +be thought out and talked over before the teacher engages in actual work +in the schoolroom. When the solutions of these problems have become a +part of his own mind, they will come to his rescue as occasion demands; +and, although much must be learned by experience, a sound knowledge of +the fundamental principles of education and teaching will always throw +much light upon practical procedure. It is true that theory without +practice is often visionary, but it is equally true that practice +without any previous knowledge, or theory, is very often blind. + +=Experience.=--In addition to the foregoing qualifications the teacher, +in order to be really masterful, must have had some--indeed +considerable--actual experience. It is this that gives confidence and +firmness to all our procedure. The young lawyer when he appears at the +bar, to plead his first case, finds his knees knocking together; but +after a few months or years of practice he acquires ease, confidence, +and mastery in his work. The same is true of the physician and the +teacher. Some successful experience always counts for much. School +boards, however, often over-estimate _mere_ experience. Poor experience +may be worse than none; and some good superintendents are willing, and +often prefer, to select promising candidates without experience, and +then train or build them up into the kind of teachers they wish them to +become. + +=Choosing a Teacher.=--If I were a member of a school board in a +country district where there is either a good one-room school or a +consolidated school, I should go about securing a good teacher somewhat +as follows: I should keep, so to speak, my "weather eye" open for a +teacher who had become known to some extent in all the surrounding +country; one who had made a name and a reputation for himself. I should +inquire, in regard to this teacher, of the county superintendent and of +his supervising officers. I should make this my business; and then, if I +should become convinced that such a person was the one needed in our +school, and if I had the authority to act, I should employ such a person +regardless of wages or salary. If after a term or two this teacher +should make a satisfactory record, I would then promote him, +unsolicited, and endeavor to keep him as long as he would stay. + +=A "Scoop."=--Sometimes there is considerable rivalry among the +newspapers of a city. The editors or local reporters watch for what they +call a "scoop." This is a piece of news that will be very much sought by +the public and which remains unknown to the people or, in fact, to the +other papers until it appears in the one that has discovered it. This is +analogous to what I should try to do in securing a teacher: I should try +to get a veritable educational "scoop" on all the other districts of the +surrounding country. The only way to secure such persons is for some +individual or for the school board to make this a specific business. In +the country districts this might be done by one of the leading +directors; in a consolidated school, by the principal or superintendent. +If it is true that "as the teacher so is the school," it is likewise +true that as is the principal or superintendent so are the teachers. + +=What Makes the Difference.=--It will be found that a small difference +in salary will frequently make all the difference between a worthless +and an excellent teacher. It is often the ten or fifteen dollars a month +additional which secures the prize teacher; and so I should make the +difference in salary a secondary consideration; for, after all, the +difference amounts to very little in the taxation on the whole +community. + +=A Question of Teachers.=--The question of teachers is the real problem +in education, from the primary school to the great universities. It is +the poor teaching of poor teachers everywhere that sets at naught the +processes of education; and when the American people, and especially the +rural people, realize that this is the heart and center of their +problem, and when they realize also that the difference, financially, +between a poor teacher and a good one is so small, they will rise to the +occasion and proceed to a correct solution of their problem. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE THREE INSEPARABLES + + +In the preceding chapter we discussed the type of person that should be +in evidence everywhere in the teaching profession. Such a type is +absolutely necessary to the attainment of genuine success. In rural +schools this type is by no means too common, and in the whole field of +elementary and higher education it is much more rare than it should be. +Because of the frequent appearance of the opposite type in colleges and +in other schools, the teacher and the professor have been often +caricatured to their discredit. There is usually some truth underlying a +caricature; a cartoon would lack point if it did not possess a +substratum of fact. + +=The "Mode."=--Now, there is often in the public mind this poorer type +of teacher; and when an idea or an ideal, however low, becomes once +established, it is changed only with difficulty. The commonplace +individual, the mediocre type of man or of woman, is by many regarded as +a fairly typical representative of what the teacher usually is; or, as +the statistician would express it, he is the "mode" rather than the +average. The "mode" in any class of objects or of individuals is the +one that occurs oftenest, the one most frequently met with. And so this +inactive, nondescript sort of person is often thought of as the typical +teacher. He has no very high standing either financially or socially, +and so has no great influence on the individuals around him or on the +community in general. This conception has become so well established in +the public mind, and is so frequently met with, that all teachers are +regarded as being of the same type. The better teachers, the strong +personalities, are brought into this same class and must suffer the +consequences. + +=The "Mode" in Labor.=--This same process of classifying individuals may +be seen in other spheres also. In some sections of the country it is the +method of estimating the worth of laboring men; all in the same class +are considered equal; all of a class are reduced to the same level and +paid the same wages. One man can do and often does the work of two or +three men, and does it better; yet he must labor for the same common +wage. + +=The "Mode" in Educational Institutions.=--The same is to a great extent +true of the popular estimate of educational institutions. In the public +mind an institution is merely an "institution." One is thought of as +doing practically the same work as another; so when institutions come +before legislatures for financial recognition in the way of +appropriations, one institution is considered as deserving as another. +The great public is not keen in its discriminations, whether it be a +case of educational institutions, of laboring men, or of teachers. + +=No "Profession."=--The fact is that, in the lower ranks of the +teachers' calling, there is really no _profession_. The personality of +many who engage in the work is too ordinary to professionalize any +calling. + +=Weak Personalities.=--This condition of affairs has grown partly out of +the fact that we have not, in the different states and in the country at +large, a sufficiently high standard. The examinations are not +sufficiently extensive and intensive to separate the sheep from the +goats. The unqualified thus rush in and drive out the qualified, for the +efficient cannot compete with the inefficient. The calling is in no +sense a "closed" profession, and consequently in the lower ranks it is +scarcely a profession at all. + +=Low Standard.=--There is also established in the public mind a certain +standard, or test, for common school teaching. This standard has been +current so long that it has become quite stable, and it seems almost +impossible to change it. As in the case of some individuals when they +become possessed of an idea, it is almost impossible to dispossess the +social mind of this low standard. + +=The Norm of Wages Too Low.=--In regard to the wages of teachers it may +be said that there is fixed in the social mind also, a certain _norm_. +As in the case of personality and of standard qualifications, a certain +amount of wages has long been regarded as representing the sum which a +teacher ought to receive. For rural schools this is probably about fifty +dollars a month; in fact, in most states the average wage paid to rural +school teachers is below that amount. But let us say that fifty dollars +is the amount that has become established in the popular mind as a +reasonable salary. Here, as in the other cases, it is very difficult to +change ideas established by long custom. For many years people have been +accustomed to think of teachers receiving certain salaries, and they +refuse to consider any higher sums as appropriate. This, of course, is +an egregious blunder. The rural schools can never be lifted above their +present plane of efficiency until these three conceptions, (1) that of +personality, (2) that of standard, and, (3) that of wages, are revised +in the public mind. There will have to be a great revolution in the +thought of the people in regard to these inseparable things. + +=The Inseparables.=--The fact is that, (1) strong personalities, (2) a +high standard of qualifications, (3) and a respectable salary go hand in +hand. They rise and fall together; they are reactive, one upon the +other. The strong personality implies the ability to meet a high +standard and demands reasonable compensation. The same is true of the +high standard--it selects the strong personality and this in turn cannot +be secured except at a good salary. It may be maintained that if school +boards really face the question in earnest, and are willing to offer +good salaries, strong personalities who are able to meet that high +standard can always be secured. Professor Hugo Muensterberg says: "Our +present civilization shows that in every country really decisive +achievement is found only in those fields which draw the strongest +minds, and that they are drawn only where the greatest premiums are +tempting them."[2] + +[Footnote 2: Psychology and Social Sanity, p. 82.] + +=Raise the Standard First.=--The best way, then, to attack the problem +is, first, to raise the standard. This will eliminate inferior teachers +and retain or attract those of superior qualifications. It is to be +regretted that we have not, in the United States, a more uniform +standard for teaching in the common schools. Each state has its own +laws, its own standard. It would not, we think, be asking too much to +provide that no person should teach in any grade of school, rural or +elementary, in the United States, unless such person has had a course +for teachers equivalent to at least three years of work in the high +school or normal school, with pedagogical preparation and training. In +fact, a national law making such a uniform standard among the teachers +in the common schools of the country would be an advantage. But this is +probably more than we can expect in the near future. As it is, there +should be a conference of the educational authorities in each state to +agree upon a standard for teaching, with a view to uniform state +legislation. + +=More Men.=--One of the great needs of the calling is more men. There +was a time when all teachers were men; now nearly all teachers are +women. There is as much reason for one condition as for the other. +Without going into an analysis of the situation or the causes which make +it desirable that there should be more men in the teaching profession, +it is, we think, generally granted that the conditions would be better, +educationally, socially, and every other way, if the number of men and +women in the work were about evenly divided. + +=Cooeperation Needed.=--Educational movements and influences have spread +downward and outward from above. The great universities of the world +were established before the secondary and elementary school systems came +into existence. Thought settles down from leaders who are in high +places. We have shown in a former chapter that the state universities, +the agricultural colleges, the normal schools, and the high schools have +had a wonderful development within the last generation, while the rural +school has too often lagged perceptibly behind. The country districts +have helped to support in every way the development of the higher +schools; now an excellent opportunity presents itself for all the higher +and secondary educational influences to unite in helping to advance the +interests and increase the efficiency of the rural schools. + +=The Supply.=--The question is sometimes asked whether the right kind of +teachers can be secured, if higher salaries are offered. There can be +no doubt at all on this point. Where the demand exists and where there +is sufficient inducement offered, the supply is always forthcoming. Men +are always at hand to engage in the most menial and even the most +dangerous occupations if a sufficient reward, financial or otherwise, is +offered. For high wages men are induced to work in factories where +mercury must be handled and where it is well known that life is +shortened many years as a consequence. Men are secured to work long +hours in the presence of red-hot blast furnaces and in the lowest depths +of the holds of ships. Can it be possible that with a reasonable salary +the strongest kind of men would not be attracted to a calling that has +as many points of interest and as many attractions as teaching? + +=Make It Fashionable.=--A great deal depends upon making any work or any +calling fashionable. All that is needed is for the tide to turn in that +direction. It is difficult to say how much salary will stop the outward +tide and cause it to set in the other direction; but one thing is +certain, we shall never completely solve the rural school problem until +the tide turns. + +=The Retirement System.=--Strong personalities will, then, help to make +teaching attractive and fashionable, as well as effectual. There is a +movement now becoming quite extensive which will also add to the +attractiveness of the teacher's calling. A system or plan of insurance +and retirement is now being installed in many states for the benefit of +teachers who become incapacitated or who have taught a certain period of +time. This plan gives a feeling of contentment, and also a feeling of +security against the stress and needs of old age, which will do much to +hold strong people in the profession. The fear of being left penniless +in later life and dependent upon others or upon the state, induces, +without doubt, a great many persons to leave a calling so poorly paid, +in order that they may, in more generous vocations, lay something by for +"a rainy day." The truth of this is borne in upon us more strongly when +we remember that teaching is different from law, medicine, or other +professions. In these vocations a man's service usually becomes more and +more in demand as he advances in years, on account of the reputation and +experience he has gained; while in teaching, when a person arrives at +the middle line of life or after, school boards begin to say and to +think, that he is getting too old for the schoolroom, and so they seek +for younger talent. The consequence is that the good and faithful public +servant who has given the best years of his life to the education of the +young is left stranded in old age without an occupation and without +money. The insurance and retirement fund plan is a movement in the right +direction and will do something to help turn the tide of strong +personalities toward the teachers' calling. + +=City and Country Salaries--Effects.=--The average salary for rural +school teachers in one state I find to be $45 a month. In that same +state the average salary of teachers in the city and town schools is $55 +a month. Now, under such conditions, it is very difficult to secure a +good corps of teachers for the rural schools. If the ratio were reversed +and the rural schools paid $55 a month, while the cities and towns paid +only $45, there would be more chance of each securing teachers of equal +ability. Even then, teachers would prefer to go to the city at the lower +salary on account of the additional attractions and conveniences and the +additional facilities and opportunities of every kind for +self-improvement. + +In the state referred to, the average salary of all teachers in the +common schools was $51 a month. It is utterly impossible to realize a +"profession" on such a financial basis as this. Forty-five or fifty +dollars a month for rural teachers is altogether too low. This must be +raised fifty, if not one hundred per cent, in order that a beginning may +be made in the solution of the rural school problem. Where $50 a month +seems to be the going wage, if school boards would offer $75 and then +see to it that the persons whom they hire are efficient, an attempt at +the solution of the problem in that district or neighborhood would be +made. Is it possible that any good, strong, educated, and cultured +person can be secured for less than $75 a month? If in such a district +there were eight months of school this would mean only 8 x $25, or $200 +more than had been paid previously. For ten sections of land this would +mean about $20 a section, or $5 a quarter section, in addition to what +they had been paying with unsatisfactory results. + +This sum often represents the difference between a poor school and a +good school. With a fifty-dollar teacher, constructive work was likely +lacking. There was little activity in the neighborhood; the pupils or +the people had not been fully waked up. There had not been enough +thinking and talking of education and of schools, enough reading, or +talking about books, about education, about things of the higher life. +Under the seventy-five-dollar teacher, wisely chosen, all this is +changed. + +=The Solution Demands More.=--Instead of $75, a community should pay to +a wide-awake person, who takes hold of a situation in a neighborhood and +keeps things moving, at least $100 a month. With nine months' school +this would mean $900; and it is strange, indeed, if a person in the +prime of life who has spent many years in the preparation of his work, +and who has initiative and push, is not worth $100 a month for nine +months in the year. To such a person the people of that neighborhood +intrust their dearest and priceless possessions--their own children. If +we remember that, as the twig is bent the tree is inclined, there need +be no hesitation about the value of efficient teaching during the +plastic period of childhood. In fact, it may easily be maintained that +the salary should be even higher than this. But, if this be so, how far +are we at present from even a beginning of the solution of our rural +school problem! + +=A Good School Board.