,,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 ,w4 ,p4 #b4 ,,preface ,this volume is addressed to the men and women who have at heart the interests of rural life and the rural school4 ,i have tried to avoid deeply speculative theories on the one hand1 and distressingly practical details on the other2 and have addressed myself chiefly to the intelligent individual everywhere--to the farmer and his wife1 to the teachers of rural schools1 to the public spirited school boards1 individually and collectively1 and to the leaders of rural communities and of social centers generally4 ,i have tried to avoid the two extremes which ,guizot says are always to be shunned1 viz43 that of the visionary theorist and that of the libertine practician4 ,the former is analogous to a blank cartridge1 and the latter to the mire of a swamp or the entangled underbrush of a thicket4 ,the legs of one's theories 7as ,lincoln said of those of a man7 should be long enough to reach the earth2 and yet they must be free to move upon the solid ground of fact and experience4 ,details must always be left to the person who is to do the work1 whether it be that of the teacher1 of the farmer1 or of the school officer4 ,i am aware that there is a veritable flood of books on this and kindred topics1 now coming from the presses of the country4 ,my sole reasons for the publication of the present volume are the desire to deliver the message which has come to fruition in my mind1 and the hope that it may reach and interest some who have not been benefited by a better and more systematic treatise on this subject4 ,by way of credential and justification1 ,i would say that the message of the book has in large measure grown out of my own life and thought2 for ,i was born and brought up in the country1 there ,i received my elementary education1 and there ,i remained till man grown4 ,practically every kind of work known on the farm was familiar to me1 and ,i have also taught and supervised rural schools4 ,these experiences are regarded as of the highest value1 and ,i revert in memory to them with a satisfaction and affection which words cannot express4 ,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 school1 it is not intended that such impression shall be complete and final4 ,an attempt is made simply to place the problem and the facts in their true light before the reader4 ,there has been much palavering on this subject1 as there has been much enforced screaming of the eagle in many of our ,fourth of ,july orations4 ,i feel that the first requisite is to conceive the problems clearly and in all seriousness4 ,if these problems are to be solved1 true conceptions of values must be established in the social mind4 ,many present conceptions1 like those of the personality of the teacher1 standards for teaching1 supervision1 school equipment1 salary1 etc41 must first be dis-established1 and then higher and better ones substituted4 ,there will have to be a genuine and intelligent tackling of the problems1 and not1 as has been the case too often1 a mere playing with them4 ,there will have to be some real statesmanship introduced into the present laissez-faire spirit1 attitude1 and methods of ,american rural life and rural education4 ,the nation in this respect needs a trumpet call to action4 ,there is need of a chorus1 loud and long1 and if the small voice of the present discussion shall add only a little--however little--to this volume of sound1 there will be so much of gain4 ,this is my aim and my hope4 ,,joseph ,,kennedy ,,the ,,university ,,of ,,north ,,dakota ,,contents ,,page ,,chapter ,i4 ,,rural ,,life #i ,a generation ago2 ,chores and work2 ,value of work2 ,extremes2 ,yearly routine2 ,disliked in comparison2 ,other hard jobs2 ,harvesting2 ,threshing2 ,welcome events2 ,winter work2 ,what the old days lacked2 ,the result2 ,the backward rural school2 ,women's condition unrelieved2 ,the rural problem must be met2 ,facilities4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,urban ,,trend #ai ,cityward2 ,attractive forces2 ,conveniences in cities2 ,urbanized literature2 ,city schools2 ,city churches2 ,city work preferred2 ,retired farmers2 ,educational centers2 ,face the problem2 ,educational value not realized2 ,wrong standard in the social mind2 ,rural organization2 ,playing with the problem4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,real ,,and ,,the ,,ideal ,,school #bh ,the building2 ,no system of ventilation2 ,the surroundings2 ,the interior2 ,small1 dead school2 ,that picture and this2 ,architecture of building2 ,get expert opinion2 ,other surroundings2 ,number of pupils2 ,it will not teach alone2 ,the teacher2 ,a good rural school2 ,the problem4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,some ,,lines ,,of ,,progress #ch ,progress2 ,in reaping machines2 ,the dropper2 ,the hand rake2 ,the self rake2 ,the harvester2 ,the wire binder2 ,the twine binder2 ,threshing machine2 ,the first machine2 ,improvements2 ,the steam engine2 ,improvements in ocean travel2 ,from hand-spinning to factory2 ,the cost2 ,progress in higher education2 ,progress in normal schools2 ,progress in agricultural colleges2 ,progress in the high schools2 ,how is the rural school8 ,,chapter ,v4 ,a ,,backward ,,and ,,neglected ,,field #di ,rural schools the same everywhere2 ,rural schools no better than formerly2 ,some improvements2 ,strong personalities in the older schools2 ,more men needed2 ,low standard now2 ,the survival of the unfittest2 ,short terms2 ,poor supervision2 ,no decided movement2 ,elementary teaching not a profession2 ,the problem difficult1 but before us2 ,other educational interests should help2 ,higher standards necessary2 ,courses for teachers2 ,the problem of compensation2 ,consolidation as a factor2 ,better supervision necessary2 ,a model rural school2 ,the teacher should lead2 ,a good boarding place4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,consolidation ,,of ,,rural ,,schools #fc ,the process2 ,when not necessary2 ,the district system2 ,the township system2 ,consolidation difficult in district system2 ,easier in township system2 ,consolidation a special problem for each district2 ,disagreements on transportation2 ,each community must decide for itself2 ,the distance to be transported2 ,responsible driver2 ,cost of consolidation2 ,more life in the consolidated school2 ,some grading desirable2 ,better teachers2 ,better buildings and inspection2 ,longer terms2 ,regularity1 punctuality1 and attendance2 ,better supervision2 ,the school as a social center2 ,better roads2 ,consolidation coming everywhere2 ,the married teacher and permanence4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,the ,,teacher #gg ,the greatest factor2 ,what education is2 ,what the real teacher is2 ,a hypnotist2 ,untying knots2 ,too much kindness2 ,the button illustration2 ,the chariot race2 ,physically sound2 ,character2 ,well educated2 ,professional preparation2 ,experience2 ,choosing a teacher2 ,a scoop2 ,what makes the difference2 ,a question of teachers4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,the ,,three ,,inseparables #hh ,the mode2 ,the mode in labor2 ,the mode in educational institutions2 ,no profession2 ,weak personalities2 ,low standard2 ,the norm of wages too low2 ,the inseparables2 ,raise the standard first2 ,more men2 ,cooperation needed2 ,the supply2 ,make it fashionable2 ,the retirement system2 ,city and country salaries--effects2 ,the solution demands more2 ,a good school board2 ,board and teacher2 ,the ideal4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,the ,,rural ,,school ,,curriculum #ajj ,imitation2 ,the country imitates the city2 ,textbooks2 ,an interpreting core2 ,rural teachers from the city2 ,a course for rural teachers2 ,all not to remain in the country2 ,mere textbook teaching2 ,a rich environment2 ,who will teach these things82 ,the scientific spirit needed2 ,a course of study2 ,red tape2 ,length of term2 ,individual work2 ,waking up the mind2 ,the overflow of instruction2 ,affiliation2 ,the liking point2 ,the teacher1 the chief factor4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,the ,,social ,,center #aad ,the teacher1 the leader2 ,some community activities2 ,the literary society2 ,debates2 ,the school program2 ,spelling schools2 ,lectures2 ,dramatic performances2 ,a musical program2 ,slides and moving pictures2 ,supervised dancing2 ,sports and games2 ,school exhibits2 ,a public forum2 ,courtesy and candor2 ,automobile parties2 ,full life or a full purse2 ,organization2 ,the inseparables4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,rural ,,school ,,supervision #abg ,important2 ,supervision standardizes2 ,supervision can be overdone2 ,needed in rural schools2 ,no supervision in some states2 ,nominal supervision2 ,some supervision2 ,an impossible task2 ,the problem not tackled2 ,city supervision2 ,the purpose of supervision2 ,what is needed2 ,the term2 ,assistants2 ,the schools examined2 ,keep down red tape2 ,help the social centers2 ,conclusion4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,leadership ,,and ,,cooperation #aci ,the real leader2 ,teaching vs4 telling2 ,enlisting the cooperation of pupils2 ,placing responsibility2 ,how people remain children2 ,on the farm2 ,renters2 ,the owner2 ,the teacher as a leader2 ,self-activity and self-government2 ,taking laws upon one's self2 ,an educational column2 ,all along the educational line4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,farmer ,,and ,,his ,,home #aeb ,farming in the past2 ,old conceit and prejudice2 ,leveling down2 ,premises indicative2 ,conveniences by labor-saving devices2 ,eggs in several baskets2 ,the best is the cheapest2 ,good work2 ,good seed and trees2 ,a good caretaker2 ,family cooperation2 ,an ideal life4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,rural ,,renaissance #afj ,darkest before the dawn2 ,the awakening2 ,the agricultural colleges2 ,conventions2 ,other awakening agencies2 ,the farmer in politics2 ,the ,national ,commission2 ,mixed farming2 ,now before the country2 ,educational extension2 ,library extension work2 ,some froth2 ,thought and attitude4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,a ,,good ,,place ,,after ,,all #afi ,not pessimistic2 ,fewer hours of labor than formerly2 ,the mental factor growing2 ,the bright side of old-time country life2 ,the larger environment2 ,games2 ,inventiveness in rural life2 ,activity rather than passivity2 ,child labor2 ,the finest life on earth4 ,,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 people4 ,not many years ago1 a president of the ,united ,states1 acting upon his own initiative1 appointed a ,rural ,school ,commission to investigate country life and to suggest a solution for some of its problems4 ,that ,commission itself and its report were both the effect and the cause of an awakening of the public mind upon this most important problem4 ,within the past few years the cry ,back to the country has been heard on every hand1 and means are now constantly being proposed for reversing the urban trend1 or at least for minimizing it4 ,a ,generation ,ago4--,rural life1 as it existed a quarter of a century or more ago1 was extremely severe and indeed to our mind quite repellent4 ,in those days--and no doubt they are so even yet in many places--the conditions were too often forbidding and deterrent4 ,otherwise how can we explain the very general tendency among the younger people to move from the country to the city8 ,chores and ,work4--,the country youth1 a mere boy in his teens1 was1 and still is1 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 hours4 ,first1 after rising1 he had his team to care for1 the stables were to be cleaned1 cows to be milked1 and hogs and calves to be fed4 ,after the chores were done the boy or the young man had to work all day at manual labor1 usually close to the soil2 he was allowed about one hour's rest at dinner time2 in the evening after a day's hard labor1 he had to perform the same round of chores as in the morning so that there was but a short time for play and recreation1 if he had any surplus energy left4 ,he usually retired early1 for he was fatigued and needed sleep and rest in order to be refreshed for the following day1 when he very likely would be required to repeat the same dull round4 ,value of ,work4--,of course work is a good thing4 ,a moderate and reasonable amount of labor is usually the salvation of any individual4 ,no nation or race has come up from savagery to civilization without the stimulating influence of labor4 ,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 kind4 ,work in a reasonable amount is a blessing and not a curse4 ,it is probably due to this fact that so many men in our history have become distinguished in professional life1 in the forum1 on the bench1 and in the national ,congress2 in childhood and youth they were inured to habits of work4 ,this kept them from temptation1 and endowed them with habits of industry1 of concentration1 and of purpose4 ,the old adage that ,satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do1 found little application in the rural life of a quarter of a century ago4 ,extremes4--,even with all its unrecognized advantages1 the fact remains that farm life has been quite generally uninteresting to the average human being4 ,there are individuals who become so accustomed to hard work that the habit really grows to be pleasant4 ,this1 no doubt1 often happens4 ,habit accustoms the individual to accommodate himself to existing conditions1 no matter how severe they may be4 ,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 him4 ,he replied1 ,yes1 but ,i like it when the bundles are my own4 ,so the few who are interested and accustomed by habit to this kind of life may enjoy it1 but to the great majority of people the conditions would be decidedly unattractive4 ,yearly ,routine4--,the yearly routine on the farm used to be about as follows3 ,in early spring1 before seeding time had come1 all the seed wheat had to be put through the fanning mill4 ,the seed was sown by hand4 ,a man carried a heavy load of grain upon his back and walked from one end of the field to the other1 sowing it broadcast as he went4 ,after the wheat had been sown1 plowing for the corn and potatoes was begun and continued4 ,these were all planted by hand1 and when they came above ground they were hoed by hand and cultivated repeatedly by walking and holding the plow4 ,disliked in ,comparison4--,all of this work implies1 of course1 that the person doing it was close to the soil2 in fact1 he was in the soil4 ,he wore1 necessarily1 old clothes somewhat begrimed by dirt and dust4 ,his shoes or boots were heavy and his step became habitually long and slow4 ,manual labor too frequently carries with it a neglect of cleanliness4 ,the laborer on the farm necessarily has about him the odor of horses1 of cows1 and of barns4 ,such conditions are not bad1 but they are nevertheless objectionable1 when compared with the neatness and cleanliness of the clerk in the bank or behind the counter4 ,we do not write these words in any spirit of disparagement1 but merely from the point of view at which many young people in the country view them4 ,we are trying to face the truth in order to understand the problem to be solved4 ,it is essential to look at the situation squarely and to view it steadily and honestly4 ,hiding our heads in the sand will not clarify our vision4 ,other ,hard ,jobs4--,the next step in the yearly round was haymaking4 ,frequently1 the grass was cut with scythes4 ,in any event the work of raking1 curing1 and stacking the hay1 or the hauling it and pitching it into the barns was heavy work4 ,there was no hayfork operated by machinery in those days4 ,when not haying1 the youth was usually put to summer-fallowing or to breaking new ground1 to fencing or splitting rails1--all heavy work4 ,no wonder that he always welcomed a rainy day6 ,harvesting4--,then came the wheat-harvest time4 ,within the memory of the author some of the grain was cut with cradles2 later1 simple reaping machines of various kinds were used2 but with them went the binding1 shocking1 and stacking1 all performed by hand and all arduous pieces of work4 ,these operations were interspersed with plowing and threshing4 ,then came corn cutting1 potato digging1 and corn husking4 ,threshing4--,in those days most of the work around a threshing machine was also done by hand4 ,there was no self-feeding apparatus and no band-cutting device2 there was no straw-blower and no measuring and weighing attachments4 ,it usually required about a dozen hands to do all the work4 ,these men worked strenuously and usually in dusty places4 ,the only redeeming feature of the business was the opportunity given for social intercourse which accompanied the work4 ,men1 being social by instinct1 always work more willingly and more strenuously when others are with them4 ,welcome ,events4--,it is quite natural1 as we have said1 that under such conditions as these the youth longed for a rainy day4 ,a trip to the city was always a delightful break in the monotony of his life1 and a short respite from severe toil4 ,sunday was usually the only social occasion in rural life4 ,it was always welcome1 and the boys1 even though tired physically from work during the week1 usually played ball1 or went swimming1 or engaged in other sports on ,sunday afternoons4 ,living in isolation all the week and engaged in hard labor1 they instinctively craved companionship and society4 ,winter ,work4--,when the fall work was done1 winter came with its own occupations4 ,there were usually about four months of school in the rural district1 but even during this season there was much manual labor to be done4 ,trees were to be cut down and wood was to be chopped1 sawed1 and split for the coming summer4 ,land frequently had to be cleared to make new fields2 the breaking of colts and of steers constituted part of the sport as well as of the labor of that season of the year4 ,what the ,old ,days ,lacked4--,there was little or no machinery as a factor in the rural life of days gone by4 ,in these modern times1 of course1 many things have made country life more attractive than formerly4 ,twenty-five years ago there was no rural delivery1 no motor cycle1 no automobile2 even horses and buggies were somewhat of a luxury1 for in the remote country districts the ox team or ,shanks' mares formed the usual mode of travel4 ,the ,result4--,it is little wonder that under such circumstances discontent arose and that people who by nature are sociable longed to go where life was1 in their opinion1 more agreeable4 ,even with all the later conveniences and improvements1 the trend cityward still continues and may continue indefinitely in the future4 ,the ,american people may as well face the facts as they are4 ,it is difficult if not impossible to make the country as attractive to young people as is the city2 and consequently to reverse or even stop the urban trend will be most difficult4 ,indeed1 some of the things which make rural life pleasant1 like the automobile1 favor this trend1 which probably will continue until economic pressure puts on the brakes4 ,even now1 with all our improvements1 the social factors in rural life are comparatively small4 ,here is one of our greatest problems3 ,how to increase the fullness of social life in rural communities so as to make country life and living everywhere more attractive4 ,the ,backward ,rural ,school4--,although the material conditions and facilities for work have improved by reason of various inventions in recent years1 the rural school of former days was frequently as good as1 if not better in some respects than1 the school of to-day4 ,formerly there were many able men engaged in teaching who could earn as much in the schoolroom as they could earn elsewhere4 ,there were consequently in the rural schools many strong personalities1 both men and women4 ,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 callings1 and the schools are left in a weakened condition by reason of their absence4 ,women's ,condition ,unrelieved4--,with all our improvements and conveniences1 the work of women in country communities has been relieved but little4 ,farm life has always been and still is a hard one for women4 ,it has been1 in many instances1 a veritable state of slavery2 for women in the country have always been compelled to do not only their own proper work1 but the work of two or three persons4 ,the working hours for women are even longer than those for men2 for breakfast must be prepared for the workmen1 and household work must be done after the evening meal is eaten4 ,it is little to be wondered at that women as a rule wish to leave the drudgery of rural life4 ,under the improved conditions of the present day1 with all kinds of machinery1 the work of women is lightened least4#a ,footnote #a3 ,there is an illuminating article1 entitled ,the ,farmer and ,his ,wife1 by ,martha ,bensley ,bruere in ,good ,housekeeping ,magazine1 for ,june1 #aiad1 p4 #hbj4 ,the ,rural ,problem ,must ,be ,met4--,i have given a short description of rural life in order to have a setting for the rural school4 ,the school is1 without doubt1 the center of the rural life problem1 and we are face to face with it for a solution of some kind4 ,the problems of both have been too long neglected4 ,now forced upon our attention1 they should receive the thoughtful consideration of all persons interested in the welfare of society4 ,they are difficult of solution1 probably the most difficult of all those which our generation has to face4 ,they involve the reduction of the repellent forces in rural life and the increase of such forces and agencies as will be attractive1 especially to the young4 ,the great problem is1 how can the trend cityward be checked or reversed8 ,what attractions are possible and feasible in the rural communities8 ,in each there should be some recognized center to provide these various attractions4 ,there should be lectures and debates1 plays of a serious character1 musical entertainments1 and social functions2 even the moving picture might be made of great educational value4 ,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 enjoy4 ,these things can be secured1 too1 if the people will only awake to a realization of their value1 and will show their willingness to pay for them4 ,something cannot be secured for nothing4 ,in the last resort the solution of most problems1 as well as the accomplishment of most aims1 involves the expenditure of money4 ,wherever the people of rural communities have come to value the finer educational1 cultural1 civilizing1 and intangible things more than they value money1 the problem is already being solved4 ,it is certainly a question of values--in aims and means4 ,facilities4--,many inventions might be utilized on the farm to better advantage than they are at present4 ,but people live somewhat isolated lives in rural communities and there is not the active comparison or competition that one finds in the city2 improvements of all kinds are therefore slower of realization4 ,values are not forced home by every-day discussion and comparison4 ,people continue to do as they have been accustomed to do1 and there are men who own large farms and have large bank accounts who continue to live without the modern improvements1 and hence with but few comforts in life4 ,a greater interest in the best things pertaining to country life needs to be awakened1 and to this end rural communities should be better organized1 socially1 economically1 and educationally4 ,,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 city4 ,it was shown that1 on the whole1 up to the present at least1 farm life has not been as pleasant as it should or could be made4 ,some aspects of it are uncomfortable1 if not painful4 ,hard manual labor1 long hours of toil1 and partial isolation from one's fellows usually and generally characterize it4 ,of course1 there are many who by nature or habit1 or who by their ingenuity and thrift1 have made it serve them1 and who therefore have come to love the life of the country2 but we are speaking with reference to the average men and women who have not mastered the forces at hand1 which can be turned to their service only by thought and thrift4 ,cityward4--,the trend toward the cities is unmistakable4 ,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 it4 ,at the close of the ,revolutionary ,war only three per cent of the total population of our country lived in what could be termed cities4 ,in #ahaj only about five per cent of the whole population was urban2 while in #aiaj forty-six per cent of our people lived in cities4 ,this means that1 relatively1 our forces producing raw materials are not keeping pace with the growth and demands of consumption4 ,in some of the older ,atlantic states1 as one rides through the country1 vast areas of uncultivated land meet the view4 ,the people have gone to the city4 ,large cities absorb smaller ones1 and the small towns absorb the inhabitants of the rural districts4 ,every city and town is making strenuous efforts to build itself up1 if need be at the expense of the smaller towns and the rural communities4 ,to boom its own city is assumed to be a large and legitimate part of the business of every commercial club4 ,this must mean1 of course1 that smaller cities and towns and the rural communities suffer accordingly in business1 in population1 and in life4 ,attractive ,forces4--,the attractive forces of the city are quite as numerous and powerful as the repellent forces of the country4 ,the city is attractive from many points of view4 ,it sets the pace1 the standard1 the ideals2 even the styles of clothing and dress originate there4 ,it is where all sorts of people are seen and met with in large numbers2 its varied scenes are always magnetic4 ,both old and young are attracted by activities of all kinds2 the white way in every city is a constant bid for numbers4 ,in the city there is always more liveliness if not more life than in the country4 ,activity is apparent everywhere4 ,everything seems better to the young person from the country2 there is more to see and more to hear2 the show windows and the display of lighting are a constant lure2 there is an endless variety of experiences4 ,life seems great because it is cosmopolitan and not provincial or local4 ,in any event1 it draws the youth of the country4 ,things1 they say1 are doing1 and they long to be a part of it all4 ,there is no doubt that the mind and heart are motivated in this way4 ,conveniences in ,cities4--,in the city there are more conveniences than in the country4 ,there are sidewalks and paved streets instead of muddy roads2 there are private telephones1 and the telegraph is at hand in time of need2 there are street cars which afford comfortable and rapid transportation4 ,there are libraries1 museums1 and art galleries2 there are free lectures and entertainments of various kinds2 and the churches are larger and more attractive than those in the country4 ,as in the case of teachers1 the cities secure their pick of preachers4 ,doctors are at hand in time of need1 and all the professions are centered there4 ,is it any wonder that people1 when they have an opportunity1 migrate to the city8 ,there is a social instinct moving the human heart4 ,all people are gregarious4 ,adults as well as children like to be where others are1 and so where some people congregate others tend to do likewise4 ,country life as at present organized does not afford the best opportunity for the satisfaction of this social instinct4 ,the great variety of social attractions constitutes the lure of the city--it is the powerful social magnet4 ,urbanized ,literature4--,most books1 magazines1 and papers are published in cities1 hence most of them have the flavor of city life about them4 ,they are made and written by people who know the city1 and the city doings are usually the subject matter of the literary output of the day4 ,children acquire from these1 even in their primary school days1 a longing for the city4 ,the idea of seeing and possibly of living in the city becomes set1 and it tends sooner or later to realize itself in act and in life4 ,city ,schools4--,the city1 as a rule1 maintains excellent schools2 and the most modern and serviceable buildings for school purposes are found there4 ,urban people seem willing to tax themselves to a greater extent2 and so in the cities will be found comparatively better buildings1 better teachers1 more and better supervision1 more fullness of life in the schools4 ,usually in the cities the leading and most enterprising men and women are elected to the school board1 and the people1 as we have said1 acquiesce in such taxation as the board deems necessary4 ,cities endeavor to secure the choice of the output of normal schools1 regardless of the demands of rural districts4 ,every city has a superintendent1 and every building a principal2 while1 in the country1 one county superintendent has to supervise a hundred or more schools1 situated too1 as they are1 long distances apart4 ,city ,churches4--,something similar may be said with respect to the churches4 ,in every city there are several1 and people can usually go to the church of their choice4 ,in many parts of the country the church is decadent1 and in some places it is becoming extinct4 ,even the automobile contributes its influence against the country church as a rural institution1 and in favor of the city2 for people who are sufficiently well-to-do often like to take an automobile ride to the city on ,sunday4 ,city ,work ,preferred4--,workingmen and servant girls also prefer the city4 ,they dislike the long irregular hours of the country2 they prefer to work where the hours are regular1 where they do not come into such close touch with the soil1 and where they do not have to battle with the elements4 ,in the city they work under shelter and in accordance with definite regulations4 ,hence it is that the problem of securing workingmen and servant girls in the country is every day becoming more and more perplexing4 ,retired ,farmers4--,farmers themselves1 when they have become reasonably well-to-do1 frequently retire to the city1 either to enjoy life the rest of their days or to educate their children4 ,individuals are not to be blamed4 ,the lack of equivalent attractions and conveniences in the country is responsible4 ,educational ,centers4--,as yet1 it is seldom that good high schools are found in the country4 ,to secure a high school education country people frequently have to avail themselves of the city schools4 ,many colleges and universities are located in the cities and1 consequently1 much of the educational trend is in that direction4 ,face the ,problem4--,the rural problem is a difficult one and we may as well face the situation honestly and earnestly4 ,there has been too much mere oratory on problems of rural life4 ,we have often1 ostrich-like1 kept our heads under the sand and have not seen or admitted the real conditions1 which must be changed if rural life is to become attractive4 ,say what we will1 people will go where their needs are best satisfied and where the attractions are greatest4 ,people cannot be driven--they must be attracted and won4 ,if ,god made the country and man made the town1 ,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 seen4 ,where the element of nature is largest there should be a more truly and deeply attractive life than where the element of art predominates1 however alluring that may be4 ,how can country life and the country itself be made to attract8 ,educational ,value ,not ,realized4--,people generally have never been able to estimate education fairly4 ,the value of lands1 horses1 and money can easily be measured1 for these are tangible things2 but education is very difficult of appraisal1 for it