=--A good school board is one whose members are +alive to their duties and wide-awake to the problems of education. They +are men or women who have an intelligent grasp of the situation and who +will earnestly attempt to solve the educational problems of school and +of life in their community. + +=Board and Teacher.=--If a poor teacher and a good school board are +brought together the chances are that they will soon part company. A +good school board will not retain a poor teacher longer than it is +compelled to do so. A poor school board and a good teacher will also +part company, for the good teacher will not stay; he will leave and find +relief as soon as possible. Under a poor school board and a poor teacher +nothing will be done; the children, instead of being educated, will be +de-educated. Quarrels and dissensions will be created in the +neighborhood and a miserable condition, educationally and socially, will +prevail. If a good school board and a good teacher join hands, the +problem is solved, or at least is in a fair way to being solved. This +last condition will mean an interested school, a united neighborhood, a +live, wide-awake, and happy community. + +=The Ideal.=--It is as impossible to describe a successful solution of +the problems of any particular school as it is to paint the lily, the +rose, or the rainbow. All are equally indescribable and intangible, but +nevertheless the more real, potent, and inspiring on that account. Such +a situation means the presence of a strong life, a strong mind, and a +strong hand exemplifying ideals every day. This is education, this is +growth, this is real life. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE RURAL SCHOOL CURRICULUM + + +=Imitation.=--There are two processes by which all progress is attained, +namely, imitation and invention. Imitation is found everywhere, in all +spheres of thought and of action. Children are great imitators, and +adults are only children grown up. Imitation, of course, is a necessary +thing. Without it no use could be made of past experience. When it +conserves and propagates the good it is to be commended; but the +worthless and the bad are often imitated also. As imitation is necessary +for the preservation of past experience, so invention is equally +essential in blazing new paths of thought and of action. It is probably +true that all persons are more prone to imitation than to invention. + +=The Country Imitates the City.=--The rural schools have always imitated +the city schools, as rural life attempts to imitate city life. Many of +the books used in rural schools have been written largely with city +conditions in mind and by authors who have been city bred or city won. +These books have about them the atmosphere and the flavor of the city. +Their selections as a rule contain references and allusions without +number to city life, and give a cityward bent; their connotation and +attitude tend to direct the mind toward the city. As a consequence even +school textbooks have been potent aids in the urban trend. + +=Textbooks.=--It is not urged that the subject matter of textbooks be +made altogether rural in its applications and references. The books +should not be completely _ruralized_; nor should there be two sets of +books, one for the country and one for the city. But there should be a +more even balance between the city aspect and the rural aspect of +textbooks, whether used in the country or in the city. If some of the +texts now used were rewritten with the purpose of attaining that +balance, they would greatly assist the curriculum in both country and +city schools. There is no reason why city children should not have their +minds touched by the life, the thought, and the activities of the +country; and it is granted that country children should be made +conscious and cognizant of the life, the thought, and the activities of +the city. There is no more reason why textbooks should carry the urban +message, than that they should be dominantly ruralizing. + +=An Interpreting Core.=--The experiences of country children are of all +kinds; rural life, thought, and aspirations constitute the very +development of their consciousness and minds. In all their practical +experiences rural life and thought form the anchorage of their later +academic instruction. This early experience constitutes what the +Herbartians term their "apperception mass"; and children, as well as +grown-ups, can interpret new matter only in terms of the old. The +experiences of the child, which constitute his world of thought, of +discourse, and of action, are the only means by which he grasps and +interprets new thought and experience. Consequently, the texts which +rural children use should make a strong appeal to their apperception +mass--to their old stock and store of knowledge. It is the textbooks +that bring to the old knowledge new mental material which the teacher +and the textbook together attempt to communicate to the children. +Without an interpreting center--a stock and store of old knowledge which +constitute the very mental life of the child--it is impossible for him +to assimilate the new. The old experiences are, in fact, the mental +digestive apparatus of the child. Without this center, or core, the new +instead of being assimilated is, so to speak, merely stuck on. This is +the case with much of the subject matter in city-made texts. It does not +_grow_, but soon withers and falls away. It is, then, essential that the +textbooks used in rural schools should have the rural bent and +application, the rural flavor, the rural beck and welcome. + +=Rural Teachers from the City.=--A great many teachers of country +schools come from the city. A number of these are young girls having, +without blame on their part, the tone and temper, the attitude, spirit, +and training which the city gives. Their minds have been _urbanized_; +all their thoughts are city thoughts. The textbooks which they have used +have been city textbooks; their teachers have for the most part been +those in or from the city. It can scarcely be expected that such +teachers can do for the rural districts all that ought to be done. Very +naturally they inspire some of the children with the idea of ultimately +going to the city. This suggestion and this inspiration are given +unconsciously, but in the years of childhood they take deep root and +sooner or later work themselves out in an additional impetus to the +urban trend. + +=A Course for Rural Teachers.=--What is needed is a course of +instruction for rural teachers, in every state of the Union. In some +states the agricultural colleges have inaugurated a movement to this +end. In such colleges, agricultural high schools, and institutions of a +similar kind in every state, a three-year course for teachers above the +eighth year, specially designed to prepare them for rural school +teaching, should be established. Such a school would furnish the proper +atmosphere and the proper courses of instruction to suffuse the minds of +these prospective teachers with appreciation and love of country life +and rural school work. + +=All Not to Remain in the Country.=--It is not contended here that all +who are born and brought up in the country ought to remain there for +life. Many writers and speakers preach the gospel of "the country for +country children," but this cannot be sound. Each one, as the years go +by, should "find" himself and his own proper place. There are many +children brought up in the country who find their place best in the +heart of the great city; and there are many brought up in the cities who +ultimately find themselves and their place in the country and in its +work. While all this is true it may still be maintained that the proper +mental food for country children is the life and the activities of the +country; and if this life and these activities are made pleasant and +attractive a larger percentage of country children will remain in the +country for the benefit of both country and city. + +=Mere Textbook Teaching.=--Many teachers in the country, as well as in +the city, follow literally the textbooks provided for them. Textbooks, +being common and general, must leave the application of the thought +largely to the teacher. To follow them is probably the easiest kind of +teaching, for the mind then moves along the line of least resistance. +Accordingly the tendency is merely to teach textbooks, without +libraries, laboratories, and other facilities for the application of the +thought of the text. Application and illustration are always difficult. +It frequently happens that children go through their textbooks under the +guidance of their more or less mechanical teachers, without making any +application of their knowledge. Their learning seems to be stored away +in pigeonholes and never used again. That in one pigeonhole does not +mix with that in another. Their thoughts and their education in +different fields are in no sense united. Pupils are surprised if they +are asked or expected to use their knowledge in any practical manner. A +man who had a tank, seven feet in diameter and eight feet high, about +half full of gasoline, asked his daughter, who was completing the eighth +grade, to figure out for him how many gallons it contained. She had just +been over "weights and measures" and "denominate numbers" of all kinds. +After much figuring she returned the answer that there were in it about +seven and one half gallons, without ever suspecting the ridiculousness +of the result. + +=A Rich Environment.=--The country is so rich in material of all kinds +for scientific observation, that some education should be given to the +rural child in this field. Agriculture and its various activities +surround the child; nature teems with life, both animal and vegetable; +the country furnishes long stretches of meadow and woodland for +observation and study. Yet in most places the children are blind to the +beauties and wonders around them. Nature study in such an environment +should be a fascinating subject, and agriculture is full of +possibilities for the application of the thought in the textbooks. + +=Who Will Teach These Things?=--But who will teach these new sciences or +open the eyes of the child to the beauties around him? Not everyone can +do it. It will require a master. Teaching "at" these things in a dull, +perfunctory way will do no good. It would be better to leave them +untaught. We have, everywhere, too much "attempting" to teach and not +enough teaching, too much seeming and not enough being, too much +appearance and not enough reality. + +An example will illustrate the author's meaning. Some years ago an +experienced institute conductor in a western state found himself the +sole instructor when the teachers of the county convened. He sought +among the teachers for someone who could and would give him assistance. +One man of middle age, who had taught for many years, volunteered to +take the subject of arithmetic and to give four lessons of forty minutes +each in it during the week. This was good news to the conductor; he +congratulated himself on having found some efficient help. His +assistant, however, after talking on arithmetic for ten minutes of his +first period, reached the limit of his capacity, either of thought or of +expression, and had to stop. He could not say another word on that +subject during the week! Now if this is true of an experienced +middle-aged teacher of a subject so universally taught as arithmetic, +how much more true must it be of an instructor in a subject like +agriculture. It should not be expected that a young girl, eighteen or +twenty years of age, who has probably been brought up in the city and +who has had the subject of agriculture only one period a day for a year, +can give any adequate instruction in that branch. She would be the butt +for ridicule among the practical boys and girls in the country who +would probably know more about such things than she. She would, +therefore, lose the respect and confidence of pupils and parents, and it +would really be better for her and for all concerned not to attempt the +teaching of that subject at all. What is worth doing at all is worth +doing well. A little instruction well given and well applied is worth +any amount of "stuff" poorly done and unapplied. + +=The Scientific Spirit Needed.=--There is great need of teachers who are +thoroughly imbued with the scientific spirit. In the country especially +there is need of teachers who will rouse the boys and girls to the +investigation of problems from the facts at hand and all around them. +This should be done inductively and in an investigative spirit. Our +whole system of education seems somewhat vitiated by the deductive +attitude and method of teaching--the assuming of theories handed down by +the past, without investigation or verification. This is the kind of +teaching which has paralyzed China for untold generations. The easiest +thing to do is to accept something which somebody else has formulated +and then, without further ado, to be content with it. The truly +scientific mind, the investigative mind, is one that starts with facts +or phenomena and, after observing a sufficient number of them, +formulates a conclusion and tests it. This will result in real +thinking--which is the same as "thinging." It is putting _things_ into +causal relation and constructing from them, unity out of diversity. To +induce this habit of thought, to inspire this spirit of investigation +and observation in children is the essence of teaching. To teach is to +cause others to _think_, and the man or woman who does this is a +successful teacher. + +=A Course of Study.=--There should be in every rural school a simple and +suggestive course of study. This should not be as large as a textbook. +The purpose of it is not to indicate at great length and in detail +either the matter or the manner of teaching any specific subject. It +should be merely an outline of the metes and bounds in the processes and +the progress of pupils through the grades. The course of study should be +a means, not an end; it should be a servant and not a master. It should +not entail upon the school or upon the teacher a vast complicated +machinery or an endless routine of red tape. If it does this it defeats +its true aim. Here again the country schools have attempted to imitate +the city schools. In all cities grading is much more systematized, and +is pushed to a greater extent than it is or should be in the country. +Owing to the necessities of the situation and also to the convenience of +the plan in the cities, the grades, with their appropriate books, amount +of work, and plan of procedure, are much more definite than is possible +or desirable in the country. To grade the country schools as definitely +and as systematically as is done in the city would be to do them an +irreparable injury. The country would make a great mistake to imitate +the city school systems in its courses of study. + +=Red Tape.=--It sometimes happens that county and state superintendents, +in performing the duties of their office, think it necessary to impose +upon the country schools a variety of tests, examinations, reports, and +what-not, which accomplish but little and may result in positive injury. +To pile up complications and intricacies having no practical educational +value is utterly useless. It indicates the lack of a true conception of +the school situation. Such haphazard methods will not teach alone any +more than a saw will saw alone. Behind it all must be the simple, great +teacher, and for him all these things, beyond a reasonable extent, are +hindrances to progress. + +=Length of Term.=--In very many country districts the terms are +frequently only six months in the year. This should be extended to eight +at least. Even in this case, it gives the rural school a shorter term +than the city school, which usually has nine or ten months each year. +But it is very probable that the simplicity of rural school life and +rural school teaching will enable pupils to do as much in eight months +as is done in the city in nine. + +=Individual Work.=--Individual work should be the rule in many subjects. +There is no need, on account of numbers, of a lock-step. In the cities, +where the teacher has probably an average of 35 to 40 children, all the +pupils are held together and in line. In such cases the great danger is +to those above the average. There is the danger of forming what might be +called the "slow habit." The bright pupils are retarded in their work, +for they are capable of much more than they do. In such cases the +retardation is not on account of the inability of the pupil but on +account of the system. The bright ones are held back in line with the +slow. This need not be the case in rural schools. Here, in every subject +which lends itself to the plan, each pupil should be allowed to go as +far and as fast as he can, provided that he appreciates the thought, +solves the problems, and understands the work as he goes. I once knew a +large rural school in which there were enrolled about sixty pupils, +taking the subjects of all the grades, from the first to the eighth and +even some high school subjects. In such classes as arithmetic the pupils +were, so to speak, "turned loose" and all entered upon a race for the +goal. Each one did as much as he could, his attainments being subjected +to the test of examination. The plan worked excellently; no one was +retarded, and all were intensely busy. + +="Waking Up the Mind."=--The main thing in any school is not the amount +of knowledge which pupils get from textbooks or from the teacher, but +the extent to which the mind appropriates that knowledge and is "waked +up" by it. Mr. Page in his excellent classic, _The Theory and Practice +of Teaching_, has a chapter called "Waking Up the Mind" and some +excellent illustrations as to how it may be done. The main thing is not +the amount of mere knowledge or information held in memory for future +delivery, but the spirit and attitude of it all. The extent to which +children's minds are made awake and sensitive, and the extent to which +they are inspired to pursue with zest and spirit any new problem are the +best criterions of success in teaching. The spirit and method of attack +is all-important; quantity is secondary. If children have each other, so +to speak, "by the ears," over some problem from one day to the next, it +indicates that the school and the teacher are awake, that they are up +and doing, and that education, which is a process of leavening, is +taking place. + +=The Overflow of Instruction.