is intangible4 ,yet it is true that intangible things are frequently of greater worth than are tangible things4 ,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 children4 ,this is because the services of the jockey are more easily reckoned4 ,the effects or results of the horse training are measured by the proceeds in dollars and cents on the racetrack1 and so are easily realized2 while the growth in education1 refinement1 and culture on the part of the child is difficult indeed to measure or estimate4 ,and yet how much more valuable it is6 ,the jockey gives the one1 the teacher the other4 ,wrong ,standard in the ,social ,mind4--,in some rural communities the idea exists that a teacher is worth about fifty dollars a month--perhaps not so much4 ,this idea has been encouraged until it has been too generally accepted2 and in many places the notion prevails that if a teacher is receiving more than that amount1 she is being overpaid1 and the school board is accused of extravagance4 ,the rural school problem will never be solved until the standard of compensation is readjusted4 ,there are many persons in the cities1 who1 for the performance of socially unimportant things1 are receiving larger salaries than are usually paid to university professors and college presidents4 ,thus1 the relative values of services are misjudged and the recompense of labor is not properly graded and proportioned4 ,unless there is1 quite generally1 a saner perspective in the social mind and until values are reestimated1 the solution of the rural school problem and indeed of many problems of rural life is well-nigh hopeless4 ,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 schools4 ,these persons would and could be leaders of strength among the people4 ,rural ,organization4--,until recently there has been little or no organization of rural life4 ,communities have been chaotic1 socially1 economically1 and educationally4 ,real leaders have been wanting--men and women of strong and winning personality4 ,the rural teacher1 if he were a man of power and initiative1 often proved to be a real savior and redeemer of social life in his community4 ,but leaders of this type cannot now be secured without a reasonable incentive4 ,such men will seldom sacrifice themselves for the organization and uplift of a community except for proper compensation4 ,if teachers--or at least the strong ones--were paid two or three times as much as they are to-day1 and if the standards were raised accordingly1 so as to secure really strong personalities as teachers1 country life might be organized in different directions and made so much more attractive than at present1 that the urban trend would be arrested or greatly minimized4 ,playing with the ,problem4--,the possibilities of the organization of rural life and rural schools have not yet been realized2 as a people we have really played with this problem4 ,it has taken care of itself2 it has been allowed to drift4 ,rural life at present is a kind of easy social adjustment on the basis of the minimum of expense and of exertion toward a solution4 ,we have not realized the value of genuine social1 economic1 and educational organization with all the activities in these lines which the terms imply4 ,we have not grappled with the problem in an earnest1 scientific way2 we have never thought out systematically what is needed1 and then decided to employ the necessary means to bring about the desired end4 ,it may be that the problem will remain unsolved for generations to come2 but if country life and country schools are to be made as attractive and pleasant as city life and city schools1 the people will have to face the problem without flinching and use the only means which will bring about the desired result4 ,the problem could be easily solved if the people realized the true value of rural life and of good rural schools4 ,where there is a will there is a way2 but where there is no will there is no possible way4 ,country life can be made fully as pleasant as city life1 and the rural schools can be made fully as good as the city schools4 ,of course some things will be lacking in the country which are found in the city2 but1 conversely1 many things and probably better things will be found in the country than could be found in the city4 ,,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 places2 it will also discuss the rural school as it ought to be4 ,it is assumed that1 although consolidation is spreading rapidly1 the one-room rural school as an institution will continue to exist for an indefinite time4 ,under favorable conditions it probably should continue to exist2 for1 as we shall see1 it has many excellent features which are real advantages4 ,the ,building4--,the old-fashioned country schoolhouse was in many respects a pitiable object4 ,the little red schoolhouse in story and song has been the object of much praise4 ,as an ideal creation it may be deserving of admiration1 but this cannot be asserted of it as a reality4 ,the common type was an ordinary box-shaped building without architecture1 without a plan1 and1 as a rule1 without care or repair4 ,frequently it stood for years without being repainted1 and in the midst of chaotic and ill-cared-for surroundings4 ,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 construction1 the only provision being that he keep within the amount of money allowed--probably eight hundred or a thousand dollars4 ,the usual result was the plainest kind of building1 without conveniences of any kind4 ,if a blackboard were provided in the specifications 7which were often oral rather than written71 it was perhaps placed in such a position as to be useless4 ,in the course of my experience as county superintendent of schools1 ,i once visited a rural school in which the blackboard began at the height of a man's head and extended to the ceiling1 the carpenter probably thinking that its one purpose was to display permanently the teacher's program4 ,no ,system of ,ventilation4--,no system of ventilation was provided in former days1 and in some schoolhouses such is the condition to-day4 ,nevertheless1 within the past fifteen years1 there has been a gratifying improvement in this direction4 ,it used to be necessary to secure fresh air1 if at all1 by opening windows4 ,in some sections1 where the climate is mild1 this is the best method of ventilation2 but certainly1 in northern latitudes where the winters are long and cold1 some system of forced or automatic ventilation should be provided4 ,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 it4 ,without involving great expense there are simple systems of ventilation and heating combined which are very efficient for such houses4 ,in former times1 and in some places even yet1 the usual method of heating was by an unjacketed stove which made the pupils who sat nearest it uncomfortably warm1 while those in the farther corners were shivering with cold4 ,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 evenly4 ,it is strange how slowly people change their habits and even their opinions4 ,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 room4 ,the fact that twenty to forty pupils are often housed in poorly-ventilated schools accounts for much sickness and disease among country children4 ,whatever it is that makes air fresh1 and healthful1 that factor is not found under the conditions described4 ,changes in the temperature and movement of the air are1 no doubt1 important in securing a healthful physiological reaction1 but air contaminated and befouled by bodies and lungs has stupefying effects which cannot be ignored4 ,frequent change of air is essential4 ,the ,surroundings4--,the typical country schoolhouse1 as it existed in the past1 and as it frequently exists to-day1 has not sufficient land to form a good yard and a playground appropriate for its needs4 ,the farmer who sold or donated the small tract of land often plows almost to the very foundation walls4 ,there are usually no trees near by to afford shelter or to give the place a homelike and attractive appearance4 ,some trees may have been planted1 but owing to neglect they have all died out1 and nothing remains but a few dead and unsightly trunks4 ,there is usually no fence around the school yard1 and the outbuildings are frequently a disgrace1 if not a positive menace to the children's morals4 ,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 places4 ,weak teachers have a false modesty in regard to such conditions and school boards are often thoughtless or negligent4 ,the ,interior4--,within the building there is frequently no adequate equipment in the way of apparatus1 supplementary reading1 or reference books of any kind4 ,there are no decorations on the walls except such as are put there by mischievous children4 ,the whole situation both inside and out brings upon one a feeling of desolation4 ,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 particular4 ,again this is the result of ignorance1 thoughtlessness1 or negligence--a negligence that comes alarmingly close to guilt4 ,small1 ,dead ,school4--,in many a lone rural schoolhouse may be found ten to twenty small children2 and behind the desk a teacher holding only a second or third grade elementary or county certificate4 ,the whole institution is rather tame and weak1 if not dead2 it is anything but stimulating 7and if education means anything it means stimulation74 ,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 society4 ,that ,picture and ,this4--,let us now consider1 after looking upon that picture1 what the situation ought to be4 ,in the first place1 there should be a large school ground1 or yard--not less than two acres4 ,the schoolhouse should be properly located in this tract4 ,the ground as a whole should be platted by a landscape architect1 or at least by a person of experience and taste4 ,trees of various kinds should be planted in appropriate places1 and groups of shrubbery should help to form an attractive setting4 ,the school grounds should have a serviceable fence and gate and there should be a playground and a school garden4 ,architecture of ,building4--,no school building should be erected that has not first been planned or passed upon by an architect2 this is now required by law in some states4 ,a building with handsome appearance and with appropriate appointments is but a trifle1 if any1 more costly than one that has none4 ,art of all kinds is a valuable factor in the education of children and of people generally2 and a building1 beautiful in construction1 is no exception to the rule4 ,every person is educated by what impresses him4 ,it is only within the last few years that much attention has been given to the necessity of special architecture in schoolhouses4 ,men of intelligence sometimes draw up their own plans for a building and then1 having become enamored of them1 proceed to construct a residence or a schoolhouse along those lines4 ,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 observed4 ,neither the individual nor the district school boards can afford1 in justice to themselves and the community they represent1 to ignore the wide and varied knowledge of the expert4 ,get ,expert ,opinion4--,expert opinion should govern in the matter of heating and ventilating1 in the kind of seating1 in the arrangement of blackboards1 in the decorations1 and in all such technical and professional matters4 ,every rural school should have a carefully selected library1 suited to its needs1 including a sufficient number of reference books4 ,the pupils should have textbooks without delay so that no time may be wasted in getting started after the opening of school4 ,the walls should be adorned with a few appropriate and beautiful pictures4 ,other ,surroundings4--,on this school ground there should be a shop of some kind4 ,the resourceful teacher would find a hundred uses for some such center of work4 ,the closets should be so placed and so devised as to be easily supervised4 ,this would prevent them from being moral plague spots1 as is too often the case1 as we have already said4 ,there should be stables for sheltering horses1 if the school is1 as it should be1 a social center for the community4 ,there should be a flagpole in front of the schoolhouse1 from the top of which the stars and stripes should be often unfurled to the breeze4 ,number of ,pupils4--,in this architecturally attractive building1 amid beautiful surroundings both inside and out1 there should be1 in order to have a good rural school1 not less than eighteen or twenty pupils4 ,where there are fewer the school should be consolidated with a neighboring school4 ,twenty pupils would give an assurance of educational and social life1 instead of the dead monotony which often prevails in the smaller rural school4 ,there should be1 during the year1 at least eight1 and preferably nine1 months of school work4 ,it ,will ,not ,teach ,alone4--,but with all of these conditions the school may still be far from effective4 ,all the material equipment--the total environment of the pupils1 both inside and outside the building--may be excellent1 and still we may fail to find there a good school4 ,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 college4 ,this indicates an essential factor other than the physical equipment4 ,i remember being once in a store when a man who had bought a saw a few days previously returned it in a wrathful mood4 ,he was angry through and through and declared that the saw was utterly worthless4 ,he had brought it back to reclaim his money4 ,the merchant had a rich vein of humor in his nature and he listened smilingly to the outburst of angry language4 ,then he merely took the saw1 opened his till and handed the man his money1 quietly asking1 with a twinkle in his eyes for those standing around1 ,wouldn't it saw alone8 ,now1 we may have a fine school ground1 or site1 with a variety of beautiful trees and clumps of shrubbery2 we may have a playground and a school garden2 we may have it all splendidly fenced2 the schoolhouse may have an artistic appearance and may be kept in excellent repair2 it may be well furnished inside with blackboards1 seats1 library1 reference books1 good textbooks1 and all else that is needed2 it may be beautifully decorated2 it may have twenty or even more pupils1 and yet we may not have a good school4 ,it will not saw alone2 the one indispensable factor may still be lacking4 ,the ,teacher4--,as is the teacher1 so is the school4 ,mark ,hopkins on the end of a log made a good college1 compared with the situation where the building is good and the teacher poor4 ,the teacher is like the mainspring in a watch4 ,without a good teacher there can be no good school4 ,live teacher1 live school2 dead teacher1 dead school4 ,the teacher and the school must be the center of life1 of thought1 and of conversation1 in a good way1 in the neighborhood4 ,the teacher is the soul of the school2 the other things constitute its body4 ,what shall it profit a community to have a great building and lack a good teacher8 ,if we were obliged to choose between a good teacher and poor material conditions and environment on the one hand1 and excellent material conditions and environment and a poor teacher on the other1 we should certainly not hesitate in our choice4 ,a ,good ,rural ,school4--,now1 if we suppose a really good teacher under the good conditions described above1 we shall have a good rural school4 ,there is usually better individual work done in such a school than is possible in a large system of graded schools in a city4 ,in such a school there is more single-mindedness on the part of pupils and teacher4 ,these pupils bring to such a school unspoiled minds1 minds not weakened by the attractions and distractions1 both day and night1 of city life4 ,in such a school the essentials of a good education are1 as a rule1 more often emphasized than in the city4 ,there is probably a truer perspective of values4 ,things of the first magnitude are distinguished from things of the second1 fifth1 or tenth magnitude4 ,this inability to distinguish magnitudes is one of the banes of common school education everywhere--so many things are appraised at the same value4 ,the ,problem4--,we have tried in this discussion to put before the reader a fairly accurate picture1 on the one hand1 of the undesirable conditions which have too often prevailed1 and1 on the other1 of a rural school which would be an excellent place in which to receive one's elementary education4 ,the reader is asked to look here1 upon this picture1 and on this4 ,the transition from the one to the other is one of the great problems of rural life and of the rural school4 ,consolidation of schools1 which we shall discuss more at length in a later chapter1 will help to solve the problem of the rural school1 and we give it our hearty indorsement4 ,it is the best plan we know of where the conditions are favorable2 but it is probable that the one-room rural school will remain with us for a long time to come4 ,indeed there are some good reasons why it should remain4 ,where the good rural school exists1 whether non-consolidated or consolidated1 it should be the center and the soul of rural life in that community--social1 economical1 and educational4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,some ,,lines ,,of ,,progress ,progress4--,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 history4 ,indeed1 it is doubtful if a similar period of invention and progress will ever recur4 ,it has been one of industrial revolution in all lines of activity4 ,in ,reaping ,machines4--,let us for a few moments trace this development and progress in some specific fields4 ,within the memory of many men now living the hand sickle was in common use in the cutting of grain4 ,in the fifties and sixties the cradle was the usual implement for harvesting wheat1 oats1 and similar grains4 ,one man did the cradling and another the gathering and the binding into sheaves4 ,then came rapid development of the reaping machine4 ,the ,dropper4--,the most important step was probably the invention of the sickle-bar1 a slender steel bar having ,v-shaped sections attached1 to cut the grass and grain2 this was pushed and pulled between what are called guards1 by means of a rod called the ,pitman rod1 attached to a small revolving wheel run by the gearing of the machine4 ,this was a wonderful invention and its principle has been extensively applied4 ,the first reaping machine using the sickle and guard device was known as the dropper4 ,a reel1 worked by machinery1 revolved at a short distance above the sickle1 beating the wheat backward upon a small platform of slats4 ,this platform could be raised and lowered by the foot1 by means of a treadle4 ,when there was sufficient grain on this slat-platform it was lowered and the wheat was left lying in short rows on the ground1 behind the machine4 ,the bundles had to be bound by hand and removed before the machine could make the next round4 ,this machine1 though simple1 was the forerunner of other important inventions4 ,the ,hand ,rake4--,the next type of machine was the one in which the platform of slats was replaced by a stationary platform having a smooth board floor4 ,a man sat at the side of the machine1 near the rear1 and raked the bundles off sidewise with a hand rake4 ,a boy drove the team and the man raked off the grain in sufficient quantities to make bundles4 ,these were thrown by the rake a sufficient distance from the standing grain to allow the machine to proceed round and round the field1 even if these bundles of grain1 so raked off1 were not yet bound into sheaves4 ,the ,self ,rake4--,the next advance consisted in what is known as the self rake4 ,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 machine4 ,this saved the labor of one man4 ,the ,harvester4--,the next improvement in the evolution of the reaping machine--if indeed an improvement it could be called--was what is known as the harvester4 ,in this there was a canvas elevator upon which the grain was thrown by the reel1 and which brought the grain up to the platform on which two men stood for the purpose of binding it4 ,each man took his share1 binding alternate bundles and throwing them1 when bound1 down on the ground4 ,such work was certainly one of the repellent factors in driving men and boys from the country to the city4 ,the ,wire ,binder4--,another step in advance was the invention of the wire binder4 ,everything was now done by machinery3 the cutting1 the elevating1 the binding1 and even the carrying of the sheaves into piles or windrows4 ,there was an attachment upon the machine by which the bundles were carried along and deposited in bunches to make the shocking easier4 ,the ,twine ,binder4--,but the wire was found to be an obstruction both in threshing and in the use of straw for fodder2 and1 as necessity is the mother of invention1 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-day4 ,threshing ,machine4--,the development of the perfected threshing machine was very similar4 ,fifty years ago1 the flail was an implement of common use upon the barn floor4 ,then came the invention called the cylinder2 this was systematically studded with teeth and these1 in the rapid revolutions of the cylinder1 passed between corresponding teeth systematically set in what is known as concaves4 ,this tooth arrangement in revolving cylinder and in concave was as epochal in the line of progress in threshing machines as the sickle1 with its sections passing or being drawn through guards1 was in reaping machines4 ,the ,first ,machine4--,the earliest of these threshing machines containing a cylinder was run by a treadmill on which a horse was used4 ,it was literally a one-horse affair4 ,of course the first type of cylinder was small and simple1 and the work as a rule was poorly done4 ,the chaff and the straw came out together and men had to attend to each by hand4 ,the wheat was poorly cleaned and had to be run through a fanning-mill several times4 ,improvements4--,then came some improvements and enlargements in the cylinder1 and also the application of horse power by means of what was known as tumbling rods and a gearing attached to the cylinder4 ,all this at first was on rather a small scale1 only two1 three1 or four horses being used4 ,but improvements and enlargements came step by step1 until the ten and twelve horse power machine was achieved1 resulting in the large separator that would thresh out several hundred bushels of wheat in a day4 ,the separator had also attached to it what was called the straw carrier1 which conveyed both the straw and the chaff to quite a distance from the machine4 ,but even then most of the work around the machine was done by hand4 ,the straw pile required the attention of three or four men2 or if the straw were bucked1 as they said1 it required a man with a horse or team hitched to a long pole4 ,in this latter case the straw was spread in various parts of the field and finally burned4 ,the ,steam ,engine4--,then came the portable steam engine for threshing purposes4 ,at first1 however1 this had to be drawn from place to place by teams4 ,the power was applied to the separator by a long belt4 ,following this1 came the devices for cutting the bands1 the self-feeder1 and finally the straw blower1 as it is called1 consisting of a long tube through which the straw is blown by the powerful separator fanning-mill4 ,this blower can be moved in different directions1 and consequently it saves the labor of as many men as were formerly required to handle the straw and chaff4 ,about the same time1 also1 the device for weighing and measuring the grain was perfected4 ,the traction engine has now replaced the one which had to be drawn by teams1 and this not only propels itself but also draws the separator and other loads after it from place to place4 ,in all this progress the machinery has constantly become more and more perfect and the cylinder and capacity of the machine greater and greater4 ,not many years ago1 six hundred bushels in a day was considered a big record in the threshing of wheat4 ,now the large machines separate1 or thresh out1 between three and four thousand bushels in one day4 ,such has been the development in reaping machines from the sickle to the self-binder1 and in threshing machines from the flail to the modern marvel just described4 ,improvement in ,ocean ,travel4--,a similar story may be told in regard to ocean traffic and ocean travel4 ,our ancestors came from foreign lands on sailing ships that required from three weeks to several months to cross the ,atlantic4 ,i am acquainted with a ,german immigrant who1 many years ago1 left a seaport town of ,germany on ,january #ast and landed at ,castle ,garden in ,new ,york ,city on the #dth of ,july4 ,the inconvenience of travel under such circumstances was equal to the slowness of the journey4 ,in those days leaving home in the old country meant never again seeing one's relatives and friends4 ,if such conditions are compared with those of to-day we can readily realize the vast progress that has been made4 ,to-day the great ocean liners cross the ,atlantic in a little more than five days4 ,these magnificent ocean greyhounds are fitted out with all modern conveniences and improvements1 so that one is as comfortable in them and as safe as he is in one of the best hotels of the large cities4 ,from ,hand-spinning to ,factory4--,weaving in former times was done entirely by hand4 ,fifty years ago private weavers were found in almost every community4 ,wool was raised1 carded1 spun1 and woven1 and the garments were all made1 practically1 within the household4 ,all that is now past4 ,in the great manufacturing establishments one man at a lever does the work of #bej or #ejj people4 ,this great industrial advancement has taken place within the memory of people now living4 ,and similar progress has been made in almost every other line of human endeavor4 ,the ,cost4--,very few people realize what it has cost the human race to pass from one condition to the other in these various lines4 ,hundreds and thousands of men have worked and died in the struggle and in the process of bringing about improvements4 ,every calamity due to inadequate machines or to poor methods has had its influence toward causing further advancements in inventions for the benefit of mankind4 ,progress in ,higher ,education4--,let us now turn our attention to the progress that has been made in the field of academic education4 ,it is true that many of the great universities were established centuries ago4 ,these were at first endowed church institutions or theological seminaries2 but the great state universities of this country are creations of the progressive period under consideration4 ,general taxation for higher education is comparatively a modern practice4 ,the ,university of ,michigan was one of the first state universities established4 ,since then nearly every commonwealth1 whether it has come into the ,union since that time or whether it is one of the older states1 has established a university4 ,there has been a great development of higher education by the states4 ,no institutions of the country have grown more rapidly within the last thirty or forty years than the state universities4 ,they have established departments of every kind4 ,besides the college of liberal arts there are in most of them colleges or schools of law1 medicine1 engineering in its several lines1 education1 pharmacy1 dentistry1 commerce1 industrial arts1 and fine arts4 ,the state university is abroad in the land2 it has1 as a rule1 an extension department by which it impresses itself upon the people of the state1 outside its walls4 ,the principle of higher education by taxation of all the people is no longer questioned2 it is no longer an experiment4 ,the state university is relied upon to furnish the country with the leaders of the future--and leaders will always be in demand1 for they are always sorely needed4 ,progress in ,normal ,schools4--,while the state universities have been enjoying this marvelous development1 nearly every state has been establishing normal schools for the professional preparation of teachers4 ,the normal school as an institution is also modern4 ,as an institution established and supported by state taxation it is1 as a rule1 more recent than the universities4 ,forty years ago many good people regarded the normal school idea as visionary and its realization as a doubtful experiment4 ,indeed in one western state1 as late as the eighties1 its legislature debated the abolition of its normal schools on the ground that they were not fulfilling or accomplishing any useful mission4 ,to-day1 however1 no such charge of inefficiency can be made4 ,the normal schools1 like the universities1 have proved their right to exist4 ,they have been weighed in the balance and have not been found wanting4 ,it is now generally recognized that those who would teach should make some preparation for that high calling2 and so the normal schools in every state have demonstrated their right of domicile in the educational system4 ,it is now generally recognized that teaching1 both as a science and as an art1 is highly complicated1 and that1 if it is to be a profession1 there must be special preparation for it4 ,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 ideals4 ,school boards everywhere look to the normal schools for their supply of elementary teachers4 ,progress in ,agricultural ,colleges4--,similar statements may be made concerning the agricultural colleges of the country4 ,they are modern creations in the ,united ,states2 and with the aid of both the state and the national government they have come to be vast institutions1 devoting themselves to the teaching and the spreading of scientific farming among the people4 ,here there is a vast work to be done4 ,on account of the trend of population toward the cities1 and on account of the vast tracts of country land lying idle1 scientific agriculture should be brought in to aid in production and thus to keep down the cost of living4 ,the agricultural colleges of the country have a large part to play in the solution of the problems of rural life4 ,progress in the ,high ,schools4--,a similar development characterizes the high schools of the country4 ,education has extended downward from above4 ,universities everywhere have come into existence before the establishment of secondary schools4 ,not only are the universities1 the normal schools1 and the agricultural colleges of recent origin1 but the high schools also are modern institutions1 at least in their present systematized form4 ,the high schools of the cities constitute to-day one of the most efficient forms of school organization4 ,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 ago4 ,vast numbers attend them2 their faculties are composed of college graduates or better2 they have1 as a rule1 various departments1 such as manual training1 domestic science1 agriculture1 commercial subjects1 normal courses1 etc4 ,in addition to the traditional curricula1 the high schools1 like the universities1 normal schools1 and agricultural colleges1 have kept pace1 in large measure1 with the material progress described in the first part of this chapter4 ,how ,is the ,rural ,school8--,we have described the progress that has been made in various fields of the industrial world and also in several kinds of educational institutions4 ,at this point the question may1 with propriety1 be asked whether the rural schools have generally kept pace in their progress with the other and higher institutions which we have mentioned4 ,we believe that they have not4 ,the rural schools have too often been the last to attract public interest and to receive the attention which their importance deserves4 ,illustration3 ,a neglected school in unattractive surroundings ,illustration3 ,a