=--On account of the individual work which +is possible in the country schools, what is sometimes called the +"overflow of instruction" is an important factor in the stimulation and +the education of all the children in the room. In the city school, where +all are on a dead level, doing the same work, there is not much +information or inspiration descending from above, for there is no class +above. But in the rural school, children hear either consciously or +unconsciously much that is going on around them. They hear the larger +boys and girls recite and discuss many interesting things. These +discussions wake up minds by sowing the seeds which afterwards come to +flower and fruit in those who listen--in those who, in fact, cannot help +hearing. + +I remember an incident which occurred during my experience as a pupil in +a country school. A certain county superintendent, who used to visit the +school periodically, was in the habit, on these occasions, of reading to +the school for probably half an hour. Just what he read I do not even +remember, but I recall vividly his quiet manner and attitude, his +beautiful and simple expression, and the whole tone and temper of the +man as he gathered the thought and expressed it so beautifully and so +artistically. This type of thing has great influence. It is often the +intangible thing that tells and that is valuable. In every case, that +which is most artistically done is probably that which leaves its +impression. + +=Affiliation.=--In some states, notably in Minnesota, an excellent plan +is in vogue by which the schools surrounding a town or a city are +affiliated with the city schools in such a manner as to receive the +benefit of the instruction of certain special teachers from the city. +These teachers--of manual training, domestic science, agriculture, +etc.--are sent out from the city to these rural schools two or three +times a week, and in return the country children beyond a certain grade +are sent to the high school in the city. This is a process of +affiliation which is stimulating and economical, and can be encouraged +with good results. + +[Illustration: A Christmas gathering at the new school] + +[Illustration: A school garden in the larger center] + +=The "Liking Point."=--In the teaching of all subjects the important +thing is that the pupil reach what may be termed the "liking point." +Until a pupil has reached that point in any subject of study his work +is mere drudgery--it is work which is probably disliked. The great +problem for the teacher is to bring the child as soon as possible to +this liking point, and then to keep him there. It is probable that every +pupil can be brought to the liking point of every subject by a good +teacher. Where there is difficulty in doing this, something has gone +wrong somewhere, either on the part of the pupil, his former teachers, +his parents, or his companions. When a pupil has reached the liking +point it means that he has a keen relish, an appetite for the subject, +and in this condition he will actively pursue it. + +=The Teacher the Chief Factor.=--The foregoing observations imply again +that the teacher, after all, is the great factor in the success of the +school. He is the "man behind the gun"; he is the engineer at the +throttle; he is the master at the helm; he is the guide, for he has been +over the road; he is the organizer, the center of things; he is the +mainspring; he is the soul of the school, and is greater than books or +courses of study. He is the living fire at which all the children must +light their torches. Again we ask, how can this kind of person be found? +Without him true education, in its best sense, cannot be secured; with +him the paltry consideration of salary should not enter. Without such +teachers there can be no solution of the rural school problems, nor, +indeed, of the rural life problems. With him and those of his class, +there is great hope. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE SOCIAL CENTER + + +During the past few years we have heard much of what is called the +"social center," or the "community center," in rural districts. This +idea has grown with the spread of the consolidation of schools, and +means, as the name implies, a unifying, cooerdinating, organizing agency +of some kind in the midst of the community, to bring about a harmony and +solidity of all the interests there represented. It implies of course a +leader; for what is left to be done by people in general is likely to be +done poorly. There is no doubt that this idea should be encouraged and +promoted. People living in the country are of necessity forced to a life +of isolation. Their very work and position necessitate this, and +consequently it is all the more necessary that they should frequently +come together in order to know each other and to act together for the +benefit of all. "In union there is strength," but these people have +always been under a great disadvantage in every way, because they have +not organized for the purpose of united and effective cooperation. + +=The Teacher, the Leader.=--There is no more appropriate person to bring +about this organization, this unification, this increased solidarity, +than the public school teacher of the community; but it will require the +head and the hand of a real master to lead a community--to organize it, +to unite it, and to keep it united. It requires a person of rare +strength and tact, a person who has a clear head and a large heart, and +who is "up and doing" all the time. A good second to such a person would +be the minister of the neighborhood, provided he has breadth of view and +a kindly and tolerant spirit. Much of the success of rural life in +foreign countries, notably in Denmark, is due to the combined efforts of +the schoolmaster and the minister of the community church. + +=Some Community Activities.=--Let us suggest briefly some of the +activities that are conducive to the fuller life of such a social +center. It is true that these activities are more possible in the +consolidated districts than in the communities where consolidation has +not been effected; but many of them could be provided even in the small +schools. + +=The Literary Society.=--There should be in every school district a +literary society of some kind. This of course must not be overworked, +for other kinds of activities also should be organized in order to give +the change which interest demands. In this literary society the interest +and assistance of the adults of the neighborhood and the district, who +are willing and able to cooperate, should be enlisted. There are in +every community a few men and women who will gladly assist in a work of +this kind if their interest can be properly aroused. There is scarcely +any better stimulus to the general interest of a neighborhood, and +especially of the children in the school, than seeing and hearing some +of the grown-up men and women who are their neighbors participate in +such literary work. + +=Debates.=--An important phase of the literary work of such a society +should be an occasional debate. This might be participated in sometimes +by adults who are not going to school, and sometimes by the bigger and +more advanced pupils. Topics that are timely and of interest to the +whole community should be discussed. There is probably no better way of +teaching a tolerant spirit and respect for the honest opinions of others +than the habit of "give and take" in debate. In such debates judges +could sometimes be appointed and at other times the relative merits of +the case and of the debaters might well be left to the people of the +neighborhood without any formal decision having been rendered. This +latter plan is the one used in practical life in regard to addresses and +debates on the political platform. The discussions and differences of +opinion following such debates constitute no small part of life and +thought manifested later in the community. + +=The School Program.=--A program or exhibition by the school should be +given occasionally. This would differ from the work of the literary +society in that it would be confined to the pupils of the school. Such +a program should be a sample of what the pupils are doing and can do. It +should be a mental exhibition of the school activities. There is +scarcely anything that attracts the people and the parents of the +neighborhood more than the literary performances of their children, +younger and older. Such performances, as in other cases, may be +overdone; they may be put forward too frequently; they may also be too +lengthy. But the teacher with a true perspective will see to it that all +such extremes are avoided, for he realizes that there are other +activities which must be developed and presented in order to secure a +change of interest. These school programs occupy the mind and thought of +the community for some time. The performance of the different parts and +the efforts of the various children--both their successes and their +failures--become the subjects of thought and of talk in the +neighborhood. It acts like a kind of ferment in the social mind; it +keeps the school and the community talking and thinking of school and of +education. + +=Spelling Schools.=--For a change, even an old-fashioned spelling school +is not to be scorned. Years ago this was quite the custom. An entire +school would, on a challenge, go as a sleigh-ride party to the +challenging school. There the spelling contest would take place. One of +the teachers, either the host or the guest, would pronounce the words, +and the visiting school would return, either victorious or vanquished. +A performance of this kind enlists the attention and the interest of +people and schools in the necessity of good spelling; it affords a +delightful social recreation, stirs up thought and wakes up mind in both +communities, by an interesting and courteous contest. Such results are +not to be undervalued. + +=Lectures.=--If the school is a consolidated one, or even a large +district school, a good lecture course may be given to advantage. Here, +again, care must be taken that the lectures, even if few, shall be +choice. Nothing will kill a course of lectures sooner than to have the +people deceived a few times by poor ones. It would be better to have +three good lectures during the year than six that would be +disappointing. These lecture courses may be secured in almost every +state through the Extension Department of the various state +institutions. Recently the states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North +Dakota have entered into an arrangement whereby they will furnish any +rural or urban community of these states with good lecturers at a very +small consideration. Excellent lectures can be secured in this way on a +great variety of subjects, including those most interesting to rural +communities and most helpful in all phases of farm life. These might be +secured in the winter season when there is ample time and leisure for +all to attend. + +=Dramatic Performances.=--In the social centers where the conveniences +admit, simple dramatic performances might be worked up or secured from +the outside. It is a fact that life in some country communities is not +sufficiently cheered through the agency of the imagination. The tendency +is for farmers and farmers' families to live a rather humdrum existence +involving a good deal of toil. On the secluded farms during the long +winter months, there is not much social intercourse. It has been +asserted that the isolation and solitariness in sparsely settled +districts are causes of the high percentage of insanity in rural and +frontier communities. It is good for the mental and physical health of +both old and young to be lifted, once in a while, out of the world of +reality into that of the imagination. All children and young people like +to play, to act, to make believe. This is a part of their life, and it +is conducive to their mental and social welfare to express themselves in +simple plays or to see life in its various phases presented dramatically +by others. + +=A Musical Program.=--If the teacher is a leader he will either be able, +himself, to arrange a musical entertainment, or he will secure some one +who can and will do so. All, it is contended, can learn to sing if they +begin early enough; and there is probably no better mode of +self-expression and no better way of waking up people emotionally and +socially than to engage them in singing. The importance of singing, to +secure good and right emotional attitudes toward life and mankind, is +indicated in the saying, "Let me make the songs of a nation and I care +not who makes her laws." The importance of singing is recognized to a +much greater extent in foreign countries, notably in Germany, than in +America. In Germany all sing; in America, it is to be regretted, but few +sing. There should be a real renaissance in music throughout the +country. As an aid in the teaching of music and of song, that marvelous +invention, the "talking machine," should be made use of. It would be an +excellent thing if a phonograph could be put in every school. Children +would become acquainted with the best music; they would grow to like it, +as the weeks, months, and years roll on. This machine is a wonderful +help in developing an appreciation of good music. + +=Slides and Moving Pictures.=--In the consolidated schools, where there +is a suitable hall, a moving-picture entertainment of the right kind is +to be commended. The screens and the lantern enable us, in our +imaginations, to live in all countries and climes. The eye is the royal +road to the mind, and most people are eye-minded; and the moving picture +is a wonderful agency to convey to the mind, through the eye, accurate +pictures of the world around us, natural and social. The community +center--the school center--should avail itself of all such inventions. + +=Supervised Dancing.=--Even the supervised dance, where the sentiment of +the community will allow, is not to be condemned. It is much better to +have young people attend dances that are supervised than to attend +public dances that are not supervised; and young people, as a rule, +will attend one or the other. The practical question or condition is one +of supervision or no supervision, for the dance is here. The dance +properly supervised, and conducted in a courteous, formal way, beginning +and closing at the right time, can probably be turned to good and made +an occasion for social and individual culture. The niceties and +amenities of life can there be inculcated. There is no good reason why +the dance activities should be turned over to the devil. There was a +time and there were places where violin playing was turned over to him +and banished from the churches. Dancing is too old, too general, too +instinctive, and too important, not to be recognized as a means to +social culture. Here again the sane teacher can be an efficient +supervisor. He can take care that the young people do not become +entirely dance-minded. + +=Sports and Games.=--The various sports should not be forgotten. +Skating, curling, and hockey, basketball, and volley ball, are all fine +winter sports; in summer, teams should be organized in baseball, tennis, +and all the proper athletic sports and games. Play should be supervised +to a certain extent; over-supervision will kill it. Sometimes plays that +are not supervised at all degenerate and become worse than none. All of +these physical activities and sports should be found and fostered in the +rural center. They are healthful, both physically and mentally, and +should be participated in by both girls and boys. + +It is probably true that our schools and our education have stood, to +too great an extent, for mere intellectual acquisition and training. In +Sparta of old, education was probably nine tenths physical and one tenth +mental. In these modern days education seems to be about ninety-nine +parts mental. A sound body is the foundation of a sound mind, and time +is not lost in devoting much attention to the play and games of children +and young people. There is no danger in the schools of our day of going +to an extreme in the direction of physical education; the danger is in +not going far enough. I am not sure that it would not be better if the +children in every school were kept in the open air half the time +learning and participating in various games and sports, instead of, as +now, poring over books and memorizing a lot of stuff that will never +function on land or sea. + +=School Exhibits.=--In the social centers a school exhibit could be +occasionally given with great profit. If domestic science is taught, an +occasion should be made to invite the people of the neighborhood to +sample the products, for the test of the pudding is in the eating. This +would make a delightful social occasion for the men and women of the +community to meet each other, and the after-effects in the way of +favorable comment and thought would be good. If manual training is an +activity of the school, as it ought to be, a good exhibit of the product +of this department could be given. If agriculture is taught and there +is a school garden, as there should be, an exhibit once a year would +produce most desirable effects in the community along agricultural +lines. + +=A Public Forum.=--Aside from provisions for school activities in this +social center there should be a hall where public questions can be +discussed. All political parties should be given equal opportunities to +present their claims before the people of the community. This would tend +toward instruction, enlightenment, and toleration. The interesting +questions of the day, in political and social life, should be discussed +by exponents chosen by the social center committee. In America we have +learned the lesson of listening quietly to speakers in a public meeting, +whether we agree with them or not. In some countries, when a man rises +to expound his political theories, he is hissed down or driven from the +stage by force. This is not the American way. In America each man has +his hour, and all listen attentively and respectfully to him. The next +evening his opponent may have his hour, his inning, and the audience is +as respectful to him. This is as it should be; this is the true spirit +of toleration which should prevail everywhere and which can be +cultivated to great advantage in these rural, social centers. It makes, +too, for the fullness of life in rural communities. It makes country +life more pleasant and serves in some degree to counteract the strong +but regrettable urban trend. + +=Courtesy and Candor.=--There are two extremes in debates and in public +discussions which should be equally avoided: The first is that brutal +frankness which forgets to be courteous; and the second is that extreme +of hypocritical courtesy which forgets to be candid. What is needed +everywhere is the candor which is also courteous and the courtesy which +is likewise candid. In impulsive youth and in lack of education and +culture, brutal candor without courtesy sometimes manifests itself; +while courtesy without candor is too often exhibited by shrewd +politicians and diplomatic intriguers. + +=Automobile Parties.=--A delightful and profitable occasion could be +made by the men of the rural community who are the owners of +automobiles, by taking all the children of the community and of the +schools, once in a while, for an automobile ride to near or distant +parts of the county. Such an occasion would never be forgotten by them. +It would be enjoyable to those who give as well as to those who receive, +and would have great educational as well as social value. It would bind +together both young and old of the community. Occasions like these would +also conduce to the good-roads movement so commendable and important +throughout the country. The automobile and the consolidation of rural +schools, resulting in social centers, are large factors in the +good-roads movement. + +=Full Life or a Full Purse.=--The community which has been centralized +socially and educationally may often bring upon itself additional +expense to provide the necessary hall, playgrounds, and other +conveniences required to realize and to make all of these activities +most effective. But this is a local problem which must be tackled and +solved by each community for itself. The community where the right +spirit prevails will realize that they must make some sacrifices. If a +thing is worth while, the proper means must be provided. One cannot have +the benefit without paying the cost. It is a question as to which a +community will choose: a monotonous, isolated life _with_ the +accumulation of some money, or an active, enthusiastic, educational, and +social life _without_ so many dollars. It is really a choice between +money with little life on the one hand, and a little less money with +more fullness of life on the other. Life, after all, is the only thing +worth while, and in progressive communities its enrichment will be +chosen at any cost. Here again it is the duty of the teacher to bring +about the right spirit and attitude and the right decision in regard to +all these important questions. + +=Organization.=--A community which is socially and educationally +organized will need a central post office and town hall, a community +store, a grain elevator, a church, and possibly other community +agencies. All of these things tend to solidify and bring together the +people at a common center. + +This suggests organization of some kind in the community. The old +grange was good in its ideal; the purpose was to unite and bring people +together for mutual help. There should probably be a young men's society +of some kind, and an organization of the girls and women of the +community. It is true that the matter may be overdone and we may have +such a thing as activity merely for the sake of activity. It was Carlyle +who said that some people are noted for "fussy littleness and an +infinite deal of nothing." The golden mean should apply here as +elsewhere. + +=The Inseparables.=--To bring all of these things about requires talent +and ingenuity on the part of the leader or leaders; and we come again to +the inseparables mentioned in a former chapter. It will require a great +personality to organize. The word "great" implies a high standard; and +strong personalities, such as are capable of managing a social center, +cannot possibly be secured without an adequate inducement in the way of +salary. Proper compensation cannot mean sixty, seventy-five, or one +hundred dollars a month. It must mean also permanence of position. Again +we come face to face with the problem of the teacher in our solution of +the problem of rural life and the rural school. + +In conclusion it must be said that nothing is too good for the country +which is not too good for the city. The rural community must determine +to have all these good things at any cost, if it wishes to work out its +own salvation. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +RURAL SCHOOL SUPERVISION + + +=Important.=--Supervision is fully as important as teaching. The +supervisor must be, to even a higher degree than the teacher, a strong +personality, and this too implies a high standard and an attractive +salary. The supervisor or superintendent must be somewhat of an expert +in the methods of teaching all the common school subjects. Not only must +he understand school discipline and organization in its details, but he +must possess the ability to "turn in" and exemplify his qualifications +at any time. It will be seen everywhere that the supervisor or +superintendent is the expensive person; for, having the elements of +leadership, he is in demand in educational positions as well as in +outside callings. Consequently it is only by a good financial +inducement, as a rule, that a competent supervisor can be retained in +the profession. + +=Supervision Standardizes.=--Without the superintendent or supervisor, +no common standard can be attained or maintained. It is he who keeps the +force up to the line; without him each teacher is a law unto himself and +there will be as many standards as there are teachers. Human nature is +innately slothful and negligent, and needs the spirit of supervision to +keep it toned up to the necessary pitch. Supervision over a large force +of workers of any kind is absolutely necessary to secure efficiency, and +to keep service up to a high standard. + +=Supervision Can Be Overdone.=--The necessity for supervision is clearly +felt in the city systems. There they have a general superintendent, +principals of buildings, and supervisors in various special lines. A +system of schools in the city without supervision would simply go to +pieces. It would soon cease to be a system, and would become chaotic. It +may be, it is true, that in some cities there is too much supervision; +it may become acute and pass the line of true efficiency. Indeed, in +some cities the red tape may become so complicated and systematized that +it becomes an end, and schools and pupils seem to exist for supervisors +and systems instead of _vice versa_. It is probably true that the +constant presence of a supervisor who is adversely critical may do +injury to the efficiency of a good teacher. No one can teach as well +under disapprobation as he can where he feels that his hands are free; +and so in some places supervision may act as a wet blanket. It may +suppress spontaneity, initiative, and real life in the school. But this +is only an abuse of a good thing, and probably does not occur +frequently. In any event, the exception would only prove the rule. +Supervision is as necessary in a system of schools as it is in a +railroad or in large industries. + +[Illustration: A basket ball team for the girls] + +[Illustration: A brass band for the young men] + +[Caption for the above illustrations: ACTIVITIES OF THE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL] + +=Needed in Rural Schools.=--The country partakes of the same isolation +in regard to its schools as it does in regard to life in general. This +isolation is accentuated where there is little or no supervision. +Without it, the necessary stimulus seldom or never touches the life of +the teacher or the school. There is little uplift; the school runs along +in its ordinary, humdrum fashion, and never measures itself with other +schools, and is seldom measured by a supervisor. A poor teacher may be +in the chair one term and a good teacher another. The terms are short +and the service somewhat disconnected. The whole situation gives the +impression to people, pupils, and teacher that education is not of very +great value. + +=No Supervision in Some States.=--In some states there is but little +supervision. There may be, it is true, a district board, but these are +laymen, much better acquainted with the principles of farming than with +those of teaching. They have no standards for judging a school and +seldom visit one. The selection known as the "Deestrict Skule" +illustrates fairly well the ability of the old-time school board to pass +judgment upon the professional merits of the teacher. + +=Nominal Supervision.=--In other states there is a county superintendent +on part time who has a kind of general but attenuated supervision over +all the schools of a county. He is usually engaged in some other line of +work--in business, in medicine, in law, in preaching--and can give only +a small portion of his time to the work of superintendence. Indeed, +this means only an occasional visit to the school, probably once every +one or two years, and such simple and necessary reports as are demanded +by the state superintendent or State Board of Education. Such +supervision, however honestly performed, accomplishes but little. The +superintendent may visit the teacher to-day, but when he returns a year +hence, he is likely to find another teacher in charge. Under such +circumstances, what can he do? He has seen the teacher at work for half +an hour or an hour; he offers a suggestion, or makes some complimentary +remark, and goes his way. No one realizes better than he how little he +has been able to accomplish. And yet, under existing circumstances he +has done all that could be expected. + +=Some Supervision.=--There are, elsewhere, county superintendents who +devote their whole time to the work, but who are chosen for short terms +and in a political campaign. Very frequently these men are elected for +political reasons quite as much as for educational fitness. If a +superintendent so elected is politically minded--and I regret to say +that sometimes this is the case--he will probably devote much time, +energy, and thought to paving the way for reelection. Expecting to be a +candidate for a second term, he will use his best efforts to impress the +public mind in his favor. This sometimes results in greater attention to +the duties of his office and the consequent betterment of the schools; +but, too often, it works in the opposite direction. Being elected for +only two years, he has not the time to carry out any educational policy +no matter how excellent his plans may be. Of course many persons chosen +in this way make excellent and efficient officers, but the plan is bad. +The good superintendent frequently loses out soonest. + +=An Impossible Task.=--Superintendents sometimes have under their +jurisdiction from one hundred to two hundred, or even more, schools +separated by long distances. The law usually prescribes that the county +superintendent shall visit each school at least once a year. This means +that practically he will do no more; indeed it is often impossible to do +more. It means that his visits must of necessity be a mere perfunctory +call of an hour or two's duration with no opportunity to see the same +teacher again at work to determine whether or not she is making +progress, and whether she is carrying out his instructions. Such +so-called supervision, or superintendence, is not supervision at +all--how can it be? The superintendent is only a clerical officer who +does the work required by law, and makes incidentally an annual social +visit to the schools. + +=The Problem Not Tackled.=--Such a situation is another evidence that +the states which tolerate the foregoing conditions have not, in any real +and earnest manner, attempted to solve the problem of rural school +supervision. They have merely let things drift along as they would, not +fully realizing the problem or else trusting to time to come to their +aid. Micawber-like, they are waiting for "something to turn up." But +such problems will not solve themselves. + +=City Supervision.=--Compare the supervision described above with that +which is usually found in cities. There we usually find a general +superintendent and assistant superintendents; there are high school +principals and a principal at the head of every grade building; there is +also a supervisor of manual training, of domestic science, of music, of +drawing, and possibly of other subjects. When we consider, too, that the +teachers in the city are all close at hand and that the supervisor or +superintendent may drop into any room at any time with scarcely a +minute's notice, we see the difference between city supervision and +country supervision. Add to this the fact that cities attract the strong +teachers--the professionally trained teachers, the output of the +professional schools--and we can see again how effective supervision +becomes in the city as compared with that in the country. In the country +we find only one superintendent for a county often as large as some of +the older states, and the possibility of visiting each school only about +once a year. Here also are the teachers who are not professionalized, as +a rule, and who, therefore, need supervision most. + +=The Purpose of Supervision.=--The main purpose of supervision is to +bring teachers up to a required standard of excellence in their work and +to keep them there. It is always the easiest plan to dismiss a teacher +who is found deficient, but this is cutting the knot rather than untying +it. Efficient and intelligent supervision proceeds along the line of +building such a teacher up, of making her strong where she is weak, of +giving her initiative where she lacks it, of inculcating good methods +where she is pursuing poor ones, of inducing her to come out of her +shell where she is backward and diffident. In other words, the great +work of the supervisor is to elicit from teachers their most active and +hearty response in all positive directions. It should be understood by +teachers--and they should know that the superintendent or supervisor +indorses the idea--that it is always better to go ahead and blunder than +to stand still for fear of blundering; and so, in the presence of a good +supervisor, the teacher is not afraid to let herself out. In the +conference, later, between herself and her supervisor, mistakes may be +pointed out; but, better than this, the best traits of the teacher +should be brought to her mind and the weak ones but lightly referred to. + +=What Is Needed.=--What is needed in the rural situation is a county +superintendent chosen because of his professional fitness by a county +board whose members have been elected at large. This board should be +elected on a nonpartisan ticket and so far as possible on a basis of +qualification and of good judgment in educational matters. It should +hold office for a period of years, some members retiring from the board +annually so that there shall not be, at any time, an entirely new board. +This would insure continuity. Another plan for a county board would be +to have the presidents of the district boards act as a county board of +education. Such a board should be authorized--and indeed this tradition +should be established--to select a county superintendent from applicants +from outside as well as inside the county. They should be empowered to +go anywhere in the country for a superintendent with a reputation in the +teaching profession. This is the present plan in cities, and it should +be true also in the selection of a county superintendent. + +=The Term.=--The term of office of the county superintendent should be +at the discretion of the county board. It should be not less than three +or four years--of sufficient length to enable a man to carry out a line +of policy in educational administration. The status of the county +superintendency should be similar to that of the city superintendency. + +=Assistants.=--The county board should be empowered to provide +assistants for the county superintendent. There should be one such +assistant for about thirty or thirty-five schools. It is almost +impossible for a supervisor to do efficient and effective work if he has +more than this number of schools, located, as they are, some distance +apart. Provision for such assistants, who should, like the +superintendent himself, be experts, is based upon the assumption that +supervision is worth while, and in fact necessary in any system if +success is to be attained. If the supervision of thirty-five schools is +an important piece of work it should be well done, and a person well +qualified for that work should be selected. He should be a person of +sympathetic attitude, of high qualifications, and of experience in the +field of elementary education. The assistants should be carefully +selected by the board on the recommendation of the county +superintendent. Poor supervision is little better than none. + +=The Schools Examined.=--The county superintendent and his assistants +should give, periodically, oral and written examinations in each school, +thus testing the work of both the teacher and the pupils. These +examinations should not conform in any perfunctory or red-tape manner to +a literally construed course of study. The course of study is a means +and not an end, and should be, at all points and times, elastic and +adaptable. To make pupils fit the course of study instead of making the +course of study fit the pupils is the old method of the Procrustean +bed--if the person is not long enough for it he is stretched; if too +long, a piece is cut off. Any examination or tests which would wake up +mind and stimulate education in the neighborhood may be resorted to; but +it should be remembered that examinations are likewise a means and not +an end. + +Some years ago when I was a county superintendent I tried the plan of +giving such tests in any subject to classes that had completed a +definite portion of that subject and arrived at a good stopping place. +If, for example, the teacher announced that his class had acquired a +thorough knowledge of the multiplication table, I gave a searching test +upon that subject and issued a simple little certificate to the effect +that the pupil had completed it. These little certificates acted like +stakes put down along the way, to give incentive, direction, and +definiteness to the educative processes, and to stimulate a reasonable +class spirit or individual rivalry. I meet these pupils occasionally +now--they are to-day grown men and women--and they retain in their +possession these little colored certificates which they still highly +prize. + +One portion of my county was populated almost entirely by Scandinavians, +and here a list of fifty to a hundred words was selected which +Scandinavian children always find it difficult to pronounce. At the +first trial many or most of the children mispronounced a large +percentage of them. I then announced that, the next time I visited the +school, I would test the pupils again on these words and others like +them, and issue "certificates of correct pronunciation" to all who were +entitled to them. I found, on the next visit, that nearly all the +children could secure these certificates. These tests created a great +impetus in the direction of correct pronunciation and language. Some +teachers, from mistaken kindness, had been accustomed to refrain from +correcting the children on such words, but as superintendent I found +that both the parents and the children wished drill in pronunciation and +were gratified at their success. This is only a sample. I would advocate +the giving of tests, or examinations, on any subject in the school +likely to lead to good results and to stimulate the minds of the pupils +in the right direction. The county superintendent and his assistants +might agree to lay the accent or the emphasis on different subjects, or +lines of work, in different years. + +=Keep Down Red Tape.