lonely road to school4 ,no conveyances provided ,illustration3 ,a better type of building with some attempt at improvements ,caption for the above illustrations3 ,,the ,,one-,,room ,,school ,,chapter ,v ,a ,,backward ,,and ,,neglected ,,field ,rural ,schools the ,same ,everywhere4--,the one-room country school of to-day is much the same the whole country over4 ,such schools are no better in ,michigan1 ,wisconsin1 or ,minnesota than they are in the ,dakotas1 ,montana1 or ,idaho4 ,they are no better in ,ohio or ,new ,york than they are in ,minnesota or ,wisconsin1 and no better in the ,new ,england states than in ,new ,york and ,ohio4 ,there is a wonderful similarity in these schools in all the states4 ,nevertheless1 it may be maintained with some plausibility that the rural schools of the ,west are superior to those farther east4 ,the ,east is conservative and slow to change4 ,the ,west has fewer traditions to break4 ,many strong personalities of initiative and push have come out of the ,east and taken up their abode in the ,west4 ,young men continue to follow ,horace ,greeley's advice4 ,sometimes these young men file upon lands and teach the neighboring school2 and while this may not be the highest professional aim and attitude1 it remains true nevertheless that such teachers are often earnest1 strong1 and educated persons4 ,not long ago ,i had occasion to visit a teacher's institute in a northwestern state1 in which there were enrolled #cej teachers4 ,some of these were college graduates and many of them were normal school graduates from various states4 ,one had only to conduct a round table in order to experience a very spirited reaction4 ,colonel ,homer ,b4 ,sprague1 who was once president of the ,university of ,north ,dakota1 used to say that it always wrenched him to kick at nothing4 ,there would be no danger1 in such a body of teachers as ,i have referred to1 of wrenching oneself4 ,i have had occasion many times every year to meet these western teachers in local associations1 in teachers' institutes1 and in state conventions2 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 country4 ,rural ,schools no ,better than ,formerly4--,notwithstanding all this1 it is probably true that the rural schools of to-day are1 on the whole1 but little better than those of twenty years ago4 ,about that time ,i served four years as county superintendent of schools in a western state4 ,as ,i recall the condition of the schools of that day ,i feel sure that there has been but little real progress4 ,indeed1 for reasons which will be stated later on1 it can be safely asserted that in some parts of the country there has been a deterioration4 ,about thirty years ago ,i had the experience of teaching rural schools for several terms4 ,being acquainted with my coworkers1 ,i met them frequently in teachers' gatherings and in conventions of various kinds4 ,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 time4 ,and if the teacher is the measure of the school1 the same may be said of the schools4 ,nor is this all4 ,about forty years ago ,i was attending a rural school myself4 ,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-day4 ,some ,improvement4--,it is not intended here to assert or to convey the impression that there has been no progress in any direction in the rural schools4 ,it is the personnel of the country school--the strength and power of initiative in the teachers of that day--that is here referred to4 ,although there has been some progress in many lines it has not been in the direction of stronger teachers4 ,the textbooks in use to-day in various branches are decidedly superior to those used in former days1 although some of these older books were by no means without their points of strength and excellence4 ,indeed1 ,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 day4 ,it is no doubt true also that there has been1 in the last thirty or forty years1 much discussion along the lines of psychology and pedagogy and the methods of teaching the various branches4 ,the professional spirit has been in the air1 and there has been much writing and much talking on the science and art of teaching4 ,but it must be confessed that1 while this is desirable and in fact indispensable1 much of it may be little more than a mere whitewash2 much of it is simply parrot-like imitation2 much of it is only words1 words1 words4 ,far be it from me to underestimate the value of this professional and pedagogical phase of the teacher's equipment4 ,nevertheless1 when all is said and duly considered1 it is personality that is the greatest factor in the teacher4 ,a good1 sound knowledge of the subjects to be taught comes next2 and last1 though probably not least1 should come the professional preparation and training4 ,without the first two requisites1 however1 this last is worth little4 ,it is a lamentable fact that1 in almost every section of our country1 there are persons engaged in teaching rural schools1 who are not only deficient in personal power but whose academic education is not such as to afford an adequate foundation for professional training4 ,strong ,personalities in the ,older ,schools4--,as an example of strong personalities ,i remember one teacher who in middle life was recognized as a leader in his community2 another one1 after serving an apprenticeship in the country schools1 became a prominent and successful physician2 a third became a leading architect2 a fourth1 a lawyer2 a fifth went west and became county judge in the state of his adoption2 a sixth entered ,west ,point ,military ,academy and rose rapidly in the ,united ,states army4 ,these instances are given to show that many of the old-time country teachers were men of force and initiative4 ,they became to their pupils ideals of manhood worthy to be patterned after4 ,these all taught in one neighborhood1 but similar strong characters were no doubt engaged in the schools of surrounding neighborhoods4 ,what rural school of to-day in any state can boast of the uplifting presence of so many men teaching in one decade8 ,a4 ,v4 ,storm1 of the ,minnesota ,agricultural ,college1 says3 ,but we lack one thing nowadays that these old schools possessed4 ,twenty or thirty years ago the country schools were taught for the most part by men4 ,such men as ,shaw and ,dolliver1 and a great many other leading men of to-day1 were at one time country school teachers4 ,they exercised a great influence upon the pupils4 ,they were the angels who put the coals of fire upon the lips of the young men1 giving them the ambition that made for future greatness4 ,the country schools now are not so good as they were twenty years ago4 ,the chief reason is that their teachers are not so capable4 ,more ,men ,needed4--,to secure the best results1 there should be fully as many men as women teaching in the rural schools4 ,one hundred years ago both city and country schools were taught by men alone4 ,now the rural schools and most of the city schools are taught by women alone4 ,there is probably as much reason against all teachers being women as there is against all teachers being men4 ,low ,standard ,now4--,thirty or forty years ago about half of the teachers were men and half women1 both sexes representing the strong and the weak4 ,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 education4 ,some have just finished the eighth grade and have had a smattering of pedagogy or what is sometimes called the theory and practice of teaching4 ,this they could have secured in a six weeks' summer school1 while reviewing the so-called common branches4 ,these teachers are holders merely of a second grade elementary1 or county1 certificate1 which requires very little education4 ,almost any person who has taken the required course in reading1 writing1 spelling1 arithmetic1 grammar1 geography1 history1 and hygiene of the elementary school can pass the usual examination and obtain a certificate to teach4 ,in some states the matter is made still easier by the issuing of third grade county certificates1 and even1 in some cases1 by the giving of special permits4 ,indeed1 the standards are usually so low that the supply of teachers is far beyond the demand4 ,the ,survival of the ,unfittest4--,such is the standard which prevails extensively throughout the country in respect to the qualifications of rural school teachers4 ,as inferior goods sometimes drive out the better in the markets1 so poor teachers holding the lowest grade of certificate will sometimes drive out the better1 for they are ready to teach for less than anybody else4 ,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 higher2 and so the doors of the teachers' calling swing outward4 ,the good teachers will desert us1 or refuse to come1 and the rural schools will be left with what might be called the survival of the unfittest4 ,short ,terms4--,add to the foregoing considerations the short terms of service which prevail in rural schools and we have indeed a pitiable condition4 ,the average yearly duration of such schools in most states is about seven months--sometimes less4 ,this leaves about five months of vacation1 or of time between terms1 when much that has been learned is forgotten4 ,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 city8 ,poor ,supervision4--,then1 again1 there is often little supervision of country schools4 ,when a county superintendent has under his inspection from fifty to two hundred schools1 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 sense4 ,sometimes he can visit each school only once a year1 or twice at most1 and1 even then1 there may be two different teachers in the same school during the year2 so that he sees each of his teachers at work probably only once4 ,what can a supervising officer do for a school or for a teacher under such circumstances8 ,practically nothing4 ,the county superintendent is usually elected to office by the people and frequently on a partisan ticket4 ,this method of choosing naturally tends to make him give more attention to politics than he otherwise would think of giving4 ,so the supervision or superintendency of country schools is too often slighted or neglected--and who is to blame8 ,of course there are many exceptional cases1 but the exceptions only prove the rule4 ,no ,decided ,movement4--,the whole movement of the rural school1 whether it has been backward or forward1 has been too frequently without definite or pronounced direction4 ,it has moved along the line of least resistance1 sometimes this way1 sometimes that1 in some places forward1 in other places backward4 ,time1 circumstances1 and chance determine the work4 ,school problems have been settled by convenience and circumstances4 ,the whole situation has been one of laissez faire4 ,it is only within the past few years that people have become awakened to the situation4 ,they are beginning to be impressed with the progress that is being made in all other lines1 not only outside of the schools but also in the fields of higher and secondary education4 ,the rural school interests have at last begun to ask1 ,where do we come in8 ,elementary ,teaching ,not a ,profession4--,there has been as yet no real profession of teaching in the rural or elementary field4 ,in about one third of the schools there is a new teacher every year2 so that every three years the teaching force in any given county is practically renewed4 ,a profession cannot be acquired in a day1 or even in twelve months4 ,the work to be done is regarded as an important public work1 and the public is concerned in its own protection4 ,hence in every true profession there is a somewhat lengthy period of preparation and a standard of acquirements which must be attained4 ,in other words1 a true profession is a closed calling which it is impossible for everyone to join1 and which only those can enter who have passed through a severe preparation and have successfully met the required standard4 ,school teaching in the country is too frequently not a profession4 ,it can be entered too easily2 the required period of preparation is so short and the standard is placed so low that young and poorly prepared persons enter too easily4 ,the ,problem ,difficult1 but ,before ,us4--,what shall be done8 ,the problem is before the ,american people in every state of the ,union4 ,the people themselves have become aroused to the situation1 and this itself is encouraging4 ,much has been done in some states1 but much will be left undone for the attention of coming generations4 ,the masses of the people can be aroused only with difficulty4 ,the education of an individual is a slow process4 ,the education of a family1 of a community1 or of a state is slower still4 ,the education of a nation or of a race is so slow that its progress is difficult of measurement4 ,indeed1 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 backward4 ,other ,educational ,interests ,should ,help4--,the higher institutions1 including the state universities1 the agricultural colleges1 the normal schools1 and the high schools1 should all join hands in helping to remedy conditions4 ,society has already1 in large measure1 solved the problems in the higher educational fields2 those institutions have been advanced to such an extent that they have almost realized their ideals4 ,the rural population has helped them to attain to these high standards4 ,as one good turn deserves another1 rural communities now look to these interests for aid in the struggle to overcome the difficulties which confront them4 ,higher ,standards ,necessary4--,but before the rural schools can ever hope to make the desired progress1 higher standards must be set by society1 and the teachers in those schools must attain to them4 ,the ,united ,states1 as a nation1 is far behind foreign countries in setting such a standard4 ,in ,denmark and elsewhere a country school teacher must be a normal school graduate4 ,a few national laws in the way of standardization both in higher and lower education would produce excellent results4 ,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 field4 ,courses for ,teachers4--,in every normal school in the ,united ,states there should be an elementary course of study extending at least three years above the eighth grade1 and the completion of this course should be required as a minimum preparation for teaching in any school in the country4 ,this is certainly not asking too much4 ,pupils who complete the eighth grade at fourteen or fifteen years1 and then go to a normal school1 would complete this elementary course at the age of seventeen or eighteen2 and no person who has not reached this age should assume the responsibility for the care and instruction of children in any school4 ,the ,problem of ,compensation4--,were such a standard adopted as a minimum1 salaries would immediately rise4 7,we do not often call them salaries but wages1 and probably with some discrimination47 ,if it is said that teachers of such qualifications cannot be secured1 the answer is that in a short time things would so adjust themselves that the demand would bring the supply4 ,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 cities4 ,it may be necessary for us to pay more than is paid in the city2 for if a teacher has two offers at #fe a month1 one from a city and one from the country1 she will1 without doubt1 accept the city offer every time4 ,true1 she will have to pay more for room and board in the city2 nevertheless she will prefer to be where there are the most opportunities and conveniences1 with probably a better prospect for promotion4 ,and who can blame her8 ,it is probable that1 in many instances1 country districts will have to pay five or ten dollars a month more than the city if they wish to secure equally strong teachers4 ,a country district can really afford to pay more than the city in order to get a good1 strong teacher2 for taxation in the country is usually lighter than it is in the city4 ,in the city there is taxation for lighting1 for paving1 for sidewalks1 for police protection1 and for various other conveniences and necessities4 ,the country is free from most of such levies1 and it could1 therefore1 afford to pay a little more school tax in order to secure its share of the best teachers4 ,consolidation as a ,factor4--,in the solution of the school problem consolidation will do much4 ,this is being tried in almost every state of the ,union and is working in the direction of progress with great satisfaction4 ,we shall treat of this more at length in a later chapter4 ,better ,supervision ,necessary4--,not only must we have better teachers in the country1 but we must have more and better supervision4 ,there is no valid reason why country superintendents should be elected on a political platform4 ,it is the custom everywhere to choose city superintendents from among the best men or women anywhere in the field1 inside or outside of the state4 ,such should also be the practice in choosing county superintendents4 ,then1 too1 a county should be divided into districts and more assistance given the county superintendent in the supervision of schools4 ,in other words1 supervision should be persistent1 consistent1 and systematic2 visits should be more frequent4 ,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 apart4 ,in the latter case he can go from one to another in a few minutes1 staying at each as long as he thinks necessary4 ,little time is lost in travel4 ,the opposite condition is one of the difficulties of rural supervision1 and it must be overcome in some satisfactory way4 ,a ,model ,rural ,school4--,it would be a good plan for the state to establish in each county one model rural school4 ,such schools might be maintained wholly or in part by the state1 and they would become models for all the neighboring districts4 ,children are always imitative1 and people are only children of a larger growth4 ,most people learn to do things better by imitation2 and so these model state schools would serve as patterns to be studied and copied by others4 ,the ,teacher ,should ,lead4--,the school should be the mainspring of educational and social life in the community2 hence1 only such teachers should be employed as are real originators of activity in rural schools and in rural life4 ,the teacher should be a live wire and should be doing things all the time4 ,he should be the leader of his community and his people4 ,a ,good ,boarding ,place4--,a serious difficulty connected with teaching in the country is that of securing a good boarding place and temporary home4 ,this may not be a troublesome problem in the older and well-established communities1 but in the newer states and sparsely settled sections the condition is almost forbidding4 ,half the enjoyment of life consists in having a comfortable home and a good room to oneself4 ,this is absolutely necessary in order to do one's work well1 especially the work of the teacher4 ,some of the experiences which teachers have been obliged to go through are almost incredible4 ,almost every teacher of a country school could give vivid and pathetic illustrations and examples of the discomforts1 the annoyances1 and the trials to which a boarder in a strange family is subjected4 ,the question of a boarding place should be in the mind and plan of every school board when they employ a teacher for their district4 ,it is they who should solve this problem for the teacher by having a good available home provided in advance4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,consolidation ,,of ,,rural ,,schools ,much has been said and written in regard to what is generally known as the consolidation of schools4 ,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 progress1 and public attention has therefore been turned to consolidation as one of the possible means of improvement4 ,the ,process4--,as the name implies1 the process is simply the bringing together and the fusing of two or more schools into one4 ,if two or more communities1 each having a small school of a few children1 conclude that their schools are becoming ineffective and that it would be advantageous to unite1 each may sell its own schoolhouse1 and a new one may be built large enough for all and more centrally located with regard to the whole territory4 ,they thus consolidate the schools of the several districts and establish a single large one4 ,in many portions of the country the rural schools have1 from various causes1 grown smaller and smaller1 until they have ceased to be places of interest1 of activity1 and of life4 ,now1 a school1 if it means anything1 means a place where minds are stimulated and awakened as well as where knowledge is communicated4 ,there can be but little stimulation in a school of only a few children4 ,the pupils feel it and so does the teacher4 ,life1 activity1 mental aspiration are always found where large numbers of persons congregate4 ,for these reasons the idea of consolidating the small schools into important centers1 or units1 is forcing itself upon the people of the country4 ,where the schools are small and the roads are good1 everything favors the bringing of the children to a larger and more stimulating social and educational center4 ,when ,not ,necessary4--,it might happen1 as it frequently does1 that a school is already sufficiently large1 active1 and enthusiastic to make it inadvisable to give up its identity and become merged in the larger consolidated school4 ,if there are twenty or thirty children and an efficient teacher we have the essential factors of a good school4 ,furthermore1 it is rather difficult to transport1 for several miles1 a larger number than this4 ,the ,district ,system4--,there are two different kinds of country school organization4 ,in some states1 what is known as the district system is the prevailing one4 ,this means that a school district1 more or less irregular in shape and containing probably six to ten square miles1 is organized into a corporation for school purposes4 ,the schoolhouse is situated somewhere near the center of this district and is usually a small1 boxlike affair1 often located in a desolate place without trees or other attractive environment4 ,this school may be under the administration of a trustee or of a school board having the management of the school in every respect4 ,this board determines the length of term2 it hires and dismisses teachers1 procures supplies and performs all the functions authorized by law4 ,it is a case where one school board has the entire management of one small school4 ,illustration3 ,a frame building and adequate conveyances ,illustration3 ,a substantial and well-planned building ,caption for the above illustrations3 ,,two ,,types ,,of ,,consolidated ,,schools ,the ,township ,system4--,the other form of organization is what is known as the township system4 ,here the several schools in one township are all under the administration of one school board4 ,there is not a school board for each schoolhouse1 as in the district system1 but one school board has charge of all the schools of the township4 ,under certain conditions it has in its power the locating of schoolhouses within this general district4 ,the board hires the teachers for all the schools within its jurisdiction1 and in general manages all the schools in the same manner as the board in the district system manages its one school4 ,consolidation ,difficult in ,district ,system4--,the process of consolidation is always difficult where the district system prevails4 ,both custom and sentiment cause the people to hesitate or refuse to abandon their established form of organization4 ,if a community has been incorporated for any purpose and has done business for some years1 it is always difficult to induce the people to make a change4 ,they feel as if they were abdicating government and responsibility4 ,they hesitate to merge themselves in a larger organization1 and hence they advance many objections to the consolidation of their schools4 ,all this is but natural4 ,the several communities have been living apart educationally and have been in a measure strangers4 ,they have never had any occasion to meet in conference1 to exchange thought1 and to do business together2 hence they fear and hesitate to take a leap in the dark1 as they conceive it1 and to embark upon a course which they think they may afterwards regret4 ,consolidation frequently fails because of false apprehensions due to a lack of social organization4 ,easier in ,township ,system4--,it is quite otherwise where the township system exists4 ,here there are no separate corporations or organizations controlling the various schools4 ,the school board administers the affairs of all the schools in the township4 ,hence there is no sentiment in regard to the separate and distinct individuality of each school and its patronage4 ,there are no sub-districts or distinctly organized communities2 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 township4 ,the people in such districts have been accustomed to act together educationally as well as politically1 and to exchange thought on all such situations4 ,hence consolidation1 or the union of the several schools1 is a comparatively easy matter4 ,consolidation a ,special ,problem for ,each ,district4--,it will1 of course1 be seen at once that1 in a school township where there are several small and somewhat lifeless schools with only a few children in each1 it would be desirable for several reasons to bring together all the children into one large and animated center4 ,this process is a specific local problem4 ,whether or not such consolidation is advisable depends upon many conditions1 among which are1 7#a7 the size of the former schools1 7#b7 the unanimity of sentiment in the community1 7#c7 the location of roads and of residences1 7#d7 the distance the pupils are to be transported1 and other local and special considerations4 ,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 carried4 ,much will depend upon the size of the schools and everything upon the unanimity of sentiment in the community4 ,if there is a large minority against consolidation the wisdom of forcing it by a small majority is to be questioned4 ,it would be better to let the idea work a while longer4 ,disagreements on ,transportation4--,the problem of transporting pupils is always a puzzling one4 ,many details are involved in its solution and it is upon details that communities usually disagree4 ,most enterprises are wrecked by disagreements over small matters4 ,even among friends it is the small details in mannerisms or conduct that become with time so irritating that friendship is often strained4 ,details are usually small1 but their obtrusive1 perpetual presence is likely to disturb one's nerves4 ,this is true in deliberative bodies of all kinds4 ,important measures are often delayed or killed because their advocates and opponents cannot give and take upon small points4 ,almost every great measure passing successfully through legislative bodies and1 in fact1 the settlement of many social problems embody a compromise on details4 ,many good people forget that1 while there should be unanimity in essentials1 there should be liberty in non-essentials1 and charity in all things4 ,many people lack the power of perspective in the discussion and solution of problems2 for them all facts are of the same magnitude4 ,large things which they do not wish are minimized and small things are magnified4 ,a copper cent may be held so near the eye that it will obscure the sun4 ,probably there has been no difficulty greater in the process of consolidation than the problems involved in the details concerning the transportation of pupils4 ,each ,community ,must ,decide for ,itself4--,the particular mode of transportation must be determined by the conditions existing in each community4 ,in some places the consolidated school district provides one or more busses1 or1 as they are sometimes called1 vans2 and these go to the homes of the children each morning in time to arrive at the schoolhouse before nine o'clock4 ,of course1 in this case the pupils living farthest from the school must rise and be ready earliest2 they are on the road for the greatest length of time4 ,but this is one of the minor discomforts which must be borne by those families and their children4 ,all cannot live near the school4 ,sometimes a different plan of transportation is found to give better satisfaction4 ,the parents may prefer to bring their own children to school or to make definite arrangements with nearby neighbors who bring theirs4 ,there is no one way which is the only way1 and1 in fact1 several methods may be used in the same district4 ,the ,distance to ,be ,transported4--,if pupils must be transported over five or six miles1 consolidation becomes a doubtful experiment4 ,of course1 the vehicles used should be comfortable and every care should be taken of the children2 but six miles over country roads and in all kinds of weather means1 probably1 an hour and a quarter on the road both morning and evening4 ,it could1 of course1 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 year4 ,responsible ,driver4--,another point upon which all parents should insist is that the transportation of their children should be performed by reliable and responsible drivers4 ,this is important and most necessary4 ,under such conditions there would be no danger of children being drenched with rain in summer and exposed to cold in winter1 for the vehicles would be so constructed as to offer protection against both4 ,there would also be no danger of the large boys bullying and browbeating the smaller children on the way1 as is often done when they walk to school over long and lonely roads2 for all would be under the care of a trustworthy driver until they were landed at the door of the schoolhouse or the home4 ,cost of ,consolidation4--,the cost of consolidation is always an important consideration4 ,under the district system one district may be wealthy and another poor1 the former having scarcely any taxation and the latter a high rate of taxation4 ,it is usual that1 in such cases1 the districts having a small rate of taxation are unwilling to consolidate with others4 ,this is one of the difficulties4 ,consolidation will bring about uniformity of taxation in the whole territory affected4 ,this is an advantage in itself4 ,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 building4 ,this is another situation which always complicates the problem4 ,if the old buildings are worthless and if they must be replaced in any event by new buildings1 then the time is opportune for considering consolidation4 ,even after the reorganization is effected1 and the new central building located1 the cost of education1 all things considered1 is not increased4 ,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 existed4 ,but other factors must be taken into account4 ,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 story4 ,for it has been found that1 everywhere in the country1 there is a larger and better attendance of pupils in the consolidated school1 that more pupils go to school1 that they attend more regularly1 and that the school terms are longer4 ,therefore the proper test of expense is the cost of a day's schooling for each pupil1 or the cost per pupil per day4 ,measured by this standard education in the consolidated school is no more expensive than in the unconsolidated schools2 indeed it is usually less expensive4 ,it is a good thing for society to give a day's education to one child2 then education pays as it goes1 and the more days' education it can offer1 the better4 ,more ,life in the ,consolidated ,school4--,no one can deny that in this larger school there can be more life and activity of all kinds1 and a much finer school spirit than was possible in the smaller schools4 ,education means stimulation and where a great many children are brought together and properly organized and graded there is a more stimulating atmosphere and environment4 ,some ,grading ,desirable4--,in these consolidated schools a reasonable amount of grading can be secured4 ,it may be true that in some of the large cities an extreme degree of grading defeats education and the true aim of organization1 but certainly in consolidated rural schools no such degree of refinement need be reached or feared4 ,grading can remain here in the golden mean and will be beneficial to pupils and teachers alike4 ,the pupils thus graded will have more time for recitation and instruction1 and teachers will have more time to do efficient work4 ,in the one-room rural school one teacher usually has eight grades and often more1 and sometimes she is required to conduct thirty or forty different recitations in a day4 ,under such conditions the lack of time prevents the attainment of good results4 ,better ,teachers4--,it is also true that1 where a school is larger and attains to more of a system1 better teachers are sought and secured by the authorities4 ,as we have already said1 the cities are able to bid higher for the best trained teachers1 so the country districts suffer in the economic competition4 ,but the consolidated school being organized1 equipped1 and graded1 and representing1 as it does1 a large community or district1 the tendency will be to secure as good teachers as possible4 ,this is helped along by the comparison and competition of teachers working side by side within the walls of the same building4 ,in such schools1 too1 there is usually a principal1 and he exercises the function of selection and rejection in the choice of teachers4 ,all this conduces to the securing of good teachers in the consolidated center4 ,better ,buildings and ,inspection4--,similar improvements are attained in the building as a whole1 in the individual rooms1 and in the interior equipment4 ,such buildings are usually planned by competent architects and are more adequate in all their appointments4 ,all things are subject to inspection1 both by the community and the authorities4 ,it is natural that such inspection and criticism will be satisfied only with the best2 and so the surroundings of pupils become much more favorable to their mental1 moral1 and physical well-being than was possible in the isolated one-room school building4 ,longer ,terms4--,the same discussion1 agitation1 inspection1 and supervision will inevitably lead to longer terms of school4 ,whereas the one-room schools usually average six and a half months of school per year1 the consolidated schools average over eight months4 ,this is in itself a most important gain4 ,regularity1 ,punctuality1 and ,attendance4--,the larger spirit and life of the consolidated school induce greater punctuality and regularity of attendance4 ,when pupils are transported to school they are always on time1 and when they are members of a class where there is considerable competition they attend school with great regularity4 ,there are many grown-up pupils in the district who would not go to the small schools1 but who will go to a larger school where they find their equals2 and so the school attendance is greatly increased4 ,we have1 then1 the advantages of greater punctuality1 greater regularity1 and more pupils in attendance4 ,the school spirit is abroad in the consolidated school district2 people are thinking and talking school4 ,it becomes the customary and fashionable thing to send children to school4 ,better ,supervision4--,there is also much better supervision in the consolidated school2 for1 in addition to the supervision given by the county superintendent or his assistants1 there is also the supervision of the principal1 or head teacher4 ,this is in itself no small factor in the making of a good school4 ,good supervision always makes strongly for efficiency4 ,the ,school as a ,social ,center4--,other effects than those above mentioned will necessarily follow4 ,the consolidated school can and should become a social center4 ,there should be an assembly room for lectures1 debates1 literary and musical entertainments1 and meetings of all kinds4 ,the lecture hall should be provided with a stage1 and good moving-picture exhibitions might be given occasionally4 ,there1 also1 the citizens may gather to hear public questions discussed4 ,it could thus become a civic and social center as well as an educational center4 ,all problems affecting the welfare of the community might be presented here2 the people could assemble to listen to the discussion of political and other social and public questions1 which are the subjects of thought and of conversation in the neighborhood4 ,this is real social and educational life4 ,better ,roads4--,not only does consolidation tend to all the above results but it does many other things incidentally4 ,it leads to the making of better roads2 for where a community has to travel frequently it will provide good roads4 ,this is one of the crying needs of the day throughout the country4 ,consolidation ,coming ,everywhere4--,consolidation is now under way in almost every state of the ,union and wherever tried it has almost invariably succeeded4 ,in but very few places have rural communities abandoned the educational1 social1 and civic center1 and gone back to their former state of isolation and deadly routine4 ,the ,married ,teacher and ,permanence4--,in order to make the consolidated school a success1 the policy will have to be adopted in ,america of building1 at or near the school1 a residence for the teacher1 and of selecting as teacher a married man1 who will make his home there among the people whose children he is to teach4 ,such a teacher should be a real community leader in every way1 and his tenure of service should be permanent4 ,grave and specific reasons only should effect his removal4 ,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 community4 ,this has been demonstrated over and over again1 and foreign countries are far ahead of us in this respect4 ,such a real leader and teacher will1 it is true1 command a high salary2 but a good home1 permanence of position1 a small tract of land for garden and field purposes1 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 centers4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,teacher ,the ,greatest ,factor4--,now1 although we may have a beautiful school campus1 an adequate and artistic building1 a library1 laboratories and workshops with all necessary physical or material appointments complete1 we may yet have a poor school2 these things1 however desirable1 will not teach alone4 ,the teacher is the mainspring1 the soul of the school2 the plant1 as it may be called1 is only the body4 ,a great person is one with a great soul1 not necessarily with a great body4 ,hence it is that a great teacher with poor buildings and inferior equipments is incomparably better than great buildings and equipments without a competent teacher4 ,what ,education ,is4--,education is essentially and largely the stimulation and transformation of one mind or personality by another4 ,it is the impression of one great mind or soul upon another1 giving it a manner of spirit1 a bent1 an attitude1 as well as a thirst for knowledge4 ,this is too often lost sight of in the complexity of things4 ,many people are inclined to think that educational equipment and machinery alone will educate4 ,there is nothing further from the truth4 ,mark ,hopkins would be a great teacher without equipment2 buildings1 grounds1 apparatus1 and laboratories will not really educate without a great personality behind the desk4 ,there is probably nothing more inspiring1 more suggesting1 more stimulating1 or more transforming than intimate contact with great minds4 ,thought like water seeks its level1 and for children to come into living and loving communication with a great teacher is a real uplift and an education in itself4 ,as a saw will not saw without some extraneous power to give it motion1 neither will the gun do execution without the man behind it4 ,the locomotive is not greater than the man at the throttle1 and the ship without the man at the helm flounders aimlessly upon the sea4 ,just so1 a great personality must be behind the teacher's desk or there cannot be in any sense a real school4 ,what the ,real ,teacher ,is4--,the true teacher is an inspirer2 that is1 he breathes into his pupils his spirit1 his love of learning1 his method of study1 his ideals4 ,he is a real leader in every way4 ,children--and we are all children to a certain extent--are great imitators1 and so the pupils tend to become like the teacher4 ,the true teacher stimulates to activity by example4 ,where you find such a teacher1 things are constantly doing2 people are thinking and talking school all the time2 education is in the atmosphere4 ,the real teacher is1 to use a popular phrase1 a live wire4 ,something new is undertaken every day4 ,he is a man of initiative and push1 and withal he is a man of sincerity and tact4 ,while he is retrospective and circumspective he is also prospective--he is a man of the far-look-ahead type4 ,a ,hypnotist4--,the teacher is in the true sense a suggester of good things4 ,he is an educational hypnotist4 ,the longer ,i continue to teach the more am ,i impressed with the fact that suggestion is the great art of the teacher4 ,hence the true teacher is the leader and not the driver4 ,untying ,knots4--,a man once said that the best lesson he ever learned in school was the lesson of untying knots4 ,he meant1 of course1 that every problem that was thrown to the school by the teacher was tackled in the right spirit by the pupils4 ,they investigated it and analyzed it2 they peered into it and through it to find all the strands of relationship existing in it4 ,it would be easier1 of course1 for the teacher under these circumstances merely to cut the knot and have it all done with1 but this would be poor teaching4 ,this would be telling1 not teaching4 ,this would lead to passivity and not to activity on the part of the pupils4 ,and it may be said here that constant and too much telling is probably the greatest and most widespread mistake in teaching4 ,teachers are constantly cutting the knots for children who should be left to untie them for themselves4 ,to untie a knot is to see through and through a subject1 to see all around it1 to see the various relations of its parts and1 consequently1 to understand it4 ,this is solving a problem2 it is dissolving it2 that is1 the problem becomes a part of the pupil's own mind1 and1 having made it a part of himself1 he understands it and never forgets it4 ,this is the difference between not being able to remember and not being able to forget4 ,in the former case the so-called knowledge is not a part of oneself2 it is not vital4 ,the roots do not penetrate beneath the surface of our minds2 they are1 as it were1 merely stuck on2 the mental sap does not circulate4 ,in the latter case the knowledge is real2 it is alive and growing2 there is a vital connection between it and ourselves4 ,it would be as difficult to tear it from us as it would to have our hearts torn out and still live4 ,too ,much ,kindness4--,an illustration of the same point appears in the following incident4 ,a boy who owned a pet squirrel thought it a kindness to the squirrel to crack all the nuts for it4 ,the consequence was that the squirrel's incisors1 above and below1 grew so long that they overlapped and the animal could not eat anything4 ,too many teachers are so kind to their pupils that they crack all the educational nuts for them1 with the consequence that the children become passive and die mentally for want of activity4 ,the true teacher will allow his pupils to wrestle with their problems without interruption until they arrive at a conclusion4 ,if some pupil goes into the ditch and flounders he should usually be allowed to get out by his own efforts as best he can4 ,here is the place where the teacher should be cruel only to be kind4 ,the ,button ,illustration4--,another illustration may help to bring to us one of the characteristics of the really good teacher4 ,when children1 we have all1 no doubt1 amused ourselves by putting a string through two holes of a button and1 after twirling it around between our thumbs1 drawing it steadily in measured fashion so as to make the button spin and hum4 ,if the string is drawn properly this will be successful2 otherwise it will become a perfect snarl4 ,this common experience has often seemed to me to typify two different kinds of school4 ,in one1 where there is a great teacher drawing the school properly1 you will hear1 incidentally1 the hum of industry1 for all are active4 ,a school which may be thus characterized is always better than the one characterized by silence and inaction4 ,a little noise--in fact a considerable noise--is not inconsistent with a good school1 and it frequently happens that what we call the silence of death is due to fear1 which is always paralyzing4 ,the ,chariot ,race4--,still another illustration may help to make clear what is meant by a good school and a good teacher4 ,lew ,wallace1 in his account of the chariot race1 makes ,ben ,hur and his rival approach the goal with their horses neck and neck4 ,he says that ,ben ,hur1 in getting the best out of his steeds1 sent his will out along the reins4 ,a really spirited horse responds to the throb of his driver's hand upon the rein4 ,a good driver gets the best out of his horse2 he and his horse are in accord and the horse takes as much pride in the performance as the driver does4 ,this is analogously true of a good school4 ,the schoolroom is not a complete democracy--in fact1 it is not a democracy at all in the lower grades2 it is or should be a benevolent autocracy4 ,the teacher within the schoolroom is the law-making body1 the interpreter of the laws1 and the executor of the laws4 ,the good teacher does all this justly and kindly1 and so elicits the admiration1 the respect1 and the active support of the governed4 ,he sends his will out along the reins4 ,some schools--those with great teachers in charge--are in this condition2 they are coming in under full speed toward the goal1 guided by a master whose will stimulates the pupils to the greatest voluntary activity4 ,other schools1 we are sorry to say1 illustrate the conditions where the reins are over the dashboard and the school is running away1 pell-mell6 ,physically ,sound4--,what are some of the characteristic attributes or traits which a masterful and inspiring teacher should possess8 ,in the first place he should be physically sound4 ,it may seem like a lack of charity to say1 and yet it is true1 that any serious physical defect should militate against1 if not bar1 one from the schoolroom4 ,any serious blemish or noticeable defect becomes to pupils an ever-present suggestive picture1 and to some extent must work against1 rather than for1 education4 ,other things being equal1 those who are personally attractive and have the most agreeable manners should be chosen4 ,since children are extremely plastic and impressionable1 and so susceptible to the influence of ideas and ideals1 beauty and perfection should1 whenever possible1 be the attributes of the person who is to guide and fashion them4 ,character4--,a teacher should be morally sound2 he should ring true4 ,one can give only what one has4 ,a liar cannot teach veracity2 a dishonest person can not teach honesty2 the impure cannot teach purity4 ,one may deceive for a time1 but in the long run the echo of what we are1 and hence what we can give1 will be returned4 ,it is often thought that children are better judges of moral defects and of shams than are grown people2 but1 while this is not true1 it is nevertheless a fact that many children1 in a short time1 divine or sense the true moral nature of the teacher4 ,children appreciate justice and will endure and even welcome severity if they know that justice is coupled with it4 ,they are not averse to being governed with a firm hand4 ,if pupils are allowed to do just as they please they may go home at the close of the first day1 saying that they had a lovely time and liked their teacher1 but in a very few days they will tire of it and begin to complain4 ,well ,educated4--,we need not1 of course1 contend at any length that a teacher should be well educated1 in the academic sense of the word4 ,in order to teach well1 one must understand his subject thoroughly4 ,it is quite generally held that a teacher should be at least four years in advance1 academically1 of the pupils whom he is to teach4 ,whether this is true or not in particular cases1 the fact remains that the teacher should be full of his subject1 should be at home in it1 and should be able to illustrate it in its various phases2 he should be free to stand before his class without textbook in hand and to give instruction from a full and accurate mind4 ,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 given4 ,it is a sign of pitiable weakness4 ,if a distinction is to be made between knowledge and wisdom a true teacher should be possessed of the latter to a considerable extent4 ,he should also have prudence1 or practical wisdom4 ,wisdom and prudence imply that fine perspective which gives a person balance and tact in all situations4 ,it should be noted that there is a policy1 or diplomacy1 in a good sense1 which does not in any way conflict with principle2 and the true teacher should have the knowledge1 the wisdom1 and the tact to do and to say the right thing at the right time and to leave unsaid and undone many1 many things4 ,professional ,preparation4--,in addition to a thorough knowledge of subject matter every teacher should have had some professional preparation for his work4 ,teaching1 like government1 is one of the most complicated of arts1 and to engage in it without any previous study of its problems1 its principles1 and its methods seems like foolhardiness4 ,there are scores1 if not hundreds1 of topics and problems which should be thought out and talked over before the teacher engages in actual work in the schoolroom4 ,when the solutions of these problems have become a part of his own mind1 they will come to his rescue as occasion demands2 and1 although much must be learned by experience1 a sound knowledge of the fundamental principles of education and teaching will always throw much light upon practical procedure4 ,it is true that theory without practice is often visionary1 but it is equally true that practice without any previous knowledge1 or theory1 is very often blind4 ,experience4--,in addition to the foregoing qualifications the teacher1 in order to be really masterful1 must have had some--indeed considerable--actual experience4 ,it is this that gives confidence and firmness to all our procedure4 ,the young lawyer when he appears at the bar1 to plead his first case1 finds his knees knocking together2 but after a few months or years of practice he acquires ease1 confidence1 and mastery in his work4 ,the same is true of the physician and the teacher4 ,some successful experience always counts for much4 ,school boards1 however1 often over-estimate mere experience4 ,poor experience may be worse than none2 and some good superintendents are willing1 and often prefer1 to select promising candidates without experience1 and then train or build them up into the kind of teachers they wish them to become4 ,choosing a ,teacher4--,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 school1 ,i should go about securing a good teacher somewhat as follows3 ,i should keep1 so to speak1 my weather eye open for a teacher who had become known to some extent in all the surrounding country2 one who had made a name and a reputation for himself4 ,i should inquire1 in regard to this teacher1 of the county superintendent and of his supervising officers4 ,i should make this my business2 and then1 if ,i should become convinced that such a person was the one needed in our school1 and if ,i had the authority to act1 ,i should employ such a person regardless of wages or salary4 ,if after a term or two this teacher should make a satisfactory record1 ,i would then promote him1 unsolicited1 and endeavor to keep him as long as he would stay4 ,a ,scoop4--,sometimes there is considerable rivalry among the newspapers of a city4 ,the editors or local reporters watch for what they call a scoop4 ,this is a piece of news that will be very much sought by the public and which remains unknown to the people or1 in fact1 to the other papers until it appears in the one that has discovered it4 ,this is analogous to what ,i should try to do in securing a teacher3 ,i should try to get a veritable educational scoop on all the other districts of the surrounding country4 ,the only way to secure such persons is for some individual or for the school board to make this a specific business4 ,in the country districts this might be done by one of the leading directors2 in a consolidated school1 by the principal or superintendent4 ,if it is true that as the teacher so is the school1 it is likewise true that as is the principal or superintendent so are the teachers4 ,what ,makes the ,difference4--,it will be found that a small difference in salary will frequently make all the difference between a worthless and an excellent teacher4 ,it is often the ten or fifteen dollars a month additional which secures the prize teacher2 and so ,i should make the difference in salary a secondary consideration2 for1 after all1 the difference amounts to very little in the taxation on the whole community4 ,a ,question of ,teachers4--,the question of teachers is the real problem in education1 from the primary school to the great universities4 ,it is the poor teaching of poor teachers everywhere that sets at naught the processes of education2 and when the ,american people1 and especially the rural people1 realize that this is the heart and center of their problem1 and when they realize also that the difference1 financially1 between a poor teacher and a good one is so small1 they will rise to the occasion and proceed to a correct solution of their problem4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,the ,,three ,,inseparables ,in the preceding chapter we discussed the type of person that should be in evidence everywhere in the teaching profession4 ,such a type is absolutely necessary to the attainment of genuine success4 ,in rural schools this type is by no means too common1 and in the whole field of elementary and higher education it is much more rare than it should be4 ,because of the frequent appearance of the opposite type in colleges and in other schools1 the teacher and the professor have been often caricatured to their discredit4 ,there is usually some truth underlying a caricature2 a cartoon would lack point if it did not possess a substratum of fact4 ,the ,mode4--,now1 there is often in the public mind this poorer type of teacher2 and when an idea or an ideal1 however low1 becomes once established1 it is changed only with difficulty4 ,the commonplace individual1 the mediocre type of man or of woman1 is by many regarded as a fairly typical representative of what the teacher usually is2 or1 as the statistician would express it1 he is the mode rather than the average4 ,the mode in any class of objects or of individuals is the one that occurs oftenest1 the one most frequently met with4 ,and so this inactive1 nondescript sort of person is often thought of as the typical teacher4 ,he has no very high standing either financially or socially1 and so has no great influence on the individuals around him or on the community in general4 ,this conception has become so well established in the public mind1 and is so frequently met with1 that all teachers are regarded as being of the same type4 ,the better teachers1 the strong personalities1 are brought into this same class and must suffer the consequences4 ,the ,mode in ,labor4--,this same process of classifying individuals may be seen in other spheres also4 ,in some sections of the country it is the method of estimating the worth of laboring men2 all in the same class are considered equal2 all of a class are reduced to the same level and paid the same wages4 ,one man can do and often does the work of two or three men1 and does it better2 yet he must labor for the same common wage4 ,the ,mode in ,educational ,institutions4--,the same is to a great extent true of the popular estimate of educational institutions4 ,in the public mind an institution is merely an institution4 ,one is thought of as doing practically the same work as another2 so when institutions come before legislatures for financial recognition in the way of appropriations1 one institution is considered as deserving as another4 ,the great public is not keen in its discriminations1 whether it be a case of educational institutions1 of laboring men1 or of teachers4 ,no ,profession4--,the fact is that1 in the lower ranks of the teachers' calling1 there is really no profession4 ,the personality of many who engage in the work is too ordinary to professionalize any calling4 ,weak ,personalities4--,this condition of affairs has grown partly out of the fact that we have not1 in the different states and in the country at large1 a sufficiently high standard4 ,the examinations are not sufficiently extensive and intensive to separate the sheep from the goats4 ,the unqualified thus rush in and drive out the qualified1 for the efficient cannot compete with the inefficient4 ,the calling is in no sense a closed profession1 and consequently in the lower ranks it is scarcely a profession at all4 ,low ,standard4--,there is also established in the public mind a certain standard1 or test1 for common school teaching4 ,this standard has been current so long that it has become quite stable1 and it seems almost impossible to change it4 ,as in the case of some individuals when they become possessed of an idea1 it is almost impossible to dispossess the social mind of this low standard4 ,the ,norm of ,wages ,too ,low4--,in regard to the wages of teachers it may be said that there is fixed in the social mind also1 a certain norm4 ,as in the case of personality and of standard qualifications1 a certain amount of wages has long been regarded as representing the sum which a teacher ought to receive4 ,for rural schools this is probably about fifty dollars a month2 in fact1 in most states the average wage paid to rural school teachers is below that amount4 ,but let us say that fifty dollars is the amount that has become established in the popular mind as a reasonable salary4 ,here1 as in the other cases1 it is very difficult to change ideas established by long custom4 ,for many years people have been accustomed to think of teachers receiving certain salaries1 and they refuse to consider any higher sums as appropriate4 ,this1 of course1 is an egregious blunder4 ,the rural schools can never be lifted above their present plane of efficiency until these three conceptions1 7#a7 that of personality1 7#b7 that of standard1 and1 7#c7 that of wages1 are revised in the public mind4 ,there will have to be a great revolution in the thought of the people in regard to these inseparable things4 ,the ,inseparables4--,the fact is that1 7#a7 strong personalities1 7#b7 a high standard of qualifications1 7#c7 and a respectable salary go hand in hand4 ,they rise and fall together2 they are reactive1 one upon the other4 ,the strong personality implies the ability to meet a high standard and demands reasonable compensation4 ,the same is true of the high standard--it selects the strong personality and this in turn cannot be secured except at a good salary4 ,it may be maintained that if school boards really face the question in earnest1 and are willing to offer good salaries1 strong personalities who are able to meet that high standard can always be secured4 ,professor ,hugo ,muensterberg says3 ,our present civilization shows that in every country really decisive achievement is found only in those fields which draw the strongest minds1 and that they are drawn only where the greatest premiums are tempting them4#b ,footnote #b3 ,psychology and ,social ,sanity1 p4 #hb4 ,raise the ,standard ,first4--,the best way1 then1 to attack the problem is1 first1 to raise the standard4 ,this will eliminate inferior teachers and retain or attract those of superior qualifications4 ,it is to be regretted that we have not1 in the ,united ,states1 a more uniform standard for teaching in the common schools4 ,each state has its own laws1 its own standard4 ,it would not1 we think1 be asking too much to provide that no person should teach in any grade of school1 rural or elementary1 in the ,united ,states1 unless such person has had a course for teachers equivalent to at least three years of work in the high school or normal school1 with pedagogical preparation and training4 ,in fact1 a national law making such a uniform standard among the teachers in the common schools of the country would be an advantage4 ,but this is probably more than we can expect in the near future4 ,as it is1 there should be a conference of the educational authorities in each state to agree upon a standard for teaching1 with a view to uniform state legislation4 ,more ,men4--,one of the great needs of the calling is more men4 ,there was a time when all teachers were men2 now nearly all teachers are women4 ,there is as much reason for one condition as for the other4 ,without going into an analysis of the situation or the causes which make it desirable that there should be more men in the teaching profession1 it is1 we think1 generally granted that the conditions would be better1 educationally1 socially1 and every other way1 if the number of men and women in the work were about evenly divided4 ,cooeperation ,needed4--,educational movements and influences have spread downward and outward from above4 ,the great universities of the world were established before the secondary and elementary school systems came into existence4 ,thought settles down from leaders who are in high places4 ,we have shown in a former chapter that the state universities1 the agricultural colleges1 the normal schools1 and the high schools have had a wonderful development within the last generation1 while the rural school has too often lagged perceptibly behind4 ,the country districts have helped to support in every way the development of the higher schools2 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 schools4 ,the ,supply4--,the question is sometimes asked whether the right kind of teachers can be secured1 if higher salaries are offered4 ,there can be no doubt at all on this point4 ,where the demand exists and where there is sufficient inducement offered1 the supply is always forthcoming4 ,men are always at hand to engage in the most menial and even the most dangerous occupations if a sufficient reward1 financial or otherwise1 is offered4 ,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 consequence4 ,men are secured to work long hours in the presence of red-hot blast furnaces and in the lowest depths of the holds of ships4 ,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 teaching8 ,make ,it ,fashionable4--,a great deal depends upon making any work or any calling fashionable4 ,all that is needed is for the tide to turn in that direction4 ,it is difficult to say how much salary will stop the outward tide and cause it to set in the other direction2 but one thing is certain1 we shall never completely solve the rural school problem until the tide turns4 ,the ,retirement ,system4--,strong personalities will1 then1 help to make teaching attractive and fashionable1 as well as effectual4 ,there is a movement now becoming quite extensive which will also add to the attractiveness of the teacher's calling4 ,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 time4 ,this plan