=--In all the work of supervision, the formal +part--the accounting and reporting part--should be kept simple; the +tendency in administrative offices is too often in the direction of +complexity and red tape. Wherever there is form merely for the sake of +form, it is well worth while to sound a note of warning against it. + +=Help the Social Centers.=--The county superintendent and his assistants +can be of inestimable value in all the work of the social centers. They +should advise with school boards in regard to consolidation and other +problems agitating the community. They should lend a helping hand to +programs that are being carried out in any part of the county. They +should give lectures themselves at such social centers and, if asked, +should help the local communities and local committees in every way +within their power. + +=Conclusion.=--The problem, then, of superintendence is, we conclude, +one of the large and important problems awaiting solution in rural life +and in rural schools. It is the binding force that will help to unify +all the educational activities of the county. It is one of the chief +stimulating and uplifting influences in rural education. As in the case +of most other school problems, the constant surprise is that the people +have not awakened sooner to the realization of its importance and to an +honest and earnest attempt at its solution. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +LEADERSHIP AND COOePERATION + + +=The Real Leader.=--Real leadership is a scarce and choice article; true +leaders are few and far between. The best kind of leader is not one who +attempts to be at the head of every movement and to do everything +himself, but rather he who makes the greatest number of people active in +his cause. It frequently happens that the more a leader does himself, +the less his followers are inclined to do. The more active he is, the +more passive they are likely to become. As teaching is causing others to +know and react educationally, so genuine leadership is causing others to +become active in the direction of the leader's purpose, or aim. Some who +pose as leaders seek to be conspicuous in every movement, merely to +attract attention to themselves. They bid for direct and immediate +recognition instead of being content with the more remote, indirect, but +truer and more substantial reward of recognition through their followers +who are active in their leader's cause. The poor leader does not think +that there is glory enough for all, and so he monopolizes all he can of +it, leaving the remainder to those who probably do the greater part of +the work and deserve as much credit as he. The spectacular football +player who ignores the team and team work, in order to attract attention +by his individual plays, is not the best leader or the best player. The +real leader will frequently be content to see things somewhat poorly +done or not so well done, in order that his followers may pass through +the experience of doing them. It is only by having such experiences that +followers are enabled, in turn, to become leaders. + +=Teaching vs. Telling.=--As has been shown in an earlier chapter, the +lack of leadership is frequently exhibited in the classroom when the +teacher, instead of inducing self-activity and self-expression on the +part of the pupils, proceeds to recite the whole lesson himself. He asks +leading questions and then, at the slightest hesitation on the part of a +pupil, he suggests the answer; he asks another leading question from +another point of view; he puts words into the mouth of the pupil who is +trying in a pitiable way to recite; and ends by covering the topic all +over with words, words, words of his own. This is poor leadership on the +part of the teacher and gives no opportunity for real cooperation on the +part of the pupils. The teacher takes all the glory of reciting, and +leaves the pupil without an opportunity or the reward of +self-expression. + +=Enlisting the Cooeperation of Pupils.=--All children--and in fact all +people--if approached or stimulated in the proper way--like to _do_ +things, to perform services for others. A pupil always considers it a +compliment to be asked by his teacher to do something for him, if the +relations between the teacher and pupil are normal and cordial. This +must, of course, be the case if any truly educative response is to be +elicited. Socrates once said that a person cannot learn from one whom he +does not love. The relation between pupil and teacher should be one of +mutual love and respect, if the educational process is to obtain. If +this relation does not exist, the first duty of the teacher is to bring +it about. Sometimes this is difficult. I once heard a teacher say that +it took him about three weeks to establish this relation between himself +and one of his pupils. He finally invited the pupil out hunting with him +one Saturday, and after that they were the best of friends. The pupil +became one of the leaders in his school and his cooperation was secured +from that time forward. In this instance the teacher showed marked +leadership as well as practical knowledge of psychology and pedagogy. +Francis Murphy, the great temperance orator, understood both leadership +and cooperation, for he always, as he said, made it a point to approach +a man from the "south side." + +A pupil, if approached in the right way, will do anything in his power +for his teacher. There may be times when wood or fuel must be provided, +when the room must be swept and cleaned, when little repairs become +necessary, or an errand must be performed. In such situations, if the +teacher is a real leader and if his school and he are _en rapport_, +volunteers will vie with each other for the privilege of carrying out +the teacher's wishes. This would indicate genuine leadership and +cooperation. + +=Placing Responsibility.=--Whether in school or some other station in +life, there is scarcely anything that so awakens and develops the best +that is in either man or child as the placing of responsibility. Every +person is educated and made greater according to the measure of +responsibility that is given to him and that he is able to live up to. +While it is true that too great a measure of responsibility might be +given, this is no reasonable excuse for withholding it altogether for +fear the burden would be too great. There is a wide middle ground +between no responsibility and too much of it, and it is in this field +that leadership and cooperation can be displayed to much advantage. The +greater danger lies in not giving sufficient responsibility to children +and youths. It is well known that, in parts of our country, where men +who have been proved to be, or are strongly suspected of being crooked, +have been placed upon the bench to mete out justice, they have usually +risen to the occasion and to their better ideals, and have not betrayed +the trust reposed in them, or the responsibility placed upon them. There +is probably no finer body of men in America than our railroad +engineers; and while it may be true that they are _picked_ in a +measure, it is also true that their responsible positions and work bring +out their best manhood. As they sit or stand at the throttle, with hand +upon the lever and eyes on the lookout for danger, and as they feel the +heart-throbs of their engine drawing its precious freight of a thousand +souls through the darkness and the storm, they cannot help realizing +that this is real life invested with great responsibilities; and with +this thought ever before them, they become men who can be trusted +anywhere. There is little doubt that Abraham Lincoln's mettle was +tempered to the finest quality in the fires of the great struggle from +1860 to 1865, when every hour of his waking days was fraught with the +greatest responsibility. + +=How People Remain Children.=--If children and young people are not +given responsibilities they are likely to remain children. The old +adage, "Don't send a boy to mill," is thoroughly vicious if applied +beyond a narrow and youthful range. In some neighborhoods the fathers +even when of an advanced age retain entire control of the farm and of +all activities, and the younger generation are called the "boys," and, +what is worse, are considered such till forty years of age or older--in +fact as long as the fathers live and are active. A "boy" is called +"Johnnie," "Jimmie," or "Tommie," and is never chosen to do jury duty or +to occupy any position connected in the local public mind with a man's +work. The father in such cases is not a good leader, for he has given +no responsibility to, and receives no genuine cooperation from, his +sons, who are really man grown, but who are regarded, even by +themselves, from habit and suggestion, as children. If these middle-aged +men should move to another part of the country they would be compelled +to stand upon their own feet, and would be regarded as men among men. +They would be called _Mr._ Jones, _Mr._ Smith, and _Mr._ Brown, instead +of diminutive and pet names; and, what is better, they would regard +themselves as men. This would be a wholesome and stimulating suggestion. +Hence Horace Greeley's advice to young men, to "Go West," would prove +beneficial in more ways than one. + +This state of affairs is illustrated on a large scale by the Chinese +life and civilization. From time immemorial the Chinese have been taught +to regard themselves as children, and the emperor as the common father +of all. The head of the family is the head as long as he lives and all +his descendants are mere sons and daughters. When he dies he is the +object of worship. This custom has tended to influence in a large +measure the thought and life of China and to keep the Chinese, for +untold generations, a childlike and respectful people. Whatever may come +to pass under the new regime, recently established in their country, +they have been, since the dawn of history, a passive people, the +majority of whom have not been honored with any great measure of +responsibility. + +=On the Farm.=--Such lessons from history, written large, are as +applicable in rural life as elsewhere. Cooeperation and profit-sharing +are probably the key to the solution of the labor problem. Many +industrial leaders in various lines, notably Mr. Henry Ford in his +automobile factories in Detroit, have come to the conclusion that +cooperation, or some kind of profit-sharing by the rank and file of the +workers, is of mutual benefit to employer and laborer. The interest of +workers must be enlisted for their own good as well as for the good of +society at large. It induces the right attitude toward work on the part +of the worker, and the right attitude of employer and employee toward +each other. This leads to the solidarity of society and the integrity of +the social bond. It tends to establish harmony and to bring contentment +to both parties. + +=Renters.=--The renter of a farm must have sufficient interest in it and +in all its activities to improve it in every respect, rather than to +allow it to deteriorate by getting out of it everything possible, and +then leaving it, like a squeezed orange, to repeat the operation +elsewhere. A farm, in order to yield its best and to increase in +production and value, must be managed with care, foresight, and +scientific understanding. There must be, among other things, a careful +rotation of crops and the rearing of good breeds of animals of various +kinds. But these things cannot be intrusted to the mere renter or the +hired man who is nothing more. These are not sufficiently interested. +The man who successfully manages a farm must be interested in it and in +its various phases, whether he be a renter or a worker. He must be +careful, watchful, industrious, intelligent, and a lover of domestic +animals; otherwise the farm will go backward and the stock will not +thrive and be productive of profits. The man who drives a farm to a +successful issue must be a leader, and, if he is not the owner, he must +cooperate with the owner in order that there may be interest, which is +the great essential. + +=The Owner.=--If the farm is operated by the owner himself and his +family, there is still greater need of leadership on the part of the +father and of cooperation on the part of all. Money and profits are not +the only motives or the only results and rewards that come to a family +in rural life. As the children grow up to adult life, both boys and +girls, for their own education and development in leadership and in +cooperation, should be given some share in the business, some interest +which they can call their own, and whose success and increase will +depend on their attention, care, and industry. That father is a wise +leader who can enlist the active cooperation of all his family for the +good of each and of all. Such leadership and cooperation are the best +forms and means of education, and lead inevitably to good citizenship. +How often do we see a grasping, churlish father whose leadership is +maintained by fear and force and whose family fade away, one by one, as +they come to adolescence. There is no cementing force in such a +household, and the centrifugal forces which take the place of true +leadership and cordial cooperation soon do their work. + +=The Teacher as a Leader.=--We have already spoken of the teacher as the +natural leader of the activities of a social center, or of a community. +In such situations the teacher should be a real leader, not one who +wishes or attempts to be the direct and actual leader in every activity, +but one "who gets things done" through the secondary leadership of a +score or more of men, boys, and girls. The leader in a consolidated +district, or social center, who should attempt to bring all the glory +upon himself by immediate leadership would be like the teacher who +insists on doing all the reciting for his pupils. That would be a false +and short-lived leadership. Hence the teacher who is a true leader will +keep himself somewhat in the background while, at the same time, he is +the hidden mainspring, the power behind the throne. "It is the highest +art to conceal art." Fitch, in his lectures on teaching, says that the +teacher and the leader should "keep the machinery in the background." +The teacher should start things going by suggestion and keep them going +by his presence, his attitude, and his silent participation. + +Too much participation and direction are fatal to the active cooperation +and secondary leadership of others. Hence the teacher will bring about, +in his own good time and way, the organization of a baseball team under +the direction of a captain chosen by the boys. The choice, it is true, +may probably be inspired by the teacher. The same would take place in +regard to every game, sport, or activity, mental, social, or physical, +in the community. The danger always is that the initial leader may +become too dominant. It is hard on flesh and blood to resist the +temptation to be lionized. But it is incomparably better to have partial +or almost total failures under self-government than to be governed by a +benevolent and beneficent autocrat. And so it is much better that boys +and girls work out their own salvation under leaders of their own +choice, than to be told to organize, and to do thus and so. It requires +a rare power of self-control in a real leader to be compelled to witness +only partial success and crude performance under secondary leaders +groping toward success, and still be silent and patient. But this is the +true process of education--self-activity and self-government. + +=Self-activity and Self-government.=--In order to develop initiative, +which is the same thing, practically, as leadership, opportunity must be +given for free self-activity. Children and adults alike, if they are to +grow, must be induced to _do_. It is always better to go ahead and +blunder than to stand still for fear of blundering. Many kind mothers +fondly wish--and frequently attempt to enforce their wish--that +children should learn how to swim without going into the water. +Children see the folly of this and, in order not to disturb the calm and +peace of the household, slip away to a neighboring creek or +swimming-hole, for which they ever after retain the most cherished +memories. In later years when all danger is over these grown-up children +smilingly and jokingly reveal the mysteries of the trick! Children +cannot learn to climb trees without climbing trees, or to ride calves +and colts without the real animals. Some chances must be taken by +parents and guardians, and more chances are usually taken by children +than their guardians ever hear of. Accidents will happen, it is true, +but in the wise provision of Mother Nature the world moves on through +these persistent and instinctive self-activities. + +Self-activity is manifested on a larger scale in society and among +nations and peoples. Civilization is brought about through self-activity +and cooperation. It were better for the Filipinos to civilize themselves +as much as possible than that we impose civilization upon them. It is +better that Mexico bring peace into her own household, than that we take +the leadership and enforce order among her people. When the Irish +captain said to his soldiers, "If you don't obey willingly I'll make you +obey willingly," he fused into one the military and the truly civic and +educational conceptions. An individual or a nation must energize from +within outward in order to truly express itself and thus develop in the +best sense. Hence in any community the development of self-expression, +self-activity, and cooperation under true leadership is conducive to the +highest type of individuality and of citizenship. + +=Taking Laws upon One's Self.=--It is under proper leadership and +cooperation that children and young people are induced to take laws upon +themselves. It is always a joy to a parent or a teacher when a pupil +expresses himself with some emotion to the effect that such and such a +deed is an "outrage," or "fine" as the case may be. It is an indication +that he has adopted a life principle which he means to live by, and that +it has been made his own to such an extent that he expresses and commits +himself upon it with such feeling. Moralization consists in just this +process--the taking upon one's self of a bundle of good life principles. +Under the right kind of leadership and cooperation this moralizing +process grows most satisfactorily. Children then take upon themselves +laws and become self-governing and law-abiding. + +=An Educational Column.=--One of the best means of creating an +atmosphere and spirit of education and culture in a community is to +conduct an "educational column" in the local newspaper. The teacher as a +real leader in the community could furnish the matter for such a column +once every two weeks or once a month, and, before long, if he is the +leader we speak of, the people will begin to look eagerly for this +column; they will turn to it first on receiving their paper. Here items +of interest on almost any subject might be discussed. The column need +not be limited narrowly to technically educational topics. The author of +such a column could thus create and build up in a community the right +kind of traditions and a good spirit, tone, and temper generally. His +influence would be potent outside the schoolroom and he would have in +his power the shaping and the guiding of the social, or community mind. +It is wonderful what can be done in this way by a prudent, intelligent, +and interesting writer. The community soon will wish, after the column +has been read through, that he had written more. This would be an +encouraging sign. + +=All Along the Educational Line.=--The kind of leadership and +cooperation indicated in this chapter should be exemplified through the +entire common-school system. It should obtain between the state +superintendent and the county superintendents; between the county +superintendents and their deputies, or assistants on the one hand and +the principals of schools on the other; between principals and teachers; +and between teachers and pupils. It should exist between all of these +officials and the people variously organized for social and educational +betterment. Then there would be a "long pull, a strong pull, and a pull +all together" for the solution of the problems of rural life and the +rural school. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE FARMER AND HIS HOME + + +=Farming in the Past.=--In the past, successful farming was easier than +it is at present or is destined to be in the future. In the prairie +regions of the great central West, the virgin and fertile soil, the +large acreage of easy cultivation, and the good prices made success +inevitable. Indeed, these conditions were thrust upon the fortunate +farmer. + +But those days are passed. Increased population is reducing the acreage +and cultivation, while it is eliminating the surplus fertility; +competition and social and economic pressure are reducing the margin of +profits. Thrift, good management, and brains are becoming increasingly +important factors in successful farming. + +=Old Conceit and Prejudice.=--Twenty years ago, when the agricultural +colleges were taking shape and attempting to impress their usefulness +upon the farmer, the latter was inclined to assume a derisive attitude, +and to refer to their graduates as "silk-stocking farmers"--or, as one +farmer put it, "theatrical" sort of fellows, meaning _theoretical_! In +the farming of the future, however, the agricultural college and its +influence are bound to play a large part. There is plenty of room on a +good farm of one hundred and sixty acres for the best thinking and the +most careful planning. Foresight and ingenuity of the rarest kinds are +demanded there. + +We wish to enumerate, and discuss in brief, some of the important points +of vantage to be watched and carefully guarded, if farm life, which +means rural life, is to be pleasant and profitable. If rural life is to +retain its attractions and its people, it must be both of these. Let us, +in this chapter, investigate some things which, although apart from the +school and education in any technical sense, are truly educative, in the +best sense. + +=Leveling Down.=--One thing that sometimes impresses the close observer +who is visiting in the country and in farm homes is that there exists in +some rural localities a kind of "leveling down" process. People become +accommodated to their rather quiet and unexciting surroundings. Their +houses and barns, in the way of repairs and improvements, are allowed +gradually to succumb to the tooth of time and the beating of the +elements. This process is so slow and insidious that those who live in +the midst of it scarcely notice the decay that is taking place. Hence it +continues to grow worse until the farm premises assume an unattractive +and dilapidated appearance. Weeds grow up around the buildings and along +the roads, so slowly, that they remain unnoticed and hence uncut--when +half an hour's work would suffice to destroy them all, to the benefit of +the farm and the improvement of its appearance. + +In the country it is very easy, as we have said, to "level down." People +live in comparative isolation; imitation, comparison, and competition +enter but little into their thoughts and occupations. In the city it is +otherwise. People live in close proximity to each other, and one +enterprising person can start a neighborhood movement for the +improvement of lawns and houses. There is more conference, more +criticism and comparison, more imitation. In the city there is a kind of +compulsion to "level up." + +When one moves from a large active center to a smaller one, the life +tendency is to accommodate one's self to his environment; while if one +moves from a small, quiet place to a larger and more active center, the +life tendency is to level up. It is, of course, fortunate for us that we +are able to accommodate ourselves to our environment and to derive a +growing contentment from the process. The prisoner may become so content +in his cell that he will shed tears when he is compelled to leave it for +the outer world where he must readjust himself. The college man, over +whom there came a feeling of desolation on settling down in a small +country village with one store, comes eventually to find contentment, +sitting on the counter or on a drygoods box, swapping stories with +others like himself who have leveled down to a very circumscribed life +and living. Leveling down may be accomplished without effort or thought, +but eternal vigilance is the price of leveling up. + +=Premises Indicative.=--A farmer is known by the premises he keeps, just +as a person is known by the company he keeps. If a man is thrifty it +will find expression in the orderliness of his place. If he is +intelligent and inventive it will show in the appointments and +adaptations everywhere apparent, inside and outside the buildings. If +the man and his family have a fine sense of beauty and propriety, an +artistic or aesthetic sense, there will be evidences of cleanliness and +simple beauty everywhere--in the architecture, in the painting, in the +pictures, and the carpets, in the kinds and positions of the trees and +shrubbery, and in the general neatness and cleanliness of the premises. +It is not so necessary that people possess much, but it is important +that they make much of what they do possess. The exquisite touch on all +things is analogous to the flavor of our food--it is as important for +appetite and for nourishment as the food itself. + +=Conveniences by Labor-saving Devices.=--If there are ingenuity and the +power of ordinary invention in common things, system and devices for +saving labor will be evident everywhere. The motor will be pressed into +service in various ways. There will be a place for everything, and +everything will be in its place. Head work and invention, rather than +mere imitation, characterize the activities of the master. + +=Eggs in Several Baskets.=--The day is past when success may be attained +by raising wheat alone. This was, of course, in days gone by, the +easiest and cheapest crop to produce. It was also the crop that brought +the largest returns in the shortest time. Wheat raising was merely a +summer's job, with a prospective winter's outing in some city center. It +was and is still the lazy farmer's trick. It was an effort similar to +that of attempting the invention of a perpetual motion machine; it was +an attempt, if not to get something for nothing, at least to get +something at the lowest cost, regardless of the future. But nature +cannot be cheated, and the modern farmer has learned or is learning +rapidly, that he must rotate and diversify his crops if he would succeed +in the long run. Consequently he has begun rotation. He also replenishes +his soil with nitrogen-producing legumes, along with corn planting and +with summer fallowing. He engages in the raising of chickens, hogs, +cattle, and horses. This diversification saves him from total loss in +case of a bad year in one line. The farmer does not carry all his eggs +in one basket. A bad year with one kind of crops may be a good year with +some other. Diversification also makes farming an all-year occupation, +every part of which is bringing a good return, instead of being a job +with an income for the summer and an outlay for the winter. Live stock, +sheep, hogs, and cattle grow nights, Sundays, and winters as well as at +other times, and so the profits are accumulating all the year round. + +=The Best is the Cheapest.=--The modern farmer also realizes that it +takes no more, nor indeed as much, to feed and house the best kinds of +animals than it does to keep the scrub varieties. In all of this there +is a large field for study and investigation. But one must be interested +in his animals and understand them. They should know his voice and he +should know their needs and their habits. As in every other kind of work +there must be a reasonable interest; otherwise it cannot be an +occupation which will make life happy and successful. + +=Good Work.=--The good farmer has the _feel_ and the habit of good work. +The really successful man in any calling or profession is he who does +his work conscientiously and as well as he can. The sloven becomes the +bungler, and the bungler is on the high road to failure. It is always a +pleasant thing to see a man do his work well and artistically. It is the +habit, the policy, the attitude of thus doing that tell in the long run. +A farmer may by chance get a good crop by seeding on unplowed stubble +land, but he must feel that he is engaged in the business of trying to +cheat himself, like the boy playing solitaire--he does not let his right +hand know what his left hand is doing. The good farmer is an artist in +his work, while the poor farmer is a veritable bungler--blaming his +tools and Nature herself for his failures. + +=Good Seed and Trees.=--The successful farmer knows from study and +experience that only healthy seed and healthy animals will produce good +grain and strong animals after their kind. He does not try tricks on +Nature. He selects the best kinds of trees and shrubbery and when these +are planted he takes care of them. He realizes that what is worth sowing +and planting is worth taking care of. + +=A Good Caretaker.=--The successful and intelligent farmer keeps all his +buildings, sheds, and fences in good repair and well painted. He is not +penny-wise and pound-foolish. He knows the value of paint from an +economic and financial point of view as well as from an artistic and +aesthetic one. Knowing these things, and from an ingrained feeling and +habit, he sees to it that all his machinery and tools are under good +cover, and are not exposed to the gnawing tooth of the elements. This +habit and attitude of the man are typical and make for success as well +as for contentment. As it is not the saving of a particular dollar that +makes a man thrifty or wealthy, but the _habit_ of saving dollars; so it +is not the taking care of this or that piece of machinery, or that +particular building, but the habit of doing such things that leads him +to success. + +=Family Cooeperation.=--Such a man will also enlist the interest and the +active cooperation of his sons and daughters by giving them property or +interests which they can call their own; he will make them, in a +measure, co-partners with him on the farm. There could be no better way +of developing in them their best latent talents. It would result in +mutual profit and, what is better, in mutual love and happiness. One of +the greatest factors in a true education is to be interested, +self-active, and busy toward a definite and worthy end. Under such +circumstances both the parents and the children might be benefited by +taking short courses in the nearest agricultural college; and a plan of +giving each his turn could be worked out to the interest and profit of +all the family. Such a family would become local leaders in various +enterprises. + +=An Ideal Life.=--It would seem that such an intelligent and successful +farmer and his family could lead an ideal life. Every life worth while +must have work, disappointments, and reverses. But work--reasonable +work--is a blessing and not a curse. Work is an educator, a civilizer, a +sanctifier. + +A family like that described might in the course of a few years possess +most of the modern conveniences. The telephone, the daily mail, the +automobile, and other inventions are at hand, in the country as well as +in the city. The best literature of to-day and of all time is available. +Music and art are easily within reach. With these advantages any rural +family may have a happy home. This is more than most people in the +cities can have. More and more of our people should turn in the future +to this quiet but happy and ideal country life. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE RURAL RENAISSANCE + + +=Darkest Before the Dawn.=--Prior to the present widespread discussion, +which it is hoped will lead to a rural renaissance, the condition and +the prospects of country life and the country school looked dark and +discouraging. Country life seemed to be passing into the shadow and the +storm. It seemed as if the country was being not only deserted but +forgotten. The urban trend, as we have seen, moved on apace. Farms were +being deserted or, if cultivated at all, were passing more and more into +the hands of renters. The owners were farming by proxy. This meant +decreased production and impoverished soil. It meant one-crop, or +small-grain farming; it meant a class of renters or tenants with only +temporary homes, and hence with only a partial interest. The inevitable +result would be an impoverished rural life and poor rural schools. +Without a realization of the seriousness of the situation and the trend +on the part of the people at large, all these conditions prevailed to a +greater or less extent. The people seemed unaware of the fact that rural +life was not keeping pace with the progress of the world around. In New +England whole districts were practically deserted, and her abandoned +farms told the tale. In Virginia and in most of the older states similar +conditions existed. The people migrated either to the cities or to the +newer and cheaper agricultural regions of the West. + +=The Awakening.=--But the time came when the newer lands were not so +available and when social and economic pressure forced the whole problem +of rural life upon the attention of the nation. Difficulty in adjustment +to surroundings always constitutes a problem, and a problem always +arouses thought. When our adjustment is easy and successful it is +effected largely through habit; but when it is obstructed or thwarted, +thought and reason must come to the rescue. Investigation, comparison, +and reflection are then drafted for a solution. This is what happened a +few years ago. The whole situation, it is true, had been in mind +previously, but only in a half conscious or subconscious way. It was +being felt or sensed, more or less clearly, that there was something +wrong, that there was a great unsupplied need, in rural life; but the +thought had no definite shape. The restiveness, the restlessness, was +there but no distinct and articulate voices gave utterance to any +definite policy or determination. There was no clearly formulated +consensus of thought as to what ought to be done. Prior to this time the +thought of the people had not been focused on country life at all. The +attention of the rural districts was not on themselves; they were not +really self-conscious of their condition or that there was any important +problem before them. But not many years ago, owing to various movements, +which were both causes and effects, the whole country began to be +aroused to the importance of the subjects which I have been discussing. +The Committee of Twelve on Rural Schools appointed by the National +Educational Association had reported the phases of the rural life +problem in 1897; but many declarations and reports of that kind are +necessary to stir the whole country. Hence no decisive movement, even in +rural education, became noticeable for several years. But this report +did much good; it not only formulated educational thought and policy in +regard to the subject but it also awakened thought and discussion +outside of the teaching profession. + +=The Agricultural Colleges.=--The agricultural colleges and experimental +stations in the several states had also been active for some years and +had formulated a body of knowledge in regard to agricultural principles +and methods. They had distributed this information widely among the +farmers of the country. The latter, at first, looked askance at these +colleges and their propaganda, and often refused to accept their +suggestions and advice on the ground that it was "mere theory," and that +farmers could not be taught practical agriculture by mere "book men" and +"theorizers." The practical man often despises theory, not realizing +that practice without theory is usually blind. But the growing science +of agriculture was working like a leaven for the improvement of farm +life in all its phases, and to-day the agricultural colleges and +experiment stations are the well-springs of information for practical +farmers everywhere. Bulletins of information are published and +distributed regularly, and farmers are being brought into closer and +closer touch with these institutions. + +=Conventions.