gives a feeling of contentment1 and also a feeling of security against the stress and needs of old age1 which will do much to hold strong people in the profession4 ,the fear of being left penniless in later life and dependent upon others or upon the state1 induces1 without doubt1 a great many persons to leave a calling so poorly paid1 in order that they may1 in more generous vocations1 lay something by for a rainy day4 ,the truth of this is borne in upon us more strongly when we remember that teaching is different from law1 medicine1 or other professions4 ,in these vocations a man's service usually becomes more and more in demand as he advances in years1 on account of the reputation and experience he has gained2 while in teaching1 when a person arrives at the middle line of life or after1 school boards begin to say and to think1 that he is getting too old for the schoolroom1 and so they seek for younger talent4 ,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 money4 ,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' calling4 ,city and ,country ,salaries--,effects4--,the average salary for rural school teachers in one state ,i find to be #de a month4 ,in that same state the average salary of teachers in the city and town schools is #ee a month4 ,now1 under such conditions1 it is very difficult to secure a good corps of teachers for the rural schools4 ,if the ratio were reversed and the rural schools paid #ee a month1 while the cities and towns paid only #de1 there would be more chance of each securing teachers of equal ability4 ,even then1 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-improvement4 ,in the state referred to1 the average salary of all teachers in the common schools was #ea a month4 ,it is utterly impossible to realize a profession on such a financial basis as this4 ,forty-five or fifty dollars a month for rural teachers is altogether too low4 ,this must be raised fifty1 if not one hundred per cent1 in order that a beginning may be made in the solution of the rural school problem4 ,where #ej a month seems to be the going wage1 if school boards would offer #ge and then see to it that the persons whom they hire are efficient1 an attempt at the solution of the problem in that district or neighborhood would be made4 ,is it possible that any good1 strong1 educated1 and cultured person can be secured for less than #ge a month8 ,if in such a district there were eight months of school this would mean only #h x #be1 or #bjj more than had been paid previously4 ,for ten sections of land this would mean about #bj a section1 or #e a quarter section1 in addition to what they had been paying with unsatisfactory results4 ,this sum often represents the difference between a poor school and a good school4 ,with a fifty-dollar teacher1 constructive work was likely lacking4 ,there was little activity in the neighborhood2 the pupils or the people had not been fully waked up4 ,there had not been enough thinking and talking of education and of schools1 enough reading1 or talking about books1 about education1 about things of the higher life4 ,under the seventy-five-dollar teacher1 wisely chosen1 all this is changed4 ,the ,solution ,demands ,more4--,instead of #ge1 a community should pay to a wide-awake person1 who takes hold of a situation in a neighborhood and keeps things moving1 at least #ajj a month4 ,with nine months' school this would mean #ijj2 and it is strange1 indeed1 if a person in the prime of life who has spent many years in the preparation of his work1 and who has initiative and push1 is not worth #ajj a month for nine months in the year4 ,to such a person the people of that neighborhood intrust their dearest and priceless possessions--their own children4 ,if we remember that1 as the twig is bent the tree is inclined1 there need be no hesitation about the value of efficient teaching during the plastic period of childhood4 ,in fact1 it may easily be maintained that the salary should be even higher than this4 ,but1 if this be so1 how far are we at present from even a beginning of the solution of our rural school problem6 ,a ,good ,school ,board4--,a good school board is one whose members are alive to their duties and wide-awake to the problems of education4 ,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 community4 ,board and ,teacher4--,if a poor teacher and a good school board are brought together the chances are that they will soon part company4 ,a good school board will not retain a poor teacher longer than it is compelled to do so4 ,a poor school board and a good teacher will also part company1 for the good teacher will not stay2 he will leave and find relief as soon as possible4 ,under a poor school board and a poor teacher nothing will be done2 the children1 instead of being educated1 will be de-educated4 ,quarrels and dissensions will be created in the neighborhood and a miserable condition1 educationally and socially1 will prevail4 ,if a good school board and a good teacher join hands1 the problem is solved1 or at least is in a fair way to being solved4 ,this last condition will mean an interested school1 a united neighborhood1 a live1 wide-awake1 and happy community4 ,the ,ideal4--,it is as impossible to describe a successful solution of the problems of any particular school as it is to paint the lily1 the rose1 or the rainbow4 ,all are equally indescribable and intangible1 but nevertheless the more real1 potent1 and inspiring on that account4 ,such a situation means the presence of a strong life1 a strong mind1 and a strong hand exemplifying ideals every day4 ,this is education1 this is growth1 this is real life4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,the ,,rural ,,school ,,curriculum ,imitation4--,there are two processes by which all progress is attained1 namely1 imitation and invention4 ,imitation is found everywhere1 in all spheres of thought and of action4 ,children are great imitators1 and adults are only children grown up4 ,imitation1 of course1 is a necessary thing4 ,without it no use could be made of past experience4 ,when it conserves and propagates the good it is to be commended2 but the worthless and the bad are often imitated also4 ,as imitation is necessary for the preservation of past experience1 so invention is equally essential in blazing new paths of thought and of action4 ,it is probably true that all persons are more prone to imitation than to invention4 ,the ,country ,imitates the ,city4--,the rural schools have always imitated the city schools1 as rural life attempts to imitate city life4 ,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 won4 ,these books have about them the atmosphere and the flavor of the city4 ,their selections as a rule contain references and allusions without number to city life1 and give a cityward bent2 their connotation and attitude tend to direct the mind toward the city4 ,as a consequence even school textbooks have been potent aids in the urban trend4 ,textbooks4--,it is not urged that the subject matter of textbooks be made altogether rural in its applications and references4 ,the books should not be completely ruralized2 nor should there be two sets of books1 one for the country and one for the city4 ,but there should be a more even balance between the city aspect and the rural aspect of textbooks1 whether used in the country or in the city4 ,if some of the texts now used were rewritten with the purpose of attaining that balance1 they would greatly assist the curriculum in both country and city schools4 ,there is no reason why city children should not have their minds touched by the life1 the thought1 and the activities of the country2 and it is granted that country children should be made conscious and cognizant of the life1 the thought1 and the activities of the city4 ,there is no more reason why textbooks should carry the urban message1 than that they should be dominantly ruralizing4 ,an ,interpreting ,core4--,the experiences of country children are of all kinds2 rural life1 thought1 and aspirations constitute the very development of their consciousness and minds4 ,in all their practical experiences rural life and thought form the anchorage of their later academic instruction4 ,this early experience constitutes what the ,herbartians term their apperception mass2 and children1 as well as grown-ups1 can interpret new matter only in terms of the old4 ,the experiences of the child1 which constitute his world of thought1 of discourse1 and of action1 are the only means by which he grasps and interprets new thought and experience4 ,consequently1 the texts which rural children use should make a strong appeal to their apperception mass--to their old stock and store of knowledge4 ,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 children4 ,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 new4 ,the old experiences are1 in fact1 the mental digestive apparatus of the child4 ,without this center1 or core1 the new instead of being assimilated is1 so to speak1 merely stuck on4 ,this is the case with much of the subject matter in city-made texts4 ,it does not grow1 but soon withers and falls away4 ,it is1 then1 essential that the textbooks used in rural schools should have the rural bent and application1 the rural flavor1 the rural beck and welcome4 ,rural ,teachers from the ,city4--,a great many teachers of country schools come from the city4 ,a number of these are young girls having1 without blame on their part1 the tone and temper1 the attitude1 spirit1 and training which the city gives4 ,their minds have been urbanized2 all their thoughts are city thoughts4 ,the textbooks which they have used have been city textbooks2 their teachers have for the most part been those in or from the city4 ,it can scarcely be expected that such teachers can do for the rural districts all that ought to be done4 ,very naturally they inspire some of the children with the idea of ultimately going to the city4 ,this suggestion and this inspiration are given unconsciously1 but in the years of childhood they take deep root and sooner or later work themselves out in an additional impetus to the urban trend4 ,a ,course for ,rural ,teachers4--,what is needed is a course of instruction for rural teachers1 in every state of the ,union4 ,in some states the agricultural colleges have inaugurated a movement to this end4 ,in such colleges1 agricultural high schools1 and institutions of a similar kind in every state1 a three-year course for teachers above the eighth year1 specially designed to prepare them for rural school teaching1 should be established4 ,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 work4 ,all ,not to ,remain in the ,country4--,it is not contended here that all who are born and brought up in the country ought to remain there for life4 ,many writers and speakers preach the gospel of the country for country children1 but this cannot be sound4 ,each one1 as the years go by1 should find himself and his own proper place4 ,there are many children brought up in the country who find their place best in the heart of the great city2 and there are many brought up in the cities who ultimately find themselves and their place in the country and in its work4 ,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 country2 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 city4 ,mere ,textbook ,teaching4--,many teachers in the country1 as well as in the city1 follow literally the textbooks provided for them4 ,textbooks1 being common and general1 must leave the application of the thought largely to the teacher4 ,to follow them is probably the easiest kind of teaching1 for the mind then moves along the line of least resistance4 ,accordingly the tendency is merely to teach textbooks1 without libraries1 laboratories1 and other facilities for the application of the thought of the text4 ,application and illustration are always difficult4 ,it frequently happens that children go through their textbooks under the guidance of their more or less mechanical teachers1 without making any application of their knowledge4 ,their learning seems to be stored away in pigeonholes and never used again4 ,that in one pigeonhole does not mix with that in another4 ,their thoughts and their education in different fields are in no sense united4 ,pupils are surprised if they are asked or expected to use their knowledge in any practical manner4 ,a man who had a tank1 seven feet in diameter and eight feet high1 about half full of gasoline1 asked his daughter1 who was completing the eighth grade1 to figure out for him how many gallons it contained4 ,she had just been over weights and measures and denominate numbers of all kinds4 ,after much figuring she returned the answer that there were in it about seven and one half gallons1 without ever suspecting the ridiculousness of the result4 ,a ,rich ,environment4--,the country is so rich in material of all kinds for scientific observation1 that some education should be given to the rural child in this field4 ,agriculture and its various activities surround the child2 nature teems with life1 both animal and vegetable2 the country furnishes long stretches of meadow and woodland for observation and study4 ,yet in most places the children are blind to the beauties and wonders around them4 ,nature study in such an environment should be a fascinating subject1 and agriculture is full of possibilities for the application of the thought in the textbooks4 ,who ,will ,teach ,these ,things8--,but who will teach these new sciences or open the eyes of the child to the beauties around him8 ,not everyone can do it4 ,it will require a master4 ,teaching at these things in a dull1 perfunctory way will do no good4 ,it would be better to leave them untaught4 ,we have1 everywhere1 too much attempting to teach and not enough teaching1 too much seeming and not enough being1 too much appearance and not enough reality4 ,an example will illustrate the author's meaning4 ,some years ago an experienced institute conductor in a western state found himself the sole instructor when the teachers of the county convened4 ,he sought among the teachers for someone who could and would give him assistance4 ,one man of middle age1 who had taught for many years1 volunteered to take the subject of arithmetic and to give four lessons of forty minutes each in it during the week4 ,this was good news to the conductor2 he congratulated himself on having found some efficient help4 ,his assistant1 however1 after talking on arithmetic for ten minutes of his first period1 reached the limit of his capacity1 either of thought or of expression1 and had to stop4 ,he could not say another word on that subject during the week6 ,now if this is true of an experienced middle-aged teacher of a subject so universally taught as arithmetic1 how much more true must it be of an instructor in a subject like agriculture4 ,it should not be expected that a young girl1 eighteen or twenty years of age1 who has probably been brought up in the city and who has had the subject of agriculture only one period a day for a year1 can give any adequate instruction in that branch4 ,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 she4 ,she would1 therefore1 lose the respect and confidence of pupils and parents1 and it would really be better for her and for all concerned not to attempt the teaching of that subject at all4 ,what is worth doing at all is worth doing well4 ,a little instruction well given and well applied is worth any amount of stuff poorly done and unapplied4 ,the ,scientific ,spirit ,needed4--,there is great need of teachers who are thoroughly imbued with the scientific spirit4 ,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 them4 ,this should be done inductively and in an investigative spirit4 ,our whole system of education seems somewhat vitiated by the deductive attitude and method of teaching--the assuming of theories handed down by the past1 without investigation or verification4 ,this is the kind of teaching which has paralyzed ,china for untold generations4 ,the easiest thing to do is to accept something which somebody else has formulated and then1 without further ado1 to be content with it4 ,the truly scientific mind1 the investigative mind1 is one that starts with facts or phenomena and1 after observing a sufficient number of them1 formulates a conclusion and tests it4 ,this will result in real thinking--which is the same as thinging4 ,it is putting things into causal relation and constructing from them1 unity out of diversity4 ,to induce this habit of thought1 to inspire this spirit of investigation and observation in children is the essence of teaching4 ,to teach is to cause others to think1 and the man or woman who does this is a successful teacher4 ,a ,course of ,study4--,there should be in every rural school a simple and suggestive course of study4 ,this should not be as large as a textbook4 ,the purpose of it is not to indicate at great length and in detail either the matter or the manner of teaching any specific subject4 ,it should be merely an outline of the metes and bounds in the processes and the progress of pupils through the grades4 ,the course of study should be a means1 not an end2 it should be a servant and not a master4 ,it should not entail upon the school or upon the teacher a vast complicated machinery or an endless routine of red tape4 ,if it does this it defeats its true aim4 ,here again the country schools have attempted to imitate the city schools4 ,in all cities grading is much more systematized1 and is pushed to a greater extent than it is or should be in the country4 ,owing to the necessities of the situation and also to the convenience of the plan in the cities1 the grades1 with their appropriate books1 amount of work1 and plan of procedure1 are much more definite than is possible or desirable in the country4 ,to grade the country schools as definitely and as systematically as is done in the city would be to do them an irreparable injury4 ,the country would make a great mistake to imitate the city school systems in its courses of study4 ,red ,tape4--,it sometimes happens that county and state superintendents1 in performing the duties of their office1 think it necessary to impose upon the country schools a variety of tests1 examinations1 reports1 and what-not1 which accomplish but little and may result in positive injury4 ,to pile up complications and intricacies having no practical educational value is utterly useless4 ,it indicates the lack of a true conception of the school situation4 ,such haphazard methods will not teach alone any more than a saw will saw alone4 ,behind it all must be the simple1 great teacher1 and for him all these things1 beyond a reasonable extent1 are hindrances to progress4 ,length of ,term4--,in very many country districts the terms are frequently only six months in the year4 ,this should be extended to eight at least4 ,even in this case1 it gives the rural school a shorter term than the city school1 which usually has nine or ten months each year4 ,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 nine4 ,individual ,work4--,individual work should be the rule in many subjects4 ,there is no need1 on account of numbers1 of a lock-step4 ,in the cities1 where the teacher has probably an average of #ce to #dj children1 all the pupils are held together and in line4 ,in such cases the great danger is to those above the average4 ,there is the danger of forming what might be called the slow habit4 ,the bright pupils are retarded in their work1 for they are capable of much more than they do4 ,in such cases the retardation is not on account of the inability of the pupil but on account of the system4 ,the bright ones are held back in line with the slow4 ,this need not be the case in rural schools4 ,here1 in every subject which lends itself to the plan1 each pupil should be allowed to go as far and as fast as he can1 provided that he appreciates the thought1 solves the problems1 and understands the work as he goes4 ,i once knew a large rural school in which there were enrolled about sixty pupils1 taking the subjects of all the grades1 from the first to the eighth and even some high school subjects4 ,in such classes as arithmetic the pupils were1 so to speak1 turned loose and all entered upon a race for the goal4 ,each one did as much as he could1 his attainments being subjected to the test of examination4 ,the plan worked excellently2 no one was retarded1 and all were intensely busy4 ,waking ,up the ,mind4--,the main thing in any school is not the amount of knowledge which pupils get from textbooks or from the teacher1 but the extent to which the mind appropriates that knowledge and is waked up by it4 ,mr4 ,page in his excellent classic1 ,the ,theory and ,practice of ,teaching1 has a chapter called ,waking ,up the ,mind and some excellent illustrations as to how it may be done4 ,the main thing is not the amount of mere knowledge or information held in memory for future delivery1 but the spirit and attitude of it all4 ,the extent to which children's minds are made awake and sensitive1 and the extent to which they are inspired to pursue with zest and spirit any new problem are the best criterions of success in teaching4 ,the spirit and method of attack is all-important2 quantity is secondary4 ,if children have each other1 so to speak1 by the ears1 over some problem from one day to the next1 it indicates that the school and the teacher are awake1 that they are up and doing1 and that education1 which is a process of leavening1 is taking place4 ,the ,overflow of ,instruction4--,on account of the individual work which is possible in the country schools1 what is sometimes called the overflow of instruction is an important factor in the stimulation and the education of all the children in the room4 ,in the city school1 where all are on a dead level1 doing the same work1 there is not much information or inspiration descending from above1 for there is no class above4 ,but in the rural school1 children hear either consciously or unconsciously much that is going on around them4 ,they hear the larger boys and girls recite and discuss many interesting things4 ,these discussions wake up minds by sowing the seeds which afterwards come to flower and fruit in those who listen--in those who1 in fact1 cannot help hearing4 ,i remember an incident which occurred during my experience as a pupil in a country school4 ,a certain county superintendent1 who used to visit the school periodically1 was in the habit1 on these occasions1 of reading to the school for probably half an hour4 ,just what he read ,i do not even remember1 but ,i recall vividly his quiet manner and attitude1 his beautiful and simple expression1 and the whole tone and temper of the man as he gathered the thought and expressed it so beautifully and so artistically4 ,this type of thing has great influence4 ,it is often the intangible thing that tells and that is valuable4 ,in every case1 that which is most artistically done is probably that which leaves its impression4 ,affiliation4--,in some states1 notably in ,minnesota1 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 city4 ,these teachers--of manual training1 domestic science1 agriculture1 etc4--are sent out from the city to these rural schools two or three times a week1 and in return the country children beyond a certain grade are sent to the high school in the city4 ,this is a process of affiliation which is stimulating and economical1 and can be encouraged with good results4 ,illustration3 ,a ,christmas gathering at the new school ,illustration3 ,a school garden in the larger center ,the ,liking ,point4--,in the teaching of all subjects the important thing is that the pupil reach what may be termed the liking point4 ,until a pupil has reached that point in any subject of study his work is mere drudgery--it is work which is probably disliked4 ,the great problem for the teacher is to bring the child as soon as possible to this liking point1 and then to keep him there4 ,it is probable that every pupil can be brought to the liking point of every subject by a good teacher4 ,where there is difficulty in doing this1 something has gone wrong somewhere1 either on the part of the pupil1 his former teachers1 his parents1 or his companions4 ,when a pupil has reached the liking point it means that he has a keen relish1 an appetite for the subject1 and in this condition he will actively pursue it4 ,the ,teacher the ,chief ,factor4--,the foregoing observations imply again that the teacher1 after all1 is the great factor in the success of the school4 ,he is the man behind the gun2 he is the engineer at the throttle2 he is the master at the helm2 he is the guide1 for he has been over the road2 he is the organizer1 the center of things2 he is the mainspring2 he is the soul of the school1 and is greater than books or courses of study4 ,he is the living fire at which all the children must light their torches4 ,again we ask1 how can this kind of person be found8 ,without him true education1 in its best sense1 cannot be secured2 with him the paltry consideration of salary should not enter4 ,without such teachers there can be no solution of the rural school problems1 nor1 indeed1 of the rural life problems4 ,with him and those of his class1 there is great hope4 ,,chapter ,x ,,the ,,social ,,center ,during the past few years we have heard much of what is called the social center1 or the community center1 in rural districts4 ,this idea has grown with the spread of the consolidation of schools1 and means1 as the name implies1 a unifying1 cooerdinating1 organizing agency of some kind in the midst of the community1 to bring about a harmony and solidity of all the interests there represented4 ,it implies of course a leader2 for what is left to be done by people in general is likely to be done poorly4 ,there is no doubt that this idea should be encouraged and promoted4 ,people living in the country are of necessity forced to a life of isolation4 ,their very work and position necessitate this1 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 all4 ,in union there is strength1 but these people have always been under a great disadvantage in every way1 because they have not organized for the purpose of united and effective cooperation4 ,the ,teacher1 the ,leader4--,there is no more appropriate person to bring about this organization1 this unification1 this increased solidarity1 than the public school teacher of the community2 but it will require the head and the hand of a real master to lead a community--to organize it1 to unite it1 and to keep it united4 ,it requires a person of rare strength and tact1 a person who has a clear head and a large heart1 and who is up and doing all the time4 ,a good second to such a person would be the minister of the neighborhood1 provided he has breadth of view and a kindly and tolerant spirit4 ,much of the success of rural life in foreign countries1 notably in ,denmark1 is due to the combined efforts of the schoolmaster and the minister of the community church4 ,some ,community ,activities4--,let us suggest briefly some of the activities that are conducive to the fuller life of such a social center4 ,it is true that these activities are more possible in the consolidated districts than in the communities where consolidation has not been effected2 but many of them could be provided even in the small schools4 ,the ,literary ,society4--,there should be in every school district a literary society of some kind4 ,this of course must not be overworked1 for other kinds of activities also should be organized in order to give the change which interest demands4 ,in this literary society the interest and assistance of the adults of the neighborhood and the district1 who are willing and able to cooperate1 should be enlisted4 ,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 aroused4 ,there is scarcely any better stimulus to the general interest of a neighborhood1 and especially of the children in the school1 than seeing and hearing some of the grown-up men and women who are their neighbors participate in such literary work4 ,debates4--,an important phase of the literary work of such a society should be an occasional debate4 ,this might be participated in sometimes by adults who are not going to school1 and sometimes by the bigger and more advanced pupils4 ,topics that are timely and of interest to the whole community should be discussed4 ,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 debate4 ,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 rendered4 ,this latter plan is the one used in practical life in regard to addresses and debates on the political platform4 ,the discussions and differences of opinion following such debates constitute no small part of life and thought manifested later in the community4 ,the ,school ,program4--,a program or exhibition by the school should be given occasionally4 ,this would differ from the work of the literary society in that it would be confined to the pupils of the school4 ,such a program should be a sample of what the pupils are doing and can do4 ,it should be a mental exhibition of the school activities4 ,there is scarcely anything that attracts the people and the parents of the neighborhood more than the literary performances of their children1 younger and older4 ,such performances1 as in other cases1 may be overdone2 they may be put forward too frequently2 they may also be too lengthy4 ,but the teacher with a true perspective will see to it that all such extremes are avoided1 for he realizes that there are other activities which must be developed and presented in order to secure a change of interest4 ,these school programs occupy the mind and thought of the community for some time4 ,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 neighborhood4 ,it acts like a kind of ferment in the social mind2 it keeps the school and the community talking and thinking of school and of education4 ,spelling ,schools4--,for a change1 even an old-fashioned spelling school is not to be scorned4 ,years ago this was quite the custom4 ,an entire school would1 on a challenge1 go as a sleigh-ride party to the challenging school4 ,there the spelling contest would take place4 ,one of the teachers1 either the host or the guest1 would pronounce the words1 and the visiting school would return1 either victorious or vanquished4 ,a performance of this kind enlists the attention and the interest of people and schools in the necessity of good spelling2 it affords a delightful social recreation1 stirs up thought and wakes up mind in both communities1 by an interesting and courteous contest4 ,such results are not to be undervalued4 ,lectures4--,if the school is a consolidated one1 or even a large district school1 a good lecture course may be given to advantage4 ,here1 again1 care must be taken that the lectures1 even if few1 shall be choice4 ,nothing will kill a course of lectures sooner than to have the people deceived a few times by poor ones4 ,it would be better to have three good lectures during the year than six that would be disappointing4 ,these lecture courses may be secured in almost every state through the ,extension ,department of the various state institutions4 ,recently the states of ,wisconsin1 ,minnesota1 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 consideration4 ,excellent lectures can be secured in this way on a great variety of subjects1 including those most interesting to rural communities and most helpful in all phases of farm life4 ,these might be secured in the winter season when there is ample time and leisure for all to attend4 ,dramatic ,performances4--,in the social centers where the conveniences admit1 simple dramatic performances might be worked up or secured from the outside4 ,it is a fact that life in some country communities is not sufficiently