=--During this awakening period, conventions of various +kinds are held, which give the farmers an opportunity to hear and to +participate in discussions pertaining to the problems with which they +are wrestling. They come together in district, county, or state +conventions, and the result has been that a class consciousness, an +_esprit de corps_, is being developed. Farmers hear and see bigger and +better things; their world is enlarged and their minds are stimulated; +they are induced to think in larger units. Thought, like water, seeks +its level, and in conventions of this kind the individual "levels up." +He goes home inspired to do better and greater things, and spreads the +new gospel among his neighbors. At the conventions he hears a variety of +topics discussed, including good roads, house plans, sanitation, +schools, and others too numerous to mention. + +=Other Awakening Agencies.=--The agricultural paper, which practically +every farmer takes and which every farmer should take, brings to the +farm home each week the most modern findings on all phases of country +life. The rural free delivery and the parcel post bring the daily mail +to the farmer's door. The rural telephone is becoming general, and also +the automobile and other rapid and convenient modes of communication and +transportation. All these things have helped to develop a clearer +consciousness of country life, its problems and its needs. + +=The Farmer in Politics.=--Add to all the foregoing considerations the +fact that, in every state legislature and in Congress, the number of +rural representatives is constantly increasing, and we see clearly that +the country districts are awakening to a realization not only of their +needs but of their rights. All of these conditions have helped to turn +the eyes of the whole people, in state and nation, to long neglected +problems. + +=The National Commission.=--So the various agencies and factors +enumerated above and others besides, all working more or less +consciously and all conspiring together, finally resulted in the +appointment of a National Commission on Rural Life, the results and +findings of which were made the subject of a special message from the +president to Congress in 1909. The report of the commission was issued +from the Government Printing Office in Washington as Document Number +705, and should be read by every farmer in the country. This commission +was the resultant of many forces exerted around family firesides, in the +schoolroom, in the press, on the platform, in conventions, in +legislatures, and in the halls of Congress. For the first time in this +country, the conditions and possibilities of rural life were made the +subjects of investigation and report to a national body. Thus the +Commission became thenceforth a potent cause of the attention and +impetus since given to the problems we are discussing. + +=Mixed Farming.=--In recent years, too, what may be called "scientific +farming" has become a decided "movement" and is now very extensively +practiced. This includes diversified farming, rotation of crops, stock +raising, the breeding of improved stock, better plowing, and a host of +matters connected with the farmer's occupation. Thus farming is becoming +neither a job nor an avocation, but a genuine vocation, or profession. +It requires for its success all the brains, all the ingenuity, all the +attention and push that an intelligent man can give it; and, withal, it +promises all the variety, the interest, the happiness, and the success +that any profession can offer. + +=Now Before the Country.=--The movement in behalf of a richer rural life +and of better rural schools is now before the country. It is the subject +of discussion everywhere. It is in the limelight; the literature on the +subject is voluminous; books without number, on all phases of the +subject, are coming from the press. Educational papers and magazines, +and even the lay press, are devoting unstinted space to discussions on +country life and the rural school. The country has the whole question +"on the run," with a fair prospect of an early capture. On pages 182-186 +we give a bibliography of a small portion of the literature on these +questions which has come out recently. + +=Educational Extension.=--Within the last few years the movement known +as "extension work," connected with the educational institutions, has +had a rapid growth. The state universities, agricultural colleges, and +normal schools in almost every state are doing their utmost to carry +instruction and education in a variety of forms to communities beyond +their walls. They are vying with each other in their extension +departments, in extra-mural service of every possible kind. In many +places institutions are even furnishing musical performances and other +forms of entertainment at cost, in competition with the private bureaus, +thus saving communities the profits of the bureau and the expense of the +middlemen. The University of Wisconsin has been in recent years the +leader in this extension work. Minnesota, and most of the central and +western states are active in the campaign of carrying education and +culture to outlying communities. Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota +have recently pooled their forces for some exchange of service in +extension work. + +=Library Extension Work.=--In Wisconsin, the state library is under the +direction of the university extension department, and collections of +books, which may be retained for a definite length of time, may be +secured by any town or community in the state. In this way a library may +do excellent service. + +=Some Froth.=--No doubt some froth will be produced by the stirring of +the waters which are moving in some places with whirlpool rapidity. +There is considerable sound and fury, no doubt, in the discussions and +in the things attempted in these uplifting movements. There is a +considerable amount of smoke in proportion to the fire beneath. But, +even with the froth, the noise, and the smoke, there is some latent +power, some energy, beneath and behind it all. The main thing is that +the power, the energy, the thought, the enthusiasm of the nation have +been started on the right way. We can discount and overlook the vagaries +and foibles which will undoubtedly play around the outskirts of the +movement. Every new movement shows similar phenomena. Much will be said, +written, and done which is mere surface display. But while these may do +little good, they will do no harm and are indicative of the inner and +vital determination of the people to confront the difficulties. + +=Thought and Attitude.=--Our thought and our attitude make any kind of +work or any kind of position desirable and worthy, or the reverse. Many +vicious leaders poison the minds of workers and make them dissatisfied +with their work and their employers by suggesting a wrong spirit and +attitude. We do not advocate passive submission to wrongs; nor on the +other hand do we think that the interests of the laborer are to be +subserved by infusing into his mind jealousy and envy and discontent +with his lot. + +A young man goes through the practice and games of football, enduring +exertion and pain which he would not allow any other person to force +upon him; at the same time, he has a song in his heart. On a camping +trip a person will submit to rigors and privations which he would think +intolerable at home. Whatever is socially fashionable is done with +pleasure; the mind is the great factor. If one is interested in his +work, it is pleasant--indeed more enjoyable than play; but if there is +no interest it is all drudgery and pain. The attitude, the motive, the +will make all the difference in the world. In the rural renaissance, +farm life may become more and more fashionable. This is by no means +impossible. Country life has no such rigors as the football field or the +outing in the wilds. When as a people we have passed from the sensuous +and erotic wave on the crest of which we seem at present to be carried +along, we can with profit, intellectually, morally, socially, and +physically, "go forth under the open sky and list to Nature's +teachings." Everything except the present glare of excitement beckons +back to the land, back to the country. Whether as a people we shall +effectively check the urban trend, will, in the not distant future, test +the self-control, the foresight, the wisdom, and the character of the +manhood and womanhood of this nation. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +A GOOD PLACE AFTER ALL + + +=Not Pessimistic.=--Some of the early chapters of this book may have +left the impression that a restoration, or rejuvenation, of country +life, such as will reverse the urban trend and make rural life the more +attractive by comparison, is difficult if not impossible. It is +difficult we grant; but we do not wish to leave the impression that such +is improbable, much less impossible. We were simply facing the truth on +the dark, or negative, side, and were attempting to give reasons for +conditions and facts which have been everywhere apparent. If there are +two sides to a question both should be presented as they really are. It +is always as useless and as wrong to minimize as it is to exaggerate, +and we were simply accounting for facts. + +We did not mean that there is no hope. The first essential in the +solution of any problem or in the improvement of any condition is to get +the condition clearly and accurately in mind--to _conceive_ it exactly +as it is. + +There is no doubt that the city, with its material splendor and its +social life, has attractions; but if we turn to rural life, we shall +find, if we go below the surface of human nature, the strongest appeals +to our deeper and more abiding interests. The surface of things and the +present moment are near to us, and powerful in the way of motivation. +These, however, are the aspects of human environment which appeal most +strongly to the child, to the savage, and to the uneducated person. If +we are optimists, believing that the race is progressing, and that our +own people and country are progressing as rapidly as or more rapidly +than any other, we must believe that motives which appeal to our deeper, +saner, and more disciplined nature will win out in the long run. Let us +see, then, what some of the appeals to this saner stratum of human +nature, in behalf of rural life, are. + +=Fewer Hours of Labor than Formerly.=--The hours of labor have been +reduced everywhere. In the olden time labor was done by slaves or serfs, +and neither their bodies nor their time was their own. They labored +when, where, and as long as their masters dictated. Even a generation +ago there was little said, and there was no uniformity, as to how long a +working-man should labor. In busy seasons or on important pieces of +work, he labored as long as the light of day permitted. It was from sun +to sun, and often long after the sun had disappeared from the western +horizon. Sixteen hours was no uncommon day for him. Under such +conditions there was no room for mental, social, or spiritual +advancement. Later, the hours were reduced to a maximum of fourteen. +This proved to be so satisfactory that laws were passed providing for a +further decrease in hours. This standardizing of the day of labor, while +not general in the country, had its effect. The twelve-hour day, while +still long, was a decided betterment over the sixteen-hour day. There +was beginning to be a little possible margin for social, mental, and +recreational activity. But the twelve-hour day must inevitably get the +better of the human system and of the spirit of man. It is too long and +too steady a grind, and habit and long hours soon tell their story. They +inevitably lead to the condition of the "man with the hoe." + +As improvements in machinery were perfected and inventions of all kinds +multiplied and spread both in the factory and on the farm, the ten-hour +day was ushered in. It was inevitable in this age of inventions and +improvements. Capital had these inventions and improvements in its +possession and a laboring man could now do twice as much with the same +labor as formerly. But society as a whole could not assent to the theory +and the practice that the capitalist, the owner of the machines, should +reap all the advantages; and so, while the hours were still further +reduced, the wages were increased, thus more nearly equalizing the +benefits accruing to employer and employed. With the aid of inventions +the worker, on the average, can do more in the short day of eight or +ten hours than he did formerly in the sixteen-hour day. It is not +contended, however, that every laborer actually does this. This phase of +the question is a large factor in the labor problem. But from the point +of view of the average man and of society, labor with the aid of +machinery can produce probably twice as much as it produced formerly +without that aid. This fact has had great influence upon industrial life +everywhere, and makes for increased opportunities and growth. + +=The Mental Factor Growing.=--The trend alluded to above implies that +the mental factor is growing larger and larger in occupations of all +kinds. Success is becoming more and more dependent on knowledge, +ingenuity, prudence, and foresight. Especially is this true on the farm. +There is scarcely any calling that demands or can make use of such +varied talents. All fields of knowledge may be drawn upon and utilized, +from the weather signals to the most recent findings and conclusions of +science and philosophy. As the hours of labor both in the factory and on +the farm are shortened still more--as is possible--the hours of study, +of play, and of social converse will be lengthened. Indeed this is one +of the by-problems of civilization and progress--to see that leisure +hours are profitably spent for the welfare of the individual. In any +event, the prospect of reasonable hours and of social and cultural +opportunities in rural life is growing from day to day. The intelligent +man with modern machinery and ordinary capital, if he has made some +scientific study of agriculture, need have no fear of not living a +successful and happy life on the farm. A knowledge of his calling in all +its aspects, with the aid of modern machinery, and with sobriety, +thrift, and industry, will bring a kind of life to both adults and +children that the crowded factory and tenements and the tinsel show of +the city cannot give. But one must be willing to forego the social and +physical display of the surface of things and to choose the better and +more substantial part. If we are a people that can do this there is hope +for an early and satisfactory solution of the problems of rural life. + +=The Bright Side of Old-time Country Life.=--Even in the country life of +twenty-five to fifty years ago, there was a bright and happy side. It +was not all dark, and, in its influence for training the youth to a +strong manhood, we shall probably not look upon its like again. If +strength and welfare rather than pleasure are the chief end of life, +many of the experiences which were undoubtedly hardships were blessings +in disguise. Every boy had his chores and every girl her household +duties to perform. The cows had to be brought home in the evening from +the prairie or the woods; they had to be milked and cared for; calves +and hogs had to be fed; horses had to be cared for both evening and +morning; barns, stables, and sheds had to be looked after. All the +animals of the farm, including the domestic fowls, such as chickens, +ducks, and turkeys, became our friends and each was individually known. + +Though all the duties of farm life had to be done honestly and well, +nevertheless the farmer's boy found time to go fishing and hunting, +skating, coasting, and trapping. He learned the ways and the habits of +beasts, birds, and fish. He observed the squirrels garnering their +winter supply in the fall. He watched the shrewd pocket gopher as it +came up and deposited the contents of its cheek pockets upon the pile of +fresh dirt beside his hole. He learned how to trap the muskrat, and woe +to the raccoon that was discovered stealing the corn, for it was tracked +and treed even at midnight. The boy's eyes occasionally caught sight of +a red fox or of a deer; and the call of the dove, the drum of the +pheasant, the welcome "whip-poor-will" and the "to-whit, to-whit, +to-who" of the owl were familiar sounds. He ranged the prairie and the +woods; he climbed trees for nuts and for distant views, and knew every +hill, valley, and stream for miles and miles around. Even his daily and +regular work was of a large and varied kind. It was not like the making +of one tenth of a pin, which has a strong tendency to reduce the worker +to one tenth of a man. + +On the farm one usually begins and finishes a piece of work whether it +be a hay-rack or a barn; he sees it through--the whole of it receives +expression in him. It is _his_ piece of work and it faces him as he has +to face it. The tendency is for both to be "honest." If there were so +much brightness and variety in days gone by, when all work was done by +hand, how much better the situation can be now and in the future, when +inventions and machines have come to the rescue of the laborer, and when +the hours of toil have been so materially shortened! + +=The Larger Environment.=--There is no doubt that a large and varied +environment is conducive to the growth of a strong and active +personality. If one has to adjust himself at every turn to something +new, it will lead to self-activity and initiative, to ingenuity and +aggressiveness. If tadpoles are reared in jars of different sizes, the +growth and size of each will vary with the size of the vessel, the +smallest jar growing the smallest tadpole, and the largest jar the +largest tadpole. It is fighting against the laws of fate to attempt to +rear strong personalities in a "flat" or even in a fifty-foot lot. They +need the range of the prairies, the hills, and the woods. Shakespeare +was born and brought up in one of the richest and most stimulating +environments, natural and social, in the world; and this, no doubt, had +much to do with his matchless ability to express himself on all phases +of nature and of mind. Large and varied influences, while they do not +compel, at least _tend_ to produce, large minds; for they leave with us +infinite impressions and induce correspondingly varied reactions and +experiences. Under such conditions a child is reacting continually and +thus becoming active and efficient. He is challenged at every turn, and +if stumbling blocks become stepping stones, the process is the very best +kind of education. + +=Games.