cheered through the agency of the imagination4 ,the tendency is for farmers and farmers' families to live a rather humdrum existence involving a good deal of toil4 ,on the secluded farms during the long winter months1 there is not much social intercourse4 ,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 communities4 ,it is good for the mental and physical health of both old and young to be lifted1 once in a while1 out of the world of reality into that of the imagination4 ,all children and young people like to play1 to act1 to make believe4 ,this is a part of their life1 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 others4 ,a ,musical ,program4--,if the teacher is a leader he will either be able1 himself1 to arrange a musical entertainment1 or he will secure some one who can and will do so4 ,all1 it is contended1 can learn to sing if they begin early enough2 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 singing4 ,the importance of singing1 to secure good and right emotional attitudes toward life and mankind1 is indicated in the saying1 ,let me make the songs of a nation and ,i care not who makes her laws4 ,the importance of singing is recognized to a much greater extent in foreign countries1 notably in ,germany1 than in ,america4 ,in ,germany all sing2 in ,america1 it is to be regretted1 but few sing4 ,there should be a real renaissance in music throughout the country4 ,as an aid in the teaching of music and of song1 that marvelous invention1 the talking machine1 should be made use of4 ,it would be an excellent thing if a phonograph could be put in every school4 ,children would become acquainted with the best music2 they would grow to like it1 as the weeks1 months1 and years roll on4 ,this machine is a wonderful help in developing an appreciation of good music4 ,slides and ,moving ,pictures4--,in the consolidated schools1 where there is a suitable hall1 a moving-picture entertainment of the right kind is to be commended4 ,the screens and the lantern enable us1 in our imaginations1 to live in all countries and climes4 ,the eye is the royal road to the mind1 and most people are eye-minded2 and the moving picture is a wonderful agency to convey to the mind1 through the eye1 accurate pictures of the world around us1 natural and social4 ,the community center--the school center--should avail itself of all such inventions4 ,supervised ,dancing4--,even the supervised dance1 where the sentiment of the community will allow1 is not to be condemned4 ,it is much better to have young people attend dances that are supervised than to attend public dances that are not supervised2 and young people1 as a rule1 will attend one or the other4 ,the practical question or condition is one of supervision or no supervision1 for the dance is here4 ,the dance properly supervised1 and conducted in a courteous1 formal way1 beginning and closing at the right time1 can probably be turned to good and made an occasion for social and individual culture4 ,the niceties and amenities of life can there be inculcated4 ,there is no good reason why the dance activities should be turned over to the devil4 ,there was a time and there were places where violin playing was turned over to him and banished from the churches4 ,dancing is too old1 too general1 too instinctive1 and too important1 not to be recognized as a means to social culture4 ,here again the sane teacher can be an efficient supervisor4 ,he can take care that the young people do not become entirely dance-minded4 ,sports and ,games4--,the various sports should not be forgotten4 ,skating1 curling1 and hockey1 basketball1 and volley ball1 are all fine winter sports2 in summer1 teams should be organized in baseball1 tennis1 and all the proper athletic sports and games4 ,play should be supervised to a certain extent2 over-supervision will kill it4 ,sometimes plays that are not supervised at all degenerate and become worse than none4 ,all of these physical activities and sports should be found and fostered in the rural center4 ,they are healthful1 both physically and mentally1 and should be participated in by both girls and boys4 ,it is probably true that our schools and our education have stood1 to too great an extent1 for mere intellectual acquisition and training4 ,in ,sparta of old1 education was probably nine tenths physical and one tenth mental4 ,in these modern days education seems to be about ninety-nine parts mental4 ,a sound body is the foundation of a sound mind1 and time is not lost in devoting much attention to the play and games of children and young people4 ,there is no danger in the schools of our day of going to an extreme in the direction of physical education2 the danger is in not going far enough4 ,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 sports1 instead of1 as now1 poring over books and memorizing a lot of stuff that will never function on land or sea4 ,school ,exhibits4--,in the social centers a school exhibit could be occasionally given with great profit4 ,if domestic science is taught1 an occasion should be made to invite the people of the neighborhood to sample the products1 for the test of the pudding is in the eating4 ,this would make a delightful social occasion for the men and women of the community to meet each other1 and the after-effects in the way of favorable comment and thought would be good4 ,if manual training is an activity of the school1 as it ought to be1 a good exhibit of the product of this department could be given4 ,if agriculture is taught and there is a school garden1 as there should be1 an exhibit once a year would produce most desirable effects in the community along agricultural lines4 ,a ,public ,forum4--,aside from provisions for school activities in this social center there should be a hall where public questions can be discussed4 ,all political parties should be given equal opportunities to present their claims before the people of the community4 ,this would tend toward instruction1 enlightenment1 and toleration4 ,the interesting questions of the day1 in political and social life1 should be discussed by exponents chosen by the social center committee4 ,in ,america we have learned the lesson of listening quietly to speakers in a public meeting1 whether we agree with them or not4 ,in some countries1 when a man rises to expound his political theories1 he is hissed down or driven from the stage by force4 ,this is not the ,american way4 ,in ,america each man has his hour1 and all listen attentively and respectfully to him4 ,the next evening his opponent may have his hour1 his inning1 and the audience is as respectful to him4 ,this is as it should be2 this is the true spirit of toleration which should prevail everywhere and which can be cultivated to great advantage in these rural1 social centers4 ,it makes1 too1 for the fullness of life in rural communities4 ,it makes country life more pleasant and serves in some degree to counteract the strong but regrettable urban trend4 ,courtesy and ,candor4--,there are two extremes in debates and in public discussions which should be equally avoided3 ,the first is that brutal frankness which forgets to be courteous2 and the second is that extreme of hypocritical courtesy which forgets to be candid4 ,what is needed everywhere is the candor which is also courteous and the courtesy which is likewise candid4 ,in impulsive youth and in lack of education and culture1 brutal candor without courtesy sometimes manifests itself2 while courtesy without candor is too often exhibited by shrewd politicians and diplomatic intriguers4 ,automobile ,parties4--,a delightful and profitable occasion could be made by the men of the rural community who are the owners of automobiles1 by taking all the children of the community and of the schools1 once in a while1 for an automobile ride to near or distant parts of the county4 ,such an occasion would never be forgotten by them4 ,it would be enjoyable to those who give as well as to those who receive1 and would have great educational as well as social value4 ,it would bind together both young and old of the community4 ,occasions like these would also conduce to the good-roads movement so commendable and important throughout the country4 ,the automobile and the consolidation of rural schools1 resulting in social centers1 are large factors in the good-roads movement4 ,full ,life or a ,full ,purse4--,the community which has been centralized socially and educationally may often bring upon itself additional expense to provide the necessary hall1 playgrounds1 and other conveniences required to realize and to make all of these activities most effective4 ,but this is a local problem which must be tackled and solved by each community for itself4 ,the community where the right spirit prevails will realize that they must make some sacrifices4 ,if a thing is worth while1 the proper means must be provided4 ,one cannot have the benefit without paying the cost4 ,it is a question as to which a community will choose3 a monotonous1 isolated life with the accumulation of some money1 or an active1 enthusiastic1 educational1 and social life without so many dollars4 ,it is really a choice between money with little life on the one hand1 and a little less money with more fullness of life on the other4 ,life1 after all1 is the only thing worth while1 and in progressive communities its enrichment will be chosen at any cost4 ,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 questions4 ,organization4--,a community which is socially and educationally organized will need a central post office and town hall1 a community store1 a grain elevator1 a church1 and possibly other community agencies4 ,all of these things tend to solidify and bring together the people at a common center4 ,this suggests organization of some kind in the community4 ,the old grange was good in its ideal2 the purpose was to unite and bring people together for mutual help4 ,there should probably be a young men's society of some kind1 and an organization of the girls and women of the community4 ,it is true that the matter may be overdone and we may have such a thing as activity merely for the sake of activity4 ,it was ,carlyle who said that some people are noted for fussy littleness and an infinite deal of nothing4 ,the golden mean should apply here as elsewhere4 ,the ,inseparables4--,to bring all of these things about requires talent and ingenuity on the part of the leader or leaders2 and we come again to the inseparables mentioned in a former chapter4 ,it will require a great personality to organize4 ,the word great implies a high standard2 and strong personalities1 such as are capable of managing a social center1 cannot possibly be secured without an adequate inducement in the way of salary4 ,proper compensation cannot mean sixty1 seventy-five1 or one hundred dollars a month4 ,it must mean also permanence of position4 ,again we come face to face with the problem of the teacher in our solution of the problem of rural life and the rural school4 ,in conclusion it must be said that nothing is too good for the country which is not too good for the city4 ,the rural community must determine to have all these good things at any cost1 if it wishes to work out its own salvation4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,rural ,,school ,,supervision ,important4--,supervision is fully as important as teaching4 ,the supervisor must be1 to even a higher degree than the teacher1 a strong personality1 and this too implies a high standard and an attractive salary4 ,the supervisor or superintendent must be somewhat of an expert in the methods of teaching all the common school subjects4 ,not only must he understand school discipline and organization in its details1 but he must possess the ability to turn in and exemplify his qualifications at any time4 ,it will be seen everywhere that the supervisor or superintendent is the expensive person2 for1 having the elements of leadership1 he is in demand in educational positions as well as in outside callings4 ,consequently it is only by a good financial inducement1 as a rule1 that a competent supervisor can be retained in the profession4 ,supervision ,standardizes4--,without the superintendent or supervisor1 no common standard can be attained or maintained4 ,it is he who keeps the force up to the line2 without him each teacher is a law unto himself and there will be as many standards as there are teachers4 ,human nature is innately slothful and negligent1 and needs the spirit of supervision to keep it toned up to the necessary pitch4 ,supervision over a large force of workers of any kind is absolutely necessary to secure efficiency1 and to keep service up to a high standard4 ,supervision ,can ,be ,overdone4--,the necessity for supervision is clearly felt in the city systems4 ,there they have a general superintendent1 principals of buildings1 and supervisors in various special lines4 ,a system of schools in the city without supervision would simply go to pieces4 ,it would soon cease to be a system1 and would become chaotic4 ,it may be1 it is true1 that in some cities there is too much supervision2 it may become acute and pass the line of true efficiency4 ,indeed1 in some cities the red tape may become so complicated and systematized that it becomes an end1 and schools and pupils seem to exist for supervisors and systems instead of vice versa4 ,it is probably true that the constant presence of a supervisor who is adversely critical may do injury to the efficiency of a good teacher4 ,no one can teach as well under disapprobation as he can where he feels that his hands are free2 and so in some places supervision may act as a wet blanket4 ,it may suppress spontaneity1 initiative1 and real life in the school4 ,but this is only an abuse of a good thing1 and probably does not occur frequently4 ,in any event1 the exception would only prove the rule4 ,supervision is as necessary in a system of schools as it is in a railroad or in large industries4 ,illustration3 ,a basket ball team for the girls ,illustration3 ,a brass band for the young men ,caption for the above illustrations3 ,,activities ,,of ,,the ,,consolidated ,,school ,needed in ,rural ,schools4--,the country partakes of the same isolation in regard to its schools as it does in regard to life in general4 ,this isolation is accentuated where there is little or no supervision4 ,without it1 the necessary stimulus seldom or never touches the life of the teacher or the school4 ,there is little uplift2 the school runs along in its ordinary1 humdrum fashion1 and never measures itself with other schools1 and is seldom measured by a supervisor4 ,a poor teacher may be in the chair one term and a good teacher another4 ,the terms are short and the service somewhat disconnected4 ,the whole situation gives the impression to people1 pupils1 and teacher that education is not of very great value4 ,no ,supervision in ,some ,states4--,in some states there is but little supervision4 ,there may be1 it is true1 a district board1 but these are laymen1 much better acquainted with the principles of farming than with those of teaching4 ,they have no standards for judging a school and seldom visit one4 ,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 teacher4 ,nominal ,supervision4--,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 county4 ,he is usually engaged in some other line of work--in business1 in medicine1 in law1 in preaching--and can give only a small portion of his time to the work of superintendence4 ,indeed1 this means only an occasional visit to the school1 probably once every one or two years1 and such simple and necessary reports as are demanded by the state superintendent or ,state ,board of ,education4 ,such supervision1 however honestly performed1 accomplishes but little4 ,the superintendent may visit the teacher to-day1 but when he returns a year hence1 he is likely to find another teacher in charge4 ,under such circumstances1 what can he do8 ,he has seen the teacher at work for half an hour or an hour2 he offers a suggestion1 or makes some complimentary remark1 and goes his way4 ,no one realizes better than he how little he has been able to accomplish4 ,and yet1 under existing circumstances he has done all that could be expected4 ,some ,supervision4--,there are1 elsewhere1 county superintendents who devote their whole time to the work1 but who are chosen for short terms and in a political campaign4 ,very frequently these men are elected for political reasons quite as much as for educational fitness4 ,if a superintendent so elected is politically minded--and ,i regret to say that sometimes this is the case--he will probably devote much time1 energy1 and thought to paving the way for reelection4 ,expecting to be a candidate for a second term1 he will use his best efforts to impress the public mind in his favor4 ,this sometimes results in greater attention to the duties of his office and the consequent betterment of the schools2 but1 too often1 it works in the opposite direction4 ,being elected for only two years1 he has not the time to carry out any educational policy no matter how excellent his plans may be4 ,of course many persons chosen in this way make excellent and efficient officers1 but the plan is bad4 ,the good superintendent frequently loses out soonest4 ,an ,impossible ,task4--,superintendents sometimes have under their jurisdiction from one hundred to two hundred1 or even more1 schools separated by long distances4 ,the law usually prescribes that the county superintendent shall visit each school at least once a year4 ,this means that practically he will do no more2 indeed it is often impossible to do more4 ,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 progress1 and whether she is carrying out his instructions4 ,such so-called supervision1 or superintendence1 is not supervision at all--how can it be8 ,the superintendent is only a clerical officer who does the work required by law1 and makes incidentally an annual social visit to the schools4 ,the ,problem ,not ,tackled4--,such a situation is another evidence that the states which tolerate the foregoing conditions have not1 in any real and earnest manner1 attempted to solve the problem of rural school supervision4 ,they have merely let things drift along as they would1 not fully realizing the problem or else trusting to time to come to their aid4 ,micawber-like1 they are waiting for something to turn up4 ,but such problems will not solve themselves4 ,city ,supervision4--,compare the supervision described above with that which is usually found in cities4 ,there we usually find a general superintendent and assistant superintendents2 there are high school principals and a principal at the head of every grade building2 there is also a supervisor of manual training1 of domestic science1 of music1 of drawing1 and possibly of other subjects4 ,when we consider1 too1 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 notice1 we see the difference between city supervision and country supervision4 ,add to this the fact that cities attract the strong teachers--the professionally trained teachers1 the output of the professional schools--and we can see again how effective supervision becomes in the city as compared with that in the country4 ,in the country we find only one superintendent for a county often as large as some of the older states1 and the possibility of visiting each school only about once a year4 ,here also are the teachers who are not professionalized1 as a rule1 and who1 therefore1 need supervision most4 ,the ,purpose of ,supervision4--,the main purpose of supervision is to bring teachers up to a required standard of excellence in their work and to keep them there4 ,it is always the easiest plan to dismiss a teacher who is found deficient1 but this is cutting the knot rather than untying it4 ,efficient and intelligent supervision proceeds along the line of building such a teacher up1 of making her strong where she is weak1 of giving her initiative where she lacks it1 of inculcating good methods where she is pursuing poor ones1 of inducing her to come out of her shell where she is backward and diffident4 ,in other words1 the great work of the supervisor is to elicit from teachers their most active and hearty response in all positive directions4 ,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 blundering2 and so1 in the presence of a good supervisor1 the teacher is not afraid to let herself out4 ,in the conference1 later1 between herself and her supervisor1 mistakes may be pointed out2 but1 better than this1 the best traits of the teacher should be brought to her mind and the weak ones but lightly referred to4 ,what ,is ,needed4--,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 large4 ,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 matters4 ,it should hold office for a period of years1 some members retiring from the board annually so that there shall not be1 at any time1 an entirely new board4 ,this would insure continuity4 ,another plan for a county board would be to have the presidents of the district boards act as a county board of education4 ,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 county4 ,they should be empowered to go anywhere in the country for a superintendent with a reputation in the teaching profession4 ,this is the present plan in cities1 and it should be true also in the selection of a county superintendent4 ,the ,term4--,the term of office of the county superintendent should be at the discretion of the county board4 ,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 administration4 ,the status of the county superintendency should be similar to that of the city superintendency4 ,assistants4--,the county board should be empowered to provide assistants for the county superintendent4 ,there should be one such assistant for about thirty or thirty-five schools4 ,it is almost impossible for a supervisor to do efficient and effective work if he has more than this number of schools1 located1 as they are1 some distance apart4 ,provision for such assistants1 who should1 like the superintendent himself1 be experts1 is based upon the assumption that supervision is worth while1 and in fact necessary in any system if success is to be attained4 ,if the supervision of thirty-five schools is an important piece of work it should be well done1 and a person well qualified for that work should be selected4 ,he should be a person of sympathetic attitude1 of high qualifications1 and of experience in the field of elementary education4 ,the assistants should be carefully selected by the board on the recommendation of the county superintendent4 ,poor supervision is little better than none4 ,the ,schools ,examined4--,the county superintendent and his assistants should give1 periodically1 oral and written examinations in each school1 thus testing the work of both the teacher and the pupils4 ,these examinations should not conform in any perfunctory or red-tape manner to a literally construed course of study4 ,the course of study is a means and not an end1 and should be1 at all points and times1 elastic and adaptable4 ,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 stretched2 if too long1 a piece is cut off4 ,any examination or tests which would wake up mind and stimulate education in the neighborhood may be resorted to2 but it should be remembered that examinations are likewise a means and not an end4 ,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 place4 ,if1 for example1 the teacher announced that his class had acquired a thorough knowledge of the multiplication table1 ,i gave a searching test upon that subject and issued a simple little certificate to the effect that the pupil had completed it4 ,these little certificates acted like stakes put down along the way1 to give incentive1 direction1 and definiteness to the educative processes1 and to stimulate a reasonable class spirit or individual rivalry4 ,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 prize4 ,one portion of my county was populated almost entirely by ,scandinavians1 and here a list of fifty to a hundred words was selected which ,scandinavian children always find it difficult to pronounce4 ,at the first trial many or most of the children mispronounced a large percentage of them4 ,i then announced that1 the next time ,i visited the school1 ,i would test the pupils again on these words and others like them1 and issue certificates of correct pronunciation to all who were entitled to them4 ,i found1 on the next visit1 that nearly all the children could secure these certificates4 ,these tests created a great impetus in the direction of correct pronunciation and language4 ,some teachers1 from mistaken kindness1 had been accustomed to refrain from correcting the children on such words1 but as superintendent ,i found that both the parents and the children wished drill in pronunciation and were gratified at their success4 ,this is only a sample4 ,i would advocate the giving of tests1 or examinations1 on any subject in the school likely to lead to good results and to stimulate the minds of the pupils in the right direction4 ,the county superintendent and his assistants might agree to lay the accent or the emphasis on different subjects1 or lines of work1 in different years4 ,keep ,down ,red ,tape4--,in all the work of supervision1 the formal part--the accounting and reporting part--should be kept simple2 the tendency in administrative offices is too often in the direction of complexity and red tape4 ,wherever there is form merely for the sake of form1 it is well worth while to sound a note of warning against it4 ,help the ,social ,centers4--,the county superintendent and his assistants can be of inestimable value in all the work of the social centers4 ,they should advise with school boards in regard to consolidation and other problems agitating the community4 ,they should lend a helping hand to programs that are being carried out in any part of the county4 ,they should give lectures themselves at such social centers and1 if asked1 should help the local communities and local committees in every way within their power4 ,conclusion4--,the problem1 then1 of superintendence is1 we conclude1 one of the large and important problems awaiting solution in rural life and in rural schools4 ,it is the binding force that will help to unify all the educational activities of the county4 ,it is one of the chief stimulating and uplifting influences in rural education4 ,as in the case of most other school problems1 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 solution4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,leadership ,,and ,c,o,oe,p,e,r,a,t,i,o,n ,the ,real ,leader4--,real leadership is a scarce and choice article2 true leaders are few and far between4 ,the best kind of leader is not one who attempts to be at the head of every movement and to do everything himself1 but rather he who makes the greatest number of people active in his cause4 ,it frequently happens that the more a leader does himself1 the less his followers are inclined to do4 ,the more active he is1 the more passive they are likely to become4 ,as teaching is causing others to know and react educationally1 so genuine leadership is causing others to become active in the direction of the leader's purpose1 or aim4 ,some who pose as leaders seek to be conspicuous in every movement1 merely to attract attention to themselves4 ,they bid for direct and immediate recognition instead of being content with the more remote1 indirect1 but truer and more substantial reward of recognition through their followers who are active in their leader's cause4 ,the poor leader does not think that there is glory enough for all1 and so he monopolizes all he can of it1 leaving the remainder to those who probably do the greater part of the work and deserve as much credit as he4 ,the spectacular football player who ignores the team and team work1 in order to attract attention by his individual plays1 is not the best leader or the best player4 ,the real leader will frequently be content to see things somewhat poorly done or not so well done1 in order that his followers may pass through the experience of doing them4 ,it is only by having such experiences that followers are enabled1 in turn1 to become leaders4 ,teaching vs4 ,telling4--,as has been shown in an earlier chapter1 the lack of leadership is frequently exhibited in the classroom when the teacher1 instead of inducing self-activity and self-expression on the part of the pupils1 proceeds to recite the whole lesson himself4 ,he asks leading questions and then1 at the slightest hesitation on the part of a pupil1 he suggests the answer2 he asks another leading question from another point of view2 he puts words into the mouth of the pupil who is trying in a pitiable way to recite2 and ends by covering the topic all over with words1 words1 words of his own4 ,this is poor leadership on the part of the teacher and gives no opportunity for real cooperation on the part of the pupils4 ,the teacher takes all the glory of reciting1 and leaves the pupil without an opportunity or the reward of self-expression4 ,enlisting the ,cooeperation of ,pupils4--,all children--and in fact all people--if approached or stimulated in the proper way--like to do things1 to perform services for others4 ,a pupil always considers it a compliment to be asked by his teacher to do something for him1 if the relations between the teacher and pupil are normal and cordial4 ,this must1 of course1 be the case if any truly educative response is to be elicited4 ,socrates once said that a person cannot learn from one whom he does not love4 ,the relation between pupil and teacher should be one of mutual love and respect1 if the educational process is to obtain4 ,if this relation does not exist1 the first duty of the teacher is to bring it about4 ,sometimes this is difficult4 ,i once heard a teacher say that it took him about three weeks to establish this relation between himself and one of his pupils4 ,he finally invited the pupil out hunting with him one ,saturday1 and after that they were the best of friends4 ,the pupil became one of the leaders in his school and his cooperation was secured from that time forward4 ,in this instance the teacher showed marked leadership as well as practical knowledge of psychology and pedagogy4 ,francis ,murphy1 the great temperance orator1 understood both leadership and cooperation1 for he always1 as he said1 made it a point to approach a man from the south side4 ,a pupil1 if approached in the right way1 will do anything in his power for his teacher4 ,there may be times when wood or fuel must be provided1 when the room must be swept and cleaned1 when little repairs become necessary1 or an errand must be performed4 ,in such situations1 if the teacher is a real leader and if his school and he are en rapport1 volunteers will vie with each other for the privilege of carrying out the teacher's wishes4 ,this would indicate genuine leadership and cooperation4 ,placing ,responsibility4--,whether in school or some other station in life1 there is scarcely anything that so awakens and develops the best that is in either man or child as the placing of responsibility4 ,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 to4 ,while it is true that too great a measure of responsibility might be given1 this is no reasonable excuse for withholding it altogether for fear the burden would be too great4 ,there is a wide middle ground between no responsibility and too much of it1 and it is in this field that leadership and cooperation can be displayed to much advantage4 ,the greater danger lies in not giving sufficient responsibility to children and youths4 ,it is well known that1 in parts of our country1 where men who have been proved to be1 or are strongly suspected of being crooked1 have been placed upon the bench to mete out justice1 they have usually risen to the occasion and to their better ideals1 and have not betrayed the trust reposed in them1 or the responsibility placed upon them4 ,there is probably no finer body of men in ,america than our railroad engineers2 and while it may be true that they are picked in a measure1 it is also true that their responsible positions and work bring out their best manhood4 ,as they sit or stand at the throttle1 with hand upon the lever and eyes on the lookout for danger1 and as they feel the heart-throbs of their engine drawing its precious freight of a thousand souls through the darkness and the storm1 they cannot help realizing that this is real life invested with great responsibilities2 and with this thought ever before them1 they become men who can be trusted anywhere4 ,there is little doubt that ,abraham ,lincoln's mettle was tempered to the finest quality in the fires of the great struggle from #ahfj to #ahfe1 when every hour of his waking days was fraught with the greatest responsibility4 ,how ,people ,remain ,children4--,if children and young people are not given responsibilities they are likely to remain children4 ,the old adage1 ,don't send a boy to mill1 is thoroughly vicious if applied beyond a narrow and youthful range4 ,in some neighborhoods the fathers even when of an advanced age retain entire control of the farm and of all activities1 and the younger generation are called the boys1 and1 what is worse1 are considered such till forty years of age or older--in fact as long as the fathers live and are active4 ,a boy is called ,johnnie1 ,jimmie1 or ,tommie1 and is never chosen to do jury duty or to occupy any position connected in the local public mind with a man's work4 ,the father in such cases is not a good leader1 for he has given no responsibility to1 and receives no genuine cooperation from1 his sons1 who are really man grown1 but who are regarded1 even by themselves1 from habit and suggestion1 as children4 ,if these middle-aged men should move to another part of the country they would be compelled to stand upon their own feet1 and would be regarded as men among men4 ,they would be called ,mr4 ,jones1 ,mr4 ,smith1 and ,mr4 ,brown1 instead of diminutive and pet names2 and1 what is better1 they would regard themselves as men4 ,this would be a wholesome and stimulating suggestion4 ,hence ,horace ,greeley's advice to young men1 to ,go ,west1 would prove beneficial in more ways than one4 ,this state of affairs is illustrated on a large scale by the ,chinese life and civilization4 ,from time immemorial the ,chinese have been taught to regard themselves as children1 and the emperor as the common father of all4 ,the head of the family is the head as long as he lives and all his descendants are mere sons and daughters4 ,when he dies he is the object of worship4 ,this custom has tended to influence in a large measure the thought and life of ,china and to keep the ,chinese1 for untold generations1 a childlike and respectful people4 ,whatever may come to pass under the new regime1 recently established in their country1 they have been1 since the dawn of history1 a passive people1 the majority of whom have not been honored with any great measure of responsibility4 ,on the ,farm4--,such lessons from history1 written large1 are as applicable in rural life as elsewhere4 ,cooeperation and profit-sharing are probably the key to the solution of the labor problem4 ,many industrial leaders in various lines1 notably ,mr4 ,henry ,ford in his automobile factories in ,detroit1 have come to the conclusion that cooperation1 or some kind of profit-sharing by the rank and file of the workers1 is of mutual benefit to employer and laborer4 ,the interest of workers must be enlisted for their own good as well as for the good of society at large4 ,it induces the right attitude toward work on the part of the worker1 and the right attitude of employer and employee toward each other4 ,this leads to the solidarity of society and the integrity of the social bond4 ,it tends to establish harmony and to bring contentment to both parties4 ,renters4--,the renter of a farm must have sufficient interest in it and in all its activities to improve it in every respect1 rather than to allow it to deteriorate by getting out of it everything possible1 and then leaving it1 like a squeezed orange1 to repeat the operation elsewhere4 ,a farm1 in order to yield its best and to increase in production and value1 must be managed with care1 foresight1 and scientific understanding4 ,there must be1 among other things1 a careful rotation of crops and the rearing of good breeds of animals of various kinds4 ,but these things cannot be intrusted to the mere renter or the hired man who is nothing more4 ,these are not sufficiently interested4 ,the man who successfully manages a farm must be interested in it and in its various phases1 whether he be a renter or a worker4 ,he must be careful1 watchful1 industrious1 intelligent1 and a lover of domestic animals2 otherwise the farm will go backward and the stock will not thrive and be productive of profits4 ,the man who drives a farm to a successful issue must be a leader1 and1 if he is not the owner1 he must cooperate with the owner in order that there may be interest1 which is the great essential4 ,the ,owner4--,if the farm is operated by the owner himself and his family1 there is still greater need of leadership on the part of the father and of cooperation on the part of all4 ,money and profits are not the only motives or the only results and rewards that come to a family in rural life4 ,as the children grow up to adult life1 both boys and girls1 for their own education and development in leadership and in cooperation1 should be given some share in the business1 some interest which they can call their own1 and whose success and increase will depend on their attention1 care1 and industry4 ,that father is a wise leader who can enlist the active cooperation of all his family for the good of each and of all4 ,such leadership and cooperation are the best forms and means of education1 and lead inevitably to good citizenship4 ,how often do we see a grasping1 churlish father whose leadership is maintained by fear and force and whose family fade away1 one by one1 as they come to adolescence4 ,there is no cementing force in such a household1 and the centrifugal forces which take the place of true leadership and cordial cooperation soon do their work4 ,the ,teacher as a ,leader4--,we have already spoken of the teacher as the natural leader of the activities of a social center1 or of a community4 ,in such situations the teacher should be a real leader1 not one who wishes or attempts to be the direct and actual leader in every activity1 but one who gets things done through the secondary leadership of a score or more of men1 boys1 and girls4 ,the leader in a consolidated district1 or social center1 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 pupils4 ,that would be a false and short-lived leadership4 ,hence the teacher who is a true leader will keep himself somewhat in the background while1 at the same time1 he is the hidden mainspring1 the power behind the throne4 ,it is the highest art to conceal art4 ,fitch1 in his lectures on teaching1 says that the teacher and the leader should keep the machinery in the background4 ,the teacher should start things going by suggestion and keep them going by his presence1 his attitude1 and his silent participation4 ,too much participation and direction are fatal to the active cooperation and secondary leadership of others4 ,hence the teacher will bring about1 in his own good time and way1 the organization of a baseball team under the direction of a captain chosen by the boys4 ,the choice1 it is true1 may probably be inspired by the teacher4 ,the same would take place in regard to every game1 sport1 or activity1 mental1 social1 or physical1 in the community4 ,the danger always is that the initial leader may become too dominant4 ,it is hard on flesh and blood to resist the temptation to be lionized4 ,but it is incomparably better to have partial or almost total failures under self-government than to be governed by a benevolent and beneficent autocrat4 ,and so it is much better that boys and girls work out their own salvation under leaders of their own choice1 than to be told to organize1 and to do thus and so4 ,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 success1 and still be silent and patient4 ,but this is the true process of education--self-activity and self-government4 ,self-activity and ,self-government4--,in order to develop initiative1 which is the same thing1 practically1 as leadership1 opportunity must be given for free self-activity4 ,children and adults alike1 if they are to grow1 must be induced to do4 ,it is always better to go ahead and blunder than to stand still for fear of blundering4 ,many kind mothers fondly wish--and frequently attempt to enforce their wish--that children should learn how to swim without going into the water4 ,children see the folly of this and1 in order not to disturb the calm and peace of the household1 slip away to a neighboring creek or swimming-hole1 for which they ever after retain the most cherished memories4 ,in later years when all danger is over these grown-up children smilingly and jokingly reveal the mysteries of the trick6 ,children cannot learn to climb trees without climbing trees1 or to ride calves and colts without the real animals4 ,some chances must be taken by parents and guardians1 and more chances are usually taken by children than their guardians ever hear of4 ,accidents will happen1 it is true1 but in the wise provision of ,mother ,nature the world moves on through these persistent and instinctive self-activities4 ,self-activity is manifested on a larger scale in society and among nations and peoples4 ,civilization is brought about through self-activity and cooperation4 ,it were better for the ,filipinos to civilize themselves as much as possible than that we impose civilization upon them4 ,it is better that ,mexico bring peace into her own household1 than that we take the leadership and enforce order among her people4 ,when the ,irish captain said to his soldiers1 ,if you don't obey willingly ,i'll make you obey willingly1 he fused into one the military and the truly civic and educational conceptions4 ,an individual or a nation must energize from within outward in order to truly express itself and thus develop in the best sense4 ,hence in any community the development of self-expression1 self-activity1 and cooperation under true leadership is conducive to the highest type of individuality and of citizenship4 ,taking ,laws upon ,one's ,self4--,it is under proper leadership and cooperation that children and young people are induced to take laws upon themselves4 ,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 outrage1 or fine as the case may be4 ,it is an indication that he has adopted a life principle which he means to live by1 and that it has been made his own to such an extent that he expresses and commits himself upon it with such feeling4 ,moralization consists in just this process--the taking upon one's self of a bundle of good life principles4 ,under the right kind of leadership and cooperation this moralizing process grows most satisfactorily4 ,children then take upon themselves laws and become self-governing and law-abiding4 ,an ,educational ,column4--,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 newspaper4 ,the teacher as a real leader in the community could furnish the matter for such a column once every two weeks or once a month1 and1 before long1 if he is the leader we speak of1 the people will begin to look eagerly for this column2 they will turn to it first on receiving their paper4 ,here items of interest on almost any subject might be discussed4 ,the column need not be limited narrowly to technically educational topics4 ,the author of such a column could thus create and build up in a community the right kind of traditions and a good spirit1 tone1 and temper generally4 ,his influence would be potent outside the schoolroom and he would have in his power the shaping and the guiding of the social1 or community mind4 ,it is wonderful what can be done in this way by a prudent1 intelligent1 and interesting writer4 ,the community soon will wish1 after the column has been read through1 that he had written more4 ,this would be an encouraging sign4 ,all ,along the ,educational ,line4--,the kind of leadership and cooperation indicated in this chapter should be exemplified through the entire common-school system4 ,it should obtain between the state superintendent and the county superintendents2 between the county superintendents and their deputies1 or assistants on the one hand and the principals of schools on the other2 between principals and teachers2 and between teachers and pupils4 ,it should exist between all of these officials and the people variously organized for social and educational betterment4 ,then there would be a long pull1 a strong pull1 and a pull all together for the solution of the problems of rural life and the rural school4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,the ,,farmer ,,and ,,his ,,home ,farming in the ,past4--,in the past1 successful farming was easier than it is at present or is destined to be in the future4 ,in the prairie regions of the great central ,west1 the virgin and fertile soil1 the large acreage of easy cultivation1 and the good prices made success inevitable4 ,indeed1 these conditions were thrust upon the fortunate farmer4 ,but those days are passed4 ,increased population is reducing the acreage and cultivation1 while it is eliminating the surplus fertility2 competition and social and economic pressure are reducing the margin of profits4 ,thrift1 good management1 and brains are becoming increasingly important factors in successful farming4 ,old ,conceit and ,prejudice4--,twenty years ago1 when the agricultural colleges were taking shape and attempting to impress their usefulness upon the farmer1 the latter was inclined to assume a derisive attitude1 and to refer to their graduates as silk-stocking farmers--or1 as one farmer put it1 theatrical sort of fellows1 meaning theoretical6 ,in the farming of the future1 however1 the agricultural college and its influence are bound to play a large part4 ,there is plenty of room on a good farm of one hundred and sixty acres for the best thinking and the most careful planning4 ,foresight and ingenuity of the rarest kinds are demanded there4 ,we wish to enumerate1 and discuss in brief1 some of the important points of vantage to be watched and carefully guarded1 if farm life1 which means rural life1 is to be pleasant and profitable4 ,if rural life is to retain its attractions and its people1 it must be both of these4 ,let us1 in this chapter1 investigate some things which1 although apart from the school and education in any technical sense1 are truly educative1 in the best sense4 ,leveling ,down4--,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 process4 ,people become accommodated to their rather quiet and unexciting surroundings4 ,their houses and barns1 in the way of repairs and improvements1 are allowed gradually to succumb to the tooth of time and the beating of the elements4 ,this process is so slow and insidious that those who live in the midst of it scarcely notice the decay that is taking place4 ,hence it continues to grow worse until the farm premises assume an unattractive and dilapidated appearance4 ,weeds grow up around the buildings and along the roads1 so slowly1 that they remain unnoticed and hence uncut--when half an hour's work would suffice to destroy them all1 to the benefit of the farm and the improvement of its appearance4 ,in the country it is very easy1 as we have said1 to level down4 ,people live in comparative isolation2 imitation1 comparison1 and competition enter but little into their thoughts and occupations4 ,in the city it is otherwise4 ,people live in close proximity to each other1 and one enterprising person can start a neighborhood movement for the improvement of lawns and houses4 ,there is more conference1 more criticism and comparison1 more imitation4 ,in the city there is a kind of compulsion to level up4 ,when one moves from a large active center to a smaller one1 the life tendency is to accommodate one's self to his environment2 while if one moves from a small1 quiet place to a larger and more active center1 the life tendency is to level up4 ,it is1 of course1 fortunate for us that we are able to accommodate ourselves to our environment and to derive a growing contentment from the process4 ,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 himself4 ,the college man1 over whom there came a feeling of desolation on settling down in a small country village with one store1 comes eventually to find contentment1 sitting on the counter or on a drygoods box1 swapping stories with others like himself who have leveled down to a very circumscribed life and living4 ,leveling down may be accomplished without effort or thought1 but eternal vigilance is the price of leveling up4 ,premises ,indicative4--,a farmer is known by the premises he keeps1 just as a person is known by the company he keeps4 ,if a man is thrifty it will find expression in the orderliness of his place4 ,if he is intelligent and inventive it will show in the appointments and adaptations everywhere apparent1 inside and outside the buildings4 ,if the man and his family have a fine sense of beauty and propriety1 an artistic or aesthetic sense1 there will be evidences of cleanliness and simple beauty everywhere--in the architecture1 in the painting1 in the pictures1 and the carpets1 in the kinds and positions of the trees and shrubbery1 and in the general neatness and cleanliness of the premises4 ,it is not so necessary that people possess much1 but it is important that they make much of what they do possess4 ,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 itself4 ,conveniences by ,labor-saving ,devices4--,if there are ingenuity and the power of ordinary invention in common things1 system and devices for saving labor will be evident everywhere4 ,the motor will be pressed into service in various ways4 ,there will be a place for everything1 and everything will be in its place4 ,head work and invention1 rather than mere imitation1 characterize the activities of the master4 ,eggs in ,several ,baskets4--,the day is past when success may be attained by raising wheat alone4 ,this was1 of course1 in days gone by1 the easiest and cheapest crop to produce4 ,it was also the crop that brought the largest returns in the shortest time4 ,wheat raising was merely a summer's job1 with a prospective winter's outing in some city center4 ,it was and is still the lazy farmer's trick4 ,it was an effort similar to that of attempting the invention of a perpetual motion machine2 it was an attempt1 if not to get something for nothing1 at least to get something at the lowest cost1 regardless of the future4 ,but nature cannot be cheated1 and the modern farmer has learned or is learning rapidly1 that he must rotate and diversify his crops if he would succeed in the long run4 ,consequently he has begun rotation4 ,he also replenishes his soil with nitrogen-producing legumes1 along with corn planting and with summer fallowing4 ,he engages in the raising of chickens1 hogs1 cattle1 and horses4 ,this diversification saves him from total loss in case of a bad year in one line4 ,the farmer does not carry all his eggs in one basket4 ,a bad year with one kind of crops may be a good year with some other4 ,diversification also makes farming an all-year occupation1 every part of which is bringing a good return1 instead of being a job with an income for the summer and an outlay for the winter4 ,live stock1 sheep1 hogs1 and cattle grow nights1 ,sundays1 and winters as well as at other times1 and so the profits are accumulating all the year round4 ,the ,best is the ,cheapest4--,the modern farmer also realizes that it takes no more1 nor indeed as much1 to feed and house the best kinds of animals than it does to keep the scrub varieties4 ,in all of this there is a large field for study and investigation4 ,but one must be interested in his animals and understand them4 ,they should know his voice and he should know their needs and their habits4 ,as in every other kind of work there must be a reasonable interest2 otherwise it cannot be an occupation which will make life happy and successful4 ,good ,work4--,the good farmer has the feel and the habit of good work4 ,the really successful man in any calling or profession is he who does his work conscientiously and as well as he can4 ,the sloven becomes the bungler1 and the bungler is on the high road to failure4 ,it is always a pleasant thing to see a man do his work well and artistically4 ,it is the habit1 the policy1 the attitude of thus doing that tell in the long run4 ,a farmer may by chance get a good crop by seeding on unplowed stubble land1 but he must feel that he is engaged in the business of trying to cheat himself1 like the boy playing solitaire--he does not let his right hand know what his left hand is doing4 ,the good farmer is an artist in his work1 while the poor farmer is a veritable bungler--blaming his tools and ,nature herself for his failures4 ,good ,seed and ,trees4--,the successful farmer knows from study and experience that only healthy seed and healthy animals will produce good grain and strong animals after their kind4 ,he does not try tricks on ,nature4 ,he selects the best kinds of trees and shrubbery and when these are planted he takes care of them4 ,he realizes that what is worth sowing and planting is worth taking care of4 ,a ,good ,caretaker4--,the successful and intelligent farmer keeps all his buildings1 sheds1 and fences in good repair and well painted4 ,he is not penny-wise and pound-foolish4 ,he knows the value of paint from an economic and financial point of view as well as from an artistic and aesthetic one4 ,knowing these things1 and from an ingrained feeling and habit1 he sees to it that all his machinery and tools are under good cover1 and are not exposed to the gnawing tooth of the elements4 ,this habit and attitude of the man are typical and make for success as well as for contentment4 ,as it is not the saving of a particular dollar that makes a man thrifty or wealthy1 but the habit of saving dollars2 so it is not the taking care of this or that piece of machinery1 or that particular building1 but the habit of doing such things that leads him to success4 ,family ,cooeperation4--,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 own2 he will make them1 in a measure1 co-partners with him on the farm4 ,there could be no better way of developing in them their best latent talents4 ,it would result in mutual profit and1 what is better1 in mutual love and happiness4 ,one of the greatest factors in a true education is to be interested1 self-active1 and busy toward a definite and worthy end4 ,under such circumstances both the parents and the children might be benefited by taking short courses in the nearest agricultural college2 and a plan of giving each his turn could be worked out to the interest and profit of all the family4 ,such a family would become local leaders in various enterprises4 ,an ,ideal ,life4--,it would seem that such an intelligent and successful farmer and his family could lead an ideal life4 ,every life worth while must have work1 disappointments1 and reverses4 ,but work--reasonable work--is a blessing and not a curse4 ,work is an educator1 a civilizer1 a sanctifier4 ,a family like that described might in the course of a few years possess most of the modern conveniences4 ,the telephone1 the daily mail1 the automobile1 and other inventions are at hand1 in the country as well as in the city4 ,the best literature of to-day and of all time is available4 ,music and art are easily within reach4 ,with these advantages any rural family may have a happy home4 ,this is more than most people in the cities can have4 ,more and more of our people should turn in the future to this quiet but happy and ideal country life4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,the ,,rural ,,renaissance ,darkest ,before the ,dawn4--,prior to the present widespread discussion1 which it is hoped will lead to a rural renaissance1 the condition and the prospects of country life and the country school looked dark and discouraging4 ,country life seemed to be passing into the shadow and the storm4 ,it seemed as if the country was being not only deserted but forgotten4 ,the urban trend1 as we have seen1 moved on apace4 ,farms were being deserted or1 if cultivated at all1 were passing more and more into the hands of renters4 ,the owners were farming by proxy4 ,this meant decreased production and impoverished soil4 ,it meant one-crop1 or small-grain farming2 it meant a class of renters or tenants with only temporary homes1 and hence with only a partial interest4 ,the inevitable result would be an impoverished rural life and poor rural schools4 ,without a realization of the seriousness of the situation and the trend on the part of the people at large1 all these conditions prevailed to a greater or less extent4 ,the people seemed unaware of the fact that rural life was not keeping pace with the progress of the world around4 ,in ,new ,england whole districts were practically deserted1 and her abandoned farms told the tale4 ,in ,virginia and in most of the older states similar conditions existed4 ,the people migrated either to the cities or to the newer and cheaper agricultural regions of the ,west4 ,the ,awakening4--,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 nation4 ,difficulty in adjustment to surroundings always constitutes a problem1 and a problem always arouses thought4 ,when our adjustment is easy and successful it is effected largely through habit2 but when it is obstructed or thwarted1 thought and reason must come to the rescue4 ,investigation1 comparison1 and reflection are then drafted for a solution4 ,this is what happened a few years ago4 ,the whole situation1 it is true1 had been in mind previously1 but only in a half conscious or subconscious way4 ,it was being felt or sensed1 more or less clearly1 that there was something wrong1 that there was a great unsupplied need1 in rural life2 but the thought had no definite shape4 ,the restiveness1 the restlessness1 was there but no distinct and articulate voices gave utterance to any definite policy or determination4 ,there was no clearly formulated consensus of thought as to what ought to be done4 ,prior to this time the thought of the people had not been focused on country life at all4 ,the attention of the rural districts was not on themselves2 they were not really self-conscious of their condition or that there was any important problem before them4 ,but not many years ago1 owing to various movements1 which were both causes and effects1 the whole country began to be aroused to the importance of the subjects which ,i have been discussing4 ,the ,committee of ,twelve on ,rural ,schools appointed by the ,national ,educational ,association had reported the phases of the rural life problem in #ahig2 but many declarations and reports of that kind are necessary to stir the whole country4 ,hence no decisive movement1 even in rural education1 became noticeable for several years4 ,but this report did much good2 it not only formulated educational thought and policy in regard to the subject but it also awakened thought and discussion outside of the teaching profession4 ,the ,agricultural ,colleges4--,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 methods4 ,they had distributed this information widely among the farmers of the country4 ,the latter1 at first1 looked askance at these colleges and their propaganda1 and often refused to accept their suggestions and advice on the ground that it was mere theory1 and that farmers could not be taught practical agriculture by mere book men and theorizers4 ,the practical man often despises theory1 not realizing that practice without theory is usually blind4 ,but the growing science of agriculture was working like a leaven for the improvement of farm life in all its phases1 and to-day the agricultural colleges and experiment stations are the well-springs of information for practical farmers everywhere4 ,bulletins of information are published and distributed regularly1 and farmers are being brought into closer and closer touch with these institutions4 ,conventions4--,during this awakening period1 conventions of various kinds are held1 which give the farmers an opportunity to hear and to participate in discussions pertaining to the problems with which they are wrestling4 ,they come together in district1 county1 or state conventions1 and the result has been that a class consciousness1 an esprit de corps1 is being developed4 ,farmers hear and see bigger and better things2 their world is enlarged and their minds are stimulated2 they are induced to think in larger units4 ,thought1 like water1 seeks its level1 and in conventions of this kind the individual levels up4 ,he goes home inspired to do better and greater things1 and spreads the new gospel among his neighbors4 ,at the conventions he hears a variety of topics discussed1 including good roads1 house plans1 sanitation1 schools1 and others too numerous to mention4 ,other ,awakening ,agencies4--,the agricultural paper1 which practically every farmer takes and which every farmer should take1 brings to the farm home each week the most modern findings on all phases of country life4 ,the rural free delivery and the parcel post bring the daily mail to the farmer's door4 ,the rural telephone is becoming general1 and also the automobile and other rapid and convenient modes of communication and transportation4 ,all these things have helped to develop a clearer consciousness of country life1 its problems and its needs4 ,the ,farmer in ,politics4--,add to all the foregoing considerations the fact that1 in every state legislature and in ,congress1 the number of rural representatives is constantly increasing1 and we see clearly that the country districts are awakening to a realization not only of their needs but of their rights4 ,all of these conditions have helped to turn the eyes of the whole people1 in state and nation1 to long neglected problems4 ,the ,national ,commission4--,so the various agencies and factors enumerated above and others besides1 all working more or less consciously and all conspiring together1 finally resulted in the appointment of a ,national ,commission on ,rural ,life1 the results and findings of which were made the subject of a special message from the president to ,congress in #aiji4 ,the report of the commission was issued from the ,government ,printing ,office in ,washington as ,document ,number #gje1 and should be read by every farmer in the country4 ,this commission was the resultant of many forces exerted around family firesides1 in the schoolroom1 in the press1 on the platform1 in conventions1 in legislatures1 and in the halls of ,congress4 ,for the first time in this country1 the conditions and possibilities of rural life were made the subjects of investigation and report to a national body4 ,thus the ,commission became thenceforth a potent cause of the attention and impetus since given to the problems we are discussing4 ,mixed ,farming4--,in recent years1 too1 what may be called scientific farming has become a decided movement and is now very extensively practiced4 ,this includes diversified farming1 rotation of crops1 stock raising1 the breeding of improved stock1 better plowing1 and a host of matters connected with the