=--There are excellent opportunities in the country for all kinds +of games, for there ample room and many incentives to activity present +themselves. In the city, children are often content with seeing experts +and professionals give performances or "stunts," while they, themselves, +remain passive. In the country there are not so many attractions and +distractions--so many dazzling and overwhelmingly "superior" +things--that children may not be easily induced to "get into the game" +themselves. I fear that in recent years owing to imitation of the city +and its life, play and games in the country have become somewhat +obsolete. There needs to be a renaissance in this field. We have been +offered everywhere in recent years so much of what might be called the +"finished product" that the children are content merely to sit around as +spectators and watch others give the performances. + +As in the case of the rural school the play instincts of country +children must be awakened again in behalf of rural life in general. +There are scores of games and sports, from marbles to football, which +should receive attention. In recent years the social mind, in all +sports, seems to be directed to the _result_, the winning or losing, +instead of to the game, as a game, and the fun of it all. True +sportsmanship should be revived and cultivated. There is no reason why +there should not be found in every neighborhood, and especially at every +school center, all kinds of plays and games, each in its own time and +place and having its own patronage--marbles, tops, swings, horseshoes, +"I spy," anti-over, pull-away, prisoner's base, tennis, croquet, volley +ball, basketball, skating, coasting, skiing, baseball, and football. +Horizontal bars, turning pole, and other apparatus should be provided in +every playground. In the social centers, if the boys can be organized as +Boy Scouts, and the girls as Camp-Fire Girls, good results will ensue. + +Many more plays and games will suggest themselves, and those for girls +should be encouraged as well as those for boys. All the aspects of rural +life can thus be made most enjoyable. It is often well to introduce and +cultivate one game at a time, letting it run its course, something like +a fever, and then, at the psychological moment, introduce and try out +another. To introduce too many at one time would not afford an +opportunity for children to experience the rise and fall of a wave of +enthusiasm on any one, and this is quite important. Usually some +direction should be given to play, but this direction should not be +suppressive, and should be given by a leader who understands and +sympathizes with child nature. + +=Inventiveness in Rural Life.=--In the city, where everything is +manufactured or sold ready-made, a person simply goes to the store and +buys whatever he needs. In the country this cannot be done, and one is +driven by sheer necessity to devise ways and means of supplying his +needs, himself. He simply has to invent or devise a remedy. Necessity is +the mother of invention. + +It is really better for boys and girls in the country if their parents +are compelled to be frugal and economical. If children get anything and +everything they wish, merely for the asking, they are undone; they +become weak for lack of self-exertion, self-expression, and invention; +they become dissatisfied if everything is not coming their way from +others. They become selfish and careless. Having tasted of the best, +merely for the asking, they become dissatisfied with everything except +the best. This is the dominant tendency in the city and wherever parents +are foolish enough to satisfy the child's every whim. If the parents +carry the child in this manner, the child, in later years, will have +weak legs and the parents will have weak backs. Moreover, love and +respect move in the direction of activity, and if everything comes the +child's way there will be little love, except "cupboard love," going the +other way. + +It is unfortunate for children to experience the best too early in life; +there is then no room for growth and development. It was Professor James +who said that the best doll he ever saw was a home-made rag doll; it +left sufficient room for the play of the imagination. With the perfect, +factory-made doll there is nothing more for the imagination to do; it is +complete, but it is not the little girl who has completed it. In the +country, men and women, boys and girls are induced to begin and complete +all kinds of things. Many things have to be made outright and most +things have to be repaired on the farm. Challenges of this kind to +inventiveness and activity are outstanding all the time. Sleds, both +large and small, wheelbarrows and hay racks, sheds, granaries, and barns +are both made and repaired. But in all there is no mad rush. It is not +as it is in the factory or in the sawmill. One is not reduced to the +instantaneous reactions of an automaton; he has time to breathe and to +think. One can act like a free man rather than like a machine. There is +room for thought and for invention. + +=Activity Rather than Passivity.=--In this infinite variety of +stimulation and response, the youth is induced to become active rather +than passive. While he is not pushed unduly, he is reasonably active +during all his waking hours, and the habit of activity, of doing, is +ingrained. This is closely related to character and morality, to thrift +and success. Such a person is more likely to be a creditor than a debtor +to society. In this respect the country and the farm have been the +salvation of many a youth. + +In the city many children have no regular employment; they have no +chores to do and no regular occupation. Evenings and vacations find +them on the streets. Then Satan always finds mischief for idle hands to +do. These children become passive except under the impulses of instinct +or of mischievous ideas; they have no regular and systematic work to do; +everything is done for them. During their early years habits of +idleness, of passive receptivity, of mischief, and possibly of crime, +are ingrained. And though this kind of life may be more _pleasurable_, +in a low sense, than the active life of the country, there can be no +doubt as to which is the more wholesome and strengthening. + +=Child Labor.=--A good child-labor law is absolutely essential to the +welfare of the children for whom it has been enacted; nevertheless, +there has been a great omission in not providing that idle children +shall do some work. Even in large cities there are probably more +children who do not work enough than there are who are made to work too +hard. In our zeal we sometimes forbid children to work, when some work +would be the very best thing for them. It is true that on the farm as +well as in the factory ignorant and mercenary parents make dollars out +of the sweat of their children, when these should be going to school or +engaged in physical and mental recreation and development. It is +unfortunate that society is not able to see to it, that, as in Plato's +Republic, every child and every person engage in the work or study for +which he is best fitted, and to the extent that is best for him. Then +the hundreds of thousands of children who are idling would be engaged +in some kind of occupation, and those who are working too hard would be +given lighter tasks; and all would have the privilege of an appropriate +education. + +=The Finest Life on Earth.=--In view of such circumstances and +opportunities, life in the country should be, and _could be made_, the +best and most complete life possible to a human being. Country life is +the best cradle of the race. To have a good home and rear a family in +the heart of a great city is well-nigh impossible for the average +laboring man. The struggle for existence is too fierce and the +opportunity, in childhood and youth, for self-expression and initiative +is too meager. The environment is too vast, complex, and overwhelming, +with nothing worth while for the child to do. "Individuals may stand, +but generations will slip" on such an inclined plane of life. From this +point of view it can be truly said, we think, that "God made the country +while man made the town." + +The real, vital possibilities of country life are without number. The +surface attractions of the city are most alluring. A focusing of the +public mind upon the problem, its _pros_ and _cons_, will, it is to be +hoped, turn the scales without delay in favor of country life and its +substantial benefits. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + + +The following bibliography is submitted as affording information and +suggestive helps to those who are interested in the problems herein +discussed. Although the books and references have been selected with +care, it is not to be inferred that the list includes any considerable +portion of the vast and still increasing output of literature in this +field of investigation. But it will prove to be a fairly comprehensive +list from which the reader may select such articles or books as make a +favorable appeal to him. The works referred to are all of recent date, +and express the current trend of thought upon the problems discussed in +this little volume. + + +BOOKS + +American Academy of Political and Social Science. Philadelphia, 1912. + Vol. XL, No. 129, "Country Life": Butterfield, "Rural Sociology + as a College Discipline"; Cance, "Immigrant Rural Communities"; + Carver, "Changes in Country Population"; Coulter, "Agricultural + Laborers"; Davenport, "Scientific Farming"; Dixon, "Rural + Home"; Eyerly, "Cooeperative Movements among Farmers"; Foght, + "The Country School"; Gillette, "Conditions and Needs of + Country Life"; Gray, "Southern Agriculture"; Hartman, "Village + Problems"; Hamilton, "Agricultural Fairs"; Henderson, "Rural + Police"; Hibbard, "Farm Tendency"; Kates, "Rural Conferences"; + Lewis, "Tramp Problem"; Marquis, "The Press"; Mumford, + "Education for Agriculture"; Parker, "Good Roads"; Pearson, + "Chautauquas"; Roberts and Israel, "Y.M.C.A."; Scudder, + "Rural Recreation"; True, "The Department of Agriculture"; Van + Norman, "Conveniences"; Watrous, "Civic Art"; Washington, B. + T., "The Rural Negro Community"; Wilson, "Social Life"; Wells, + "Rural Church". + +Bailey, L. H.: _The Country Life Movement in the U. S._ (1912) 220 pp. + Macmillan Co., New York. _Cyclopedia of American Agriculture._ 4 + vols. $20.00. Macmillan Co., New York. _The State and the Farmer._ + (1911) 177 pp. Macmillan Co., New York. _The Training of Farmers._ + (1909) 263 pp. Century Co., New York. + +Betts, George H.: _New Ideals in Rural Schools._ (1913) 127 pp. Houghton + Mifflin Co., Boston. + +Brown, H. A.: _Readjustment of a Rural High School to the Needs of a + Community._ (1912) Bureau of Education, Bulletin No. 20. + +Buell, Jennie: _One Woman's Work for Farm Women._ 50c. Whitcomb & + Barrows, Boston. + +Burnham, Ernest: _Two Types of Rural Schools._ (1912) 129 pp. Teachers + College, Columbia, New York. + +Butterfield, K. L.: _Chapters in Rural Progress._ $1.00. Univ. of + Chicago Press. _The Country Church and the Rural Problem._ (1911) + 165 pp. Univ. of Chicago Press. + +Carney, Mabel: _Country Life and the Country School._ (1912) 405 pp. + Row, Peterson & Co., Chicago. + +Conference on Rural Education--_Proceedings._ (1913) 45 pp. Wright & + Potter, Boston. + +Coulter, John Lee: _Cooeperation Among Farmers._ (1911) 75c. Sturgis & + Walton Co., New York. + +Cubberly, E. P.: _The Improvement of the Rural School._ (1912) 75 pp. + Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. _Rural Life and Education._ Houghton + Mifflin Co., Boston. + +Curtis, Henry S.: _Play and Recreation for the Open Country._ (1914) 265 + pp. Ginn & Co., Boston. + +Davenport, Mrs. E.: _Possibilities of the Country Home._ (Bulletin.) + University of Illinois, Urbana. + +Dodd, Helen C.: _The Healthful Farm House; by a Farmer's Wife._ (1911) + 69 pp. Whitcomb & Barrows, New York. + +Eggleston, J. D., and Bruere, R. W.: _The Work of the Rural School._ + (1913) 287 pp. Harpers. + +Fiske, G. 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W.: _Roads, Paths, and Bridges._ (1912) $1.00. Sturgis & Walton + Co., New York. + +Pennsylvania Rural Progress Association: _Proceedings, Rural Life + Conference._ (1912) 227 pp. Julius Smith, Secretary, Pennsdale, Pa. + +Plunkett, Sir Horace C.: _Rural Problem in the U. S._ (1910) 174 pp. + +Report of National Commission on Rural Life. Doc. No. 705. Government + Printing Office, Washington, D. C. + +Schmidt, C. C.: _Consolidation of Schools._ University of North Dakota. + +Seerley, H. H.: _The Country School._ (1913) 218 pp. Scribner's Sons, + New York. _Rural School Education._ (1912) 84 pp. University of + Texas. + +Wray, Angelina: _Jean Mitchell's School._ $1.00. Public School Pub. Co., + Bloomington, Ind. + + +ARTICLES IN REPORTS AND PERIODICALS + +Allman, L. J.: _Teachers for Rural Schools._ Report, N. E. A. (1910) pp. + 280 and 575. + +Bailey, L. H.: _Why Boys Leave the Farm._ Century, 72: 410-16 (July, + 1906). + +Barnes, F. R.: _Present Defects in the Rural Schools._ Report N. D. E. + A. (1909) pp. 259-266. + +Bruere, Martha Bensley: _The Farmer and His Wife._ Good Housekeeping + Mag., June, 1914, p. 820, New York. + +Conference for Education in the South; _Proceedings, 1909._ Foster, + Webb, and Parkes, Nashville, Tenn. + +Consolidation: Drop a postal card to Superintendents of Public + Instruction for latest printed matter. + +Cotton, F. A.: _Country Life and the Country School._ School and Home + Education, 28:90-94 (Nov., 1908). + +Coulter, J. C.: _Cooeperative Farming._ World's Work, 23: 59-63 (Nov., + 1911). + +_County Supervision._ Report N.E.A. 1908, p. 252. + +Cubberly, E. P.: _Politics and the Country School Problem._ Educ. + Review, 47:10-21 (Jan., 1914). + +Gillette, J. M.: _The Drift to the City._ Am. Journal of Sociology, + 16:645-67 (Mar., 1911). + +Hibbard, B. H.: _Tenancy in the North Central States._ Quar. Journal of + Economics, 25:710-29 (Aug., 1911). + +Hill, J. J.: _What We Must Do to be Fed._ World's Work, 19: 12226-54 + (Nov., 1909). + +McClure, D. E.: _Education of Country Children for the Farm._ Education, + 26:65-70 (Oct., 1905). + +Miller, E. E.: _Factors in the Re-making of Country Life._ Forum, + 48:354-62 (Sept., 1912). + +_Passing of the Man With the Hoe._ World's Work, 20: 13246-58 (Aug., + 1910). + +_Rural Life and Rural Education._ Report N. E. A. 1912, pp. 281-313. + +Supervision: Index of N. E. A. Reports For County. Report of 1908, pp. + 252-71. + +Wells, George F.: _Is an Organized Country Life Movement Possible?_ + Survey, 29:449-56 (Jan. 4, 1913). + + + + +INDEX + + Activity and passivity, 179 + + Affiliation, 112 + + Agricultural colleges, 46, 162 + + Apperception mass, 101 + + Assistant county superintendent, 134 + + Attendance in consolidated school, 73 + + Automobile parties, 124 + + + "Back to the country," 9 + + Best, the--the cheapest, 157 + + Boarding place, 62 + + Boy Scouts, 177 + + Bright side of rural life, 173 + + + Camp-Fire Girls, 177 + + Character, 83 + + Child labor, 180 + + China, 107, 144 + + Chores, 10 + + Cities, population of, 19; + churches of, 23; + conveniences in, 20, 21; + schools of, 22 + + Commission, Rural, 9, 164 + + Committee of Twelve, 162 + + Community activities, 115 + + Consolidation, 37, 60, 63, 65, 75; + cost, 70; + difficulties, 64; + effects of, 71, 72, 73, 74; + process, 63; + when not needed, 64 + + Conventions, 163 + + Cooeperation, 139, 140, 145, 158 + + County superintendence, 129 + + Course of study, 108 + + Curriculum in rural schools, 100-113 + + + Dancing, 120 + + Debates, 116 + + District system, 64 + + Diversification in farming, 156, 165 + + Dramatic performances, 118 + + Driver, 69 + + + Education, 77; + of teachers, 84; + value of, 24 + + Educational centers, 23; + column in press, 150 + + Environment, 105, 175 + + Examination of schools, 135 + + Exhibits, school, 122 + + Experience, teaching, 85 + + Extension work, 166 + + + Farmer, the, and his home, 152; + and his politics, 164 + + Forum, a rural, 123 + + + Games, 121, 176 + + Grading, 71 + + + Harvesting machinery, 38-41 + + High schools, progress in, 47 + + Higher education, progress in, 44 + + Hopkins, Mark, 34, 35, 78 + + Hours of labor, 170 + + + Ideal life, 159 + + Imitation, 18, 100, 101 + + Individual work, 109 + + Inseparables, the three, 88, 91, 126 + + Interpreting core, 101 + + Inventiveness in rural life, 177-179 + + + Kindness, too much, 80 + + Knots, untying, 70 + + + Labor, hours of, 170 + + Labor-saving devices, 155 + + Laws, self-imposed, 150 + + Leadership, 62, 114, 139, 147 + + Lectures, 118 + + Leveling process, 153, 154 + + Library extension, 166 + + Literary society, 115 + + Literature, urbanized, 22 + + + Machinery, caring for, 158 + + Married teachers, 75 + + Men needed in teaching, 53, 93 + + Mental factor, 172 + + Mixed farming, 165 + + "Mode," the, 88, 89 + + Model rural school, 61 + + Moving pictures, 120 + + Muensterberg, Prof. H., 92 + + Murphy, Francis, 141 + + Music, 119 + + + Normal schools, 45 + + + Ocean travel, 43 + + Organization, 26, 125 + + "Overflow of instruction," 111 + + + Physical soundness, 82, 122 + + Plant, the educational, 34, 35, 77 + + Problem, rural, 24, 36, 37, 57, 131 + + Profession, 57, 90 + + Profit-sharing, 145 + + Progress, lines of, 38-48 + + Punctuality, 73 + + + Reaping machines, 14, 38 + + Renaissance, rural, 160 + + Responsibility, 142 + + Retired farmers, 23 + + Retirement fund, 94 + + Roads, better, 75 + + Routine, 11 + + Rural Commission, 9, 164 + + Rural schools, 49; + backward, 15, 47, 49; + buildings, 28; + course of study for, 108; + good, 36, 61; + interior, 31; + no progress in, 50; + organization, 26; + ventilation of, 29 + + Rural teachers, 102; + courses for, 59, 103 + + + Salaries, 87, 96, 97 + + School board, 98 + + Scientific farming, 165; spirit, 107 + + Self-activity, 148, 149, 150 + + Social center, 74, 114, 137; + cost of, 124, 126; + as business center, 125 + + Spelling school, 117 + + Sports, 121 + + Standards, 54, 58, 90; + to be raised, 92 + + Steam engine, 42 + + Storm, A. V., 53 + + Supervision, 55, 60, 74, 127, 129; + city, 132; + county, 129, 131; + importance of, 127; + nominal, 129; + overdone, 128; + purpose of, 132 + + Surroundings, effect of, on children, 30, 34 + + + Teacher, 35, 75, 77, 79, 87, 113; + chief factor, 34; + leader, 62, 114, 147; + courses for, 59, 83, 103 + + Terms, school, 55, 109 + + Textbook teaching, 104 + + Township system, 65, 66 + + Transportation of pupils, 67, 69 + + + Urban trend, 19 + + Urbanized literature, 22 + + + Value of education, 24 + + Ventilation, 29 + + + Wages, 90, 96 + + Waste land, 160 + + Winter work, 14 + + Women's condition, 16 + + Work, value of, 10, 14, 157, 180; + city, 23; + farm, 12 + + + Yearly routine, 11 + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Rural Life and the Rural School, by Joseph Kennedy + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RURAL LIFE AND THE RURAL SCHOOL *** + +***** This file should be named 29600.txt or 29600.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/6/0/29600/ + +Produced by Peter Vachuska, Val Wooff and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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