farmer's occupation4 ,thus farming is becoming neither a job nor an avocation1 but a genuine vocation1 or profession4 ,it requires for its success all the brains1 all the ingenuity1 all the attention and push that an intelligent man can give it2 and1 withal1 it promises all the variety1 the interest1 the happiness1 and the success that any profession can offer4 ,now ,before the ,country4--,the movement in behalf of a richer rural life and of better rural schools is now before the country4 ,it is the subject of discussion everywhere4 ,it is in the limelight2 the literature on the subject is voluminous2 books without number1 on all phases of the subject1 are coming from the press4 ,educational papers and magazines1 and even the lay press1 are devoting unstinted space to discussions on country life and the rural school4 ,the country has the whole question on the run1 with a fair prospect of an early capture4 ,on pages #ahb-ahf we give a bibliography of a small portion of the literature on these questions which has come out recently4 ,educational ,extension4--,within the last few years the movement known as extension work1 connected with the educational institutions1 has had a rapid growth4 ,the state universities1 agricultural colleges1 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 walls4 ,they are vying with each other in their extension departments1 in extra-mural service of every possible kind4 ,in many places institutions are even furnishing musical performances and other forms of entertainment at cost1 in competition with the private bureaus1 thus saving communities the profits of the bureau and the expense of the middlemen4 ,the ,university of ,wisconsin has been in recent years the leader in this extension work4 ,minnesota1 and most of the central and western states are active in the campaign of carrying education and culture to outlying communities4 ,wisconsin1 ,minnesota1 and ,north ,dakota have recently pooled their forces for some exchange of service in extension work4 ,library ,extension ,work4--,in ,wisconsin1 the state library is under the direction of the university extension department1 and collections of books1 which may be retained for a definite length of time1 may be secured by any town or community in the state4 ,in this way a library may do excellent service4 ,some ,froth4--,no doubt some froth will be produced by the stirring of the waters which are moving in some places with whirlpool rapidity4 ,there is considerable sound and fury1 no doubt1 in the discussions and in the things attempted in these uplifting movements4 ,there is a considerable amount of smoke in proportion to the fire beneath4 ,but1 even with the froth1 the noise1 and the smoke1 there is some latent power1 some energy1 beneath and behind it all4 ,the main thing is that the power1 the energy1 the thought1 the enthusiasm of the nation have been started on the right way4 ,we can discount and overlook the vagaries and foibles which will undoubtedly play around the outskirts of the movement4 ,every new movement shows similar phenomena4 ,much will be said1 written1 and done which is mere surface display4 ,but while these may do little good1 they will do no harm and are indicative of the inner and vital determination of the people to confront the difficulties4 ,thought and ,attitude4--,our thought and our attitude make any kind of work or any kind of position desirable and worthy1 or the reverse4 ,many vicious leaders poison the minds of workers and make them dissatisfied with their work and their employers by suggesting a wrong spirit and attitude4 ,we do not advocate passive submission to wrongs2 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 lot4 ,a young man goes through the practice and games of football1 enduring exertion and pain which he would not allow any other person to force upon him2 at the same time1 he has a song in his heart4 ,on a camping trip a person will submit to rigors and privations which he would think intolerable at home4 ,whatever is socially fashionable is done with pleasure2 the mind is the great factor4 ,if one is interested in his work1 it is pleasant--indeed more enjoyable than play2 but if there is no interest it is all drudgery and pain4 ,the attitude1 the motive1 the will make all the difference in the world4 ,in the rural renaissance1 farm life may become more and more fashionable4 ,this is by no means impossible4 ,country life has no such rigors as the football field or the outing in the wilds4 ,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 along1 we can with profit1 intellectually1 morally1 socially1 and physically1 go forth under the open sky and list to ,nature's teachings4 ,everything except the present glare of excitement beckons back to the land1 back to the country4 ,whether as a people we shall effectively check the urban trend1 will1 in the not distant future1 test the self-control1 the foresight1 the wisdom1 and the character of the manhood and womanhood of this nation4 ,,chapter ,,xv ,a ,,good ,,place ,,after ,,all ,not ,pessimistic4--,some of the early chapters of this book may have left the impression that a restoration1 or rejuvenation1 of country life1 such as will reverse the urban trend and make rural life the more attractive by comparison1 is difficult if not impossible4 ,it is difficult we grant2 but we do not wish to leave the impression that such is improbable1 much less impossible4 ,we were simply facing the truth on the dark1 or negative1 side1 and were attempting to give reasons for conditions and facts which have been everywhere apparent4 ,if there are two sides to a question both should be presented as they really are4 ,it is always as useless and as wrong to minimize as it is to exaggerate1 and we were simply accounting for facts4 ,we did not mean that there is no hope4 ,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 is4 ,there is no doubt that the city1 with its material splendor and its social life1 has attractions2 but if we turn to rural life1 we shall find1 if we go below the surface of human nature1 the strongest appeals to our deeper and more abiding interests4 ,the surface of things and the present moment are near to us1 and powerful in the way of motivation4 ,these1 however1 are the aspects of human environment which appeal most strongly to the child1 to the savage1 and to the uneducated person4 ,if we are optimists1 believing that the race is progressing1 and that our own people and country are progressing as rapidly as or more rapidly than any other1 we must believe that motives which appeal to our deeper1 saner1 and more disciplined nature will win out in the long run4 ,let us see1 then1 what some of the appeals to this saner stratum of human nature1 in behalf of rural life1 are4 ,fewer ,hours of ,labor than ,formerly4--,the hours of labor have been reduced everywhere4 ,in the olden time labor was done by slaves or serfs1 and neither their bodies nor their time was their own4 ,they labored when1 where1 and as long as their masters dictated4 ,even a generation ago there was little said1 and there was no uniformity1 as to how long a working-man should labor4 ,in busy seasons or on important pieces of work1 he labored as long as the light of day permitted4 ,it was from sun to sun1 and often long after the sun had disappeared from the western horizon4 ,sixteen hours was no uncommon day for him4 ,under such conditions there was no room for mental1 social1 or spiritual advancement4 ,later1 the hours were reduced to a maximum of fourteen4 ,this proved to be so satisfactory that laws were passed providing for a further decrease in hours4 ,this standardizing of the day of labor1 while not general in the country1 had its effect4 ,the twelve-hour day1 while still long1 was a decided betterment over the sixteen-hour day4 ,there was beginning to be a little possible margin for social1 mental1 and recreational activity4 ,but the twelve-hour day must inevitably get the better of the human system and of the spirit of man4 ,it is too long and too steady a grind1 and habit and long hours soon tell their story4 ,they inevitably lead to the condition of the man with the hoe4 ,as improvements in machinery were perfected and inventions of all kinds multiplied and spread both in the factory and on the farm1 the ten-hour day was ushered in4 ,it was inevitable in this age of inventions and improvements4 ,capital had these inventions and improvements in its possession and a laboring man could now do twice as much with the same labor as formerly4 ,but society as a whole could not assent to the theory and the practice that the capitalist1 the owner of the machines1 should reap all the advantages2 and so1 while the hours were still further reduced1 the wages were increased1 thus more nearly equalizing the benefits accruing to employer and employed4 ,with the aid of inventions the worker1 on the average1 can do more in the short day of eight or ten hours than he did formerly in the sixteen-hour day4 ,it is not contended1 however1 that every laborer actually does this4 ,this phase of the question is a large factor in the labor problem4 ,but from the point of view of the average man and of society1 labor with the aid of machinery can produce probably twice as much as it produced formerly without that aid4 ,this fact has had great influence upon industrial life everywhere1 and makes for increased opportunities and growth4 ,the ,mental ,factor ,growing4--,the trend alluded to above implies that the mental factor is growing larger and larger in occupations of all kinds4 ,success is becoming more and more dependent on knowledge1 ingenuity1 prudence1 and foresight4 ,especially is this true on the farm4 ,there is scarcely any calling that demands or can make use of such varied talents4 ,all fields of knowledge may be drawn upon and utilized1 from the weather signals to the most recent findings and conclusions of science and philosophy4 ,as the hours of labor both in the factory and on the farm are shortened still more--as is possible--the hours of study1 of play1 and of social converse will be lengthened4 ,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 individual4 ,in any event1 the prospect of reasonable hours and of social and cultural opportunities in rural life is growing from day to day4 ,the intelligent man with modern machinery and ordinary capital1 if he has made some scientific study of agriculture1 need have no fear of not living a successful and happy life on the farm4 ,a knowledge of his calling in all its aspects1 with the aid of modern machinery1 and with sobriety1 thrift1 and industry1 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 give4 ,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 part4 ,if we are a people that can do this there is hope for an early and satisfactory solution of the problems of rural life4 ,the ,bright ,side of ,old-time ,country ,life4--,even in the country life of twenty-five to fifty years ago1 there was a bright and happy side4 ,it was not all dark1 and1 in its influence for training the youth to a strong manhood1 we shall probably not look upon its like again4 ,if strength and welfare rather than pleasure are the chief end of life1 many of the experiences which were undoubtedly hardships were blessings in disguise4 ,every boy had his chores and every girl her household duties to perform4 ,the cows had to be brought home in the evening from the prairie or the woods2 they had to be milked and cared for2 calves and hogs had to be fed2 horses had to be cared for both evening and morning2 barns1 stables1 and sheds had to be looked after4 ,all the animals of the farm1 including the domestic fowls1 such as chickens1 ducks1 and turkeys1 became our friends and each was individually known4 ,though all the duties of farm life had to be done honestly and well1 nevertheless the farmer's boy found time to go fishing and hunting1 skating1 coasting1 and trapping4 ,he learned the ways and the habits of beasts1 birds1 and fish4 ,he observed the squirrels garnering their winter supply in the fall4 ,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 hole4 ,he learned how to trap the muskrat1 and woe to the raccoon that was discovered stealing the corn1 for it was tracked and treed even at midnight4 ,the boy's eyes occasionally caught sight of a red fox or of a deer2 and the call of the dove1 the drum of the pheasant1 the welcome whip-poor-will and the to-whit1 to-whit1 to-who of the owl were familiar sounds4 ,he ranged the prairie and the woods2 he climbed trees for nuts and for distant views1 and knew every hill1 valley1 and stream for miles and miles around4 ,even his daily and regular work was of a large and varied kind4 ,it was not like the making of one tenth of a pin1 which has a strong tendency to reduce the worker to one tenth of a man4 ,on the farm one usually begins and finishes a piece of work whether it be a hay-rack or a barn2 he sees it through--the whole of it receives expression in him4 ,it is his piece of work and it faces him as he has to face it4 ,the tendency is for both to be honest4 ,if there were so much brightness and variety in days gone by1 when all work was done by hand1 how much better the situation can be now and in the future1 when inventions and machines have come to the rescue of the laborer1 and when the hours of toil have been so materially shortened6 ,the ,larger ,environment4--,there is no doubt that a large and varied environment is conducive to the growth of a strong and active personality4 ,if one has to adjust himself at every turn to something new1 it will lead to self-activity and initiative1 to ingenuity and aggressiveness4 ,if tadpoles are reared in jars of different sizes1 the growth and size of each will vary with the size of the vessel1 the smallest jar growing the smallest tadpole1 and the largest jar the largest tadpole4 ,it is fighting against the laws of fate to attempt to rear strong personalities in a flat or even in a fifty-foot lot4 ,they need the range of the prairies1 the hills1 and the woods4 ,shakespeare was born and brought up in one of the richest and most stimulating environments1 natural and social1 in the world2 and this1 no doubt1 had much to do with his matchless ability to express himself on all phases of nature and of mind4 ,large and varied influences1 while they do not compel1 at least tend to produce1 large minds2 for they leave with us infinite impressions and induce correspondingly varied reactions and experiences4 ,under such conditions a child is reacting continually and thus becoming active and efficient4 ,he is challenged at every turn1 and if stumbling blocks become stepping stones1 the process is the very best kind of education4 ,games4--,there are excellent opportunities in the country for all kinds of games1 for there ample room and many incentives to activity present themselves4 ,in the city1 children are often content with seeing experts and professionals give performances or stunts1 while they1 themselves1 remain passive4 ,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 themselves4 ,i fear that in recent years owing to imitation of the city and its life1 play and games in the country have become somewhat obsolete4 ,there needs to be a renaissance in this field4 ,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 performances4 ,as in the case of the rural school the play instincts of country children must be awakened again in behalf of rural life in general4 ,there are scores of games and sports1 from marbles to football1 which should receive attention4 ,in recent years the social mind1 in all sports1 seems to be directed to the result1 the winning or losing1 instead of to the game1 as a game1 and the fun of it all4 ,true sportsmanship should be revived and cultivated4 ,there is no reason why there should not be found in every neighborhood1 and especially at every school center1 all kinds of plays and games1 each in its own time and place and having its own patronage--marbles1 tops1 swings1 horseshoes1 ,i spy1 anti-over1 pull-away1 prisoner's base1 tennis1 croquet1 volley ball1 basketball1 skating1 coasting1 skiing1 baseball1 and football4 ,horizontal bars1 turning pole1 and other apparatus should be provided in every playground4 ,in the social centers1 if the boys can be organized as ,boy ,scouts1 and the girls as ,camp-,fire ,girls1 good results will ensue4 ,many more plays and games will suggest themselves1 and those for girls should be encouraged as well as those for boys4 ,all the aspects of rural life can thus be made most enjoyable4 ,it is often well to introduce and cultivate one game at a time1 letting it run its course1 something like a fever1 and then1 at the psychological moment1 introduce and try out another4 ,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 one1 and this is quite important4 ,usually some direction should be given to play1 but this direction should not be suppressive1 and should be given by a leader who understands and sympathizes with child nature4 ,inventiveness in ,rural ,life4--,in the city1 where everything is manufactured or sold ready-made1 a person simply goes to the store and buys whatever he needs4 ,in the country this cannot be done1 and one is driven by sheer necessity to devise ways and means of supplying his needs1 himself4 ,he simply has to invent or devise a remedy4 ,necessity is the mother of invention4 ,it is really better for boys and girls in the country if their parents are compelled to be frugal and economical4 ,if children get anything and everything they wish1 merely for the asking1 they are undone2 they become weak for lack of self-exertion1 self-expression1 and invention2 they become dissatisfied if everything is not coming their way from others4 ,they become selfish and careless4 ,having tasted of the best1 merely for the asking1 they become dissatisfied with everything except the best4 ,this is the dominant tendency in the city and wherever parents are foolish enough to satisfy the child's every whim4 ,if the parents carry the child in this manner1 the child1 in later years1 will have weak legs and the parents will have weak backs4 ,moreover1 love and respect move in the direction of activity1 and if everything comes the child's way there will be little love1 except cupboard love1 going the other way4 ,it is unfortunate for children to experience the best too early in life2 there is then no room for growth and development4 ,it was ,professor ,james who said that the best doll he ever saw was a home-made rag doll2 it left sufficient room for the play of the imagination4 ,with the perfect1 factory-made doll there is nothing more for the imagination to do2 it is complete1 but it is not the little girl who has completed it4 ,in the country1 men and women1 boys and girls are induced to begin and complete all kinds of things4 ,many things have to be made outright and most things have to be repaired on the farm4 ,challenges of this kind to inventiveness and activity are outstanding all the time4 ,sleds1 both large and small1 wheelbarrows and hay racks1 sheds1 granaries1 and barns are both made and repaired4 ,but in all there is no mad rush4 ,it is not as it is in the factory or in the sawmill4 ,one is not reduced to the instantaneous reactions of an automaton2 he has time to breathe and to think4 ,one can act like a free man rather than like a machine4 ,there is room for thought and for invention4 ,activity ,rather than ,passivity4--,in this infinite variety of stimulation and response1 the youth is induced to become active rather than passive4 ,while he is not pushed unduly1 he is reasonably active during all his waking hours1 and the habit of activity1 of doing1 is ingrained4 ,this is closely related to character and morality1 to thrift and success4 ,such a person is more likely to be a creditor than a debtor to society4 ,in this respect the country and the farm have been the salvation of many a youth4 ,in the city many children have no regular employment2 they have no chores to do and no regular occupation4 ,evenings and vacations find them on the streets4 ,then ,satan always finds mischief for idle hands to do4 ,these children become passive except under the impulses of instinct or of mischievous ideas2 they have no regular and systematic work to do2 everything is done for them4 ,during their early years habits of idleness1 of passive receptivity1 of mischief1 and possibly of crime1 are ingrained4 ,and though this kind of life may be more pleasurable1 in a low sense1 than the active life of the country1 there can be no doubt as to which is the more wholesome and strengthening4 ,child ,labor4--,a good child-labor law is absolutely essential to the welfare of the children for whom it has been enacted2 nevertheless1 there has been a great omission in not providing that idle children shall do some work4 ,even in large cities there are probably more children who do not work enough than there are who are made to work too hard4 ,in our zeal we sometimes forbid children to work1 when some work would be the very best thing for them4 ,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 children1 when these should be going to school or engaged in physical and mental recreation and development4 ,it is unfortunate that society is not able to see to it1 that1 as in ,plato's ,republic1 every child and every person engage in the work or study for which he is best fitted1 and to the extent that is best for him4 ,then the hundreds of thousands of children who are idling would be engaged in some kind of occupation1 and those who are working too hard would be given lighter tasks2 and all would have the privilege of an appropriate education4 ,the ,finest ,life on ,earth4--,in view of such circumstances and opportunities1 life in the country should be1 and could be made1 the best and most complete life possible to a human being4 ,country life is the best cradle of the race4 ,to have a good home and rear a family in the heart of a great city is well-nigh impossible for the average laboring man4 ,the struggle for existence is too fierce and the opportunity1 in childhood and youth1 for self-expression and initiative is too meager4 ,the environment is too vast1 complex1 and overwhelming1 with nothing worth while for the child to do4 ,individuals may stand1 but generations will slip on such an inclined plane of life4 ,from this point of view it can be truly said1 we think1 that ,god made the country while man made the town4 ,the real1 vital possibilities of country life are without number4 ,the surface attractions of the city are most alluring4 ,a focusing of the public mind upon the problem1 its pros and cons1 will1 it is to be hoped1 turn the scales without delay in favor of country life and its substantial benefits4 ,,bibliography ,the following bibliography is submitted as affording information and suggestive helps to those who are interested in the problems herein discussed4 ,although the books and references have been selected with care1 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 investigation4 ,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 him4 ,the works referred to are all of recent date1 and express the current trend of thought upon the problems discussed in this little volume4 ,,books ,american ,academy of ,political and ,social ,science4 ,philadelphia1 #aiab4 ,vol4 ,,xl1 ,no4 #abi1 ,country ,life3 ,butterfield1 ,rural ,sociology as a ,college ,discipline2 ,cance1 ,immigrant ,rural ,communities2 ,carver1 ,changes in ,country ,population2 ,coulter1 ,agricultural ,laborers2 ,davenport1 ,scientific ,farming2 ,dixon1 ,rural ,home2 ,eyerly1 ,cooeperative ,movements among ,farmers2 ,foght1 ,the ,country ,school2 ,gillette1 ,conditions and ,needs of ,country ,life2 ,gray1 ,southern ,agriculture2 ,hartman1 ,village ,problems2 ,hamilton1 ,agricultural ,fairs2 ,henderson1 ,rural ,police2 ,hibbard1 ,farm ,tendency2 ,kates1 ,rural ,conferences2 ,lewis1 ,tramp ,problem2 ,marquis1 ,the ,press2 ,mumford1 ,education for ,agriculture2 ,parker1 ,good ,roads2 ,pearson1 ,chautauquas2 ,roberts and ,israel1 ,y4,m4,c4,a42 ,scudder1 ,rural ,recreation2 ,true1 ,the ,department of ,agriculture2 ,van ,norman1 ,conveniences2 ,watrous1 ,civic ,art2 ,washington1 ,b4 ,t41 ,the ,rural ,negro ,community2 ,wilson1 ,social ,life2 ,wells1 ,rural ,church4 ,bailey1 ,l4 ,h43 ,the ,country ,life ,movement in the ,u4 ,s4 7#aiab7 #bbj pp4 ,macmillan ,co41 ,new ,york4 ,cyclopedia of ,american ,agriculture4 #d vols4 #bj4jj4 ,macmillan ,co41 ,new ,york4 ,the ,state and the ,farmer4 7#aiaa7 #agg pp4 ,macmillan ,co41 ,new ,york4 ,the ,training of ,farmers4 7#aiji7 #bfc pp4 ,century ,co41 ,new ,york4 ,betts1 ,george ,h43 ,new ,ideals in ,rural ,schools4 7#aiac7 #abg pp4 ,houghton ,mifflin ,co41 ,boston4 ,brown1 ,h4 ,a43 ,readjustment of a ,rural ,high ,school to the ,needs of a ,community4 7#aiab7 ,bureau of ,education1 ,bulletin ,no4 #bj4 ,buell1 ,jennie3 ,one ,woman's ,work for ,farm ,women4 #ej;c4 ,whitcomb ,barrows1 ,boston4 ,burnham1 ,ernest3 ,two ,types of ,rural ,schools4 7#aiab7 #abi pp4 ,teachers ,college1 ,columbia1 ,new ,york4 ,butterfield1 ,k4 ,l43 ,chapters in ,rural ,progress4 #a4jj4 ,univ4 of ,chicago ,press4 ,the ,country ,church and the ,rural ,problem4 7#aiaa7 #afe pp4 ,univ4 of ,chicago ,press4 ,carney1 ,mabel3 ,country ,life and the ,country ,school4 7#aiab7 #dje pp4 ,row1 ,peterson ,co41 ,chicago4 ,conference on ,rural ,education--,proceedings4 7#aiac7 #de pp4 ,wright ,potter1 ,boston4 ,coulter1 ,john ,lee3 ,cooeperation ,among ,farmers4 7#aiaa7 #ge;c4 ,sturgis ,walton ,co41 ,new ,york4 ,cubberly1 ,e4 ,p43 ,the ,improvement of the ,rural ,school4 7#aiab7 #ge pp4 ,houghton ,mifflin ,co41 ,boston4 ,rural ,life and ,education4 ,houghton ,mifflin ,co41 ,boston4 ,curtis1 ,henry ,s43 ,play and ,recreation for the ,open ,country4 7#aiad7 #bfe pp4 ,ginn ,co41 ,boston4 ,davenport1 ,mrs4 ,e43 ,possibilities of the ,country ,home4 7,bulletin47 ,university of ,illinois1 ,urbana4 ,dodd1 ,helen ,c43 ,the ,healthful ,farm ,house2 by a ,farmer's ,wife4 7#aiaa7 #fi pp4 ,whitcomb ,barrows1 ,new ,york4 ,eggleston1 ,j4 ,d41 and ,bruere1 ,r4 ,w43 ,the ,work of the ,rural ,school4 7#aiac7 #bhg pp4 ,harpers4 ,fiske1 ,g4 ,w43 ,the ,challenge of the ,country4 7#aiab7 #bhc pp4 ,association ,press1 ,new ,york4 ,foght1 ,h4 ,w43 ,the ,american ,rural ,school4 7#aiaj7 #cfa pp4 ,macmillan ,co41 ,new ,york4 ,f4 ,t43 ,the ,country ,school of ,to-morrow4 7#aiac7 #ae pp4 ,general ,education ,board1 ,new ,york4 ,gillette1 ,j4 ,m43 ,constructive ,rural ,sociology4 7#aiac7 #cja pp4 ,sturgis ,walton1 ,new ,york4 ,haggard1 ,h4 ,r43 ,rural ,denmark and its ,lessons4 7#aiaa7 #b4be4 ,longmans1 ,green ,co41 ,new ,york4 ,hutchinson1 ,f4 ,k43 ,our ,country ,life4 7#aiab7 #caf pp4 ,a4 ,c4 ,mc,clurg ,co41 ,chicago4 ,kern1 ,o4 ,j43 ,among ,country ,schools4 7#aijf7 #cff pp4 ,ginn ,co41 ,boston4 ,macdonald1 ,n4 ,c43 ,the ,consolidation of ,rural ,schools in ,north ,dakota4 7#aiac7 #ce pp4 ,state ,board of ,education1 ,bismarck1 ,n4 ,d4 ,mc,keever1 ,wm4 ,a43 ,farm ,boys and ,girls4 7#aiab7 #cbf pp4 ,macmillan ,co41 ,new ,york4 ,monahan1 ,a4 ,c43 ,the ,status of ,rural ,education in the ,u4 ,s4 ,bureau of ,education1 ,washington1 ,d4 ,c4 ,page1 ,l4 ,w43 ,roads1 ,paths1 and ,bridges4 7#aiab7 #a4jj4 ,sturgis ,walton ,co41 ,new ,york4 ,pennsylvania ,rural ,progress ,association3 ,proceedings1 ,rural ,life ,conference4 7#aiab7 #bbg pp4 ,julius ,smith1 ,secretary1 ,pennsdale1 ,pa4 ,plunkett1 ,sir ,horace ,c43 ,rural ,problem in the ,u4 ,s4 7#aiaj7 #agd pp4 ,report of ,national ,commission on ,rural ,life4 ,doc4 ,no4 #gje4 ,government ,printing ,office1 ,washington1 ,d4 ,c4 ,schmidt1 ,c4 ,c43 ,consolidation of ,schools4 ,university of ,north ,dakota4 ,seerley1 ,h4 ,h43 ,the ,country ,school4 7#aiac7 #bah pp4 ,scribner's ,sons1 ,new ,york4 ,rural ,school ,education4 7#aiab7 #hd pp4 ,university of ,texas4 ,wray1 ,angelina3 ,jean ,mitchell's ,school4 #a4jj4 ,public ,school ,pub4 ,co41 ,bloomington1 ,ind4 ,,articles ,,in ,,reports ,,and ,,periodicals ,allman1 ,l4 ,j43 ,teachers for ,rural ,schools4 ,report1 ,n4 ,e4 ,a4 7#aiaj7 pp4 #bhj and #ege4 ,bailey1 ,l4 ,h43 ,why ,boys ,leave the ,farm4 ,century1 #gb3 #daj-af 7,july1 #aijf74 ,barnes1 ,f4 ,r43 ,present ,defects in the ,rural ,schools4 ,report ,n4 ,d4 ,e4 ,a4 7#aiji7 pp4 #bei-bff4 ,bruere1 ,martha ,bensley3 ,the ,farmer and ,his ,wife4 ,good ,housekeeping ,mag41 ,june1 #aiad1 p4 #hbj1 ,new ,york4 ,conference for ,education in the ,south2 ,proceedings1 #aiji4 ,foster1 ,webb1 and ,parkes1 ,nashville1 ,tenn4 ,consolidation3 ,drop a postal card to ,superintendents of ,public ,instruction for latest printed matter4 ,cotton1 ,f4 ,a43 ,country ,life and the ,country ,school4 ,school and ,home ,education1 #bh3ij-id 7,nov41 #aijh74 ,coulter1 ,j4 ,c43 ,cooeperative ,farming4 ,world's ,work1 #bc3 #ei-fc 7,nov41 #aiaa74 ,county ,supervision4 ,report ,n4,e4,a4 #aijh1 p4 #beb4 ,cubberly1 ,e4 ,p43 ,politics and the ,country ,school ,problem4 ,educ4 ,review1 #dg3aj-ba 7,jan41 #aiad74 ,gillette1 ,j4 ,m43 ,the ,drift to the ,city4 ,am4 ,journal of ,sociology1 #af3fde-fg 7,mar41 #aiaa74 ,hibbard1 ,b4 ,h43 ,tenancy in the ,north ,central ,states4 ,quar4 ,journal of ,economics1 #be3gaj-bi 7,aug41 #aiaa74 ,hill1 ,j4 ,j43 ,what ,we ,must ,do to be ,fed4 ,world's ,work1 #ai3 #abbbf-ed 7,nov41 #aiji74 ,mc,clure1 ,d4 ,e43 ,education of ,country ,children for the ,farm4 ,education1 #bf3fe-gj 7,oct41 #aije74 ,miller1 ,e4 ,e43 ,factors in the ,re-making of ,country ,life4 ,forum1 #dh3ced-fb 7,sept41 #aiab74 ,passing of the ,man ,with the ,hoe4 ,world's ,work1 #bj3 #acbdf-eh 7,aug41 #aiaj74 ,rural ,life and ,rural ,education4 ,report ,n4 ,e4 ,a4 #aiab1 pp4 #bha-cac4 ,supervision3 ,index of ,n4 ,e4 ,a4 ,reports ,for ,county4 ,report of #aijh1 pp4 #beb-ga4 ,wells1 ,george ,f43 ,is an ,organized ,country ,life ,movement ,possible8 ,survey1 #bi3ddi-ef 7,jan4 #d1 #aiac74 ,,index ,activity and passivity1 #agi ,affiliation1 #aab ,agricultural colleges1 #df1 #afb ,apperception mass1 #aja ,assistant county superintendent1 #acd ,attendance in consolidated school1 #gc ,automobile parties1 #abd ,back to the country1 #i ,best1 the--the cheapest1 #aeg ,boarding place1 #fb ,boy ,scouts1 #agg ,bright side of rural life1 #agc ,camp-,fire ,girls1 #agg ,character1 #hc ,child labor1 #ahj ,china1 #ajg1 #add ,chores1 #aj ,cities1 population of1 #ai2 churches of1 #bc2 conveniences in1 #bj1 #ba2 schools of1 #bb ,commission1 ,rural1 #i1 #afd ,committee of ,twelve1 #afb ,community activities1 #aae ,consolidation1 #cg1 #fj1 #fc1 #fe1 #ge2 cost1 #gj2 difficulties1 #fd2 effects of1 #ga1 #gb1 #gc1 #gd2 process1 #fc2 when not needed1 #fd ,conventions1 #afc ,cooeperation1 #aci1 #adj1 #ade1 #aeh ,county superintendence1 #abi ,course of study1 #ajh ,curriculum in rural schools1 #ajj-aac ,dancing1 #abj ,debates1 #aaf ,district system1 #fd ,diversification in farming1 #aef1 #afe ,dramatic performances1 #aah ,driver1 #fi ,education1 #gg2 of teachers1 #hd2 value of1 #bd ,educational centers1 #bc2 column in press1 #aej ,environment1 #aje1 #age ,examination of schools1 #ace ,exhibits1 school1 #abb ,experience1 teaching1 #he ,extension work1 #aff ,farmer1 the1 and his home1 #aeb2 and his politics1 #afd ,forum1 a rural1 #abc ,games1 #aba1 #agf ,grading1 #ga ,harvesting machinery1 #ch-da ,high schools1 progress in1 #dg ,higher education1 progress in1 #dd ,hopkins1 ,mark1 #cd1 #ce1 #gh ,hours of 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#cd2 leader1 #fb1 #aad1 #adg2 courses for1 #ei1 #hc1 #ajc ,terms1 school1 #ee1 #aji ,textbook teaching1 #ajd ,township system1 #fe1 #ff ,transportation of pupils1 #fg1 #fi ,urban trend1 #ai ,urbanized literature1 #bb ,value of education1 #bd ,ventilation1 #bi ,wages1 #ij1 #if ,waste land1 #afj ,winter work1 #ad ,women's condition1 #af ,work1 value of1 #aj1 #ad1 #aeg1 #ahj2 city1 #bc2 farm1 #ab ,yearly routine1 #aa