Grade Prospects — The Poultry Club 



A. M. Blood 



True education is obtained by doing, not by learning how to do. 

 The boy that has played fair on the playground until he is prej- 

 udiced against foul play has thereby done more to establish 

 character than he would have done by learning the ten command- 

 ments and all of the platitudes in literature. 



If children are to develop into industrious, efficient men and 

 women they should do more in school than learn how to be indus- 

 trious and how to solve the industrial problems of life. They 

 should by participating in industrial pursuits during the habit 

 forming period, form the habit of being industrious and be led to 

 meet real situations instead of imaginary ones. To this end I 

 believe an industry should be developed in each grade above the 

 first: an industry that would vitalize arithmetic and language 

 work, be a basis for business training and an important factor in 

 character building. 



The want of all the year round supervision is the great obstacle 

 in undertakings of this kind and is met, only in part, by carefully 

 organizing the work for the summer months and by securing the 

 cooperation of committees from the adult clubs of the community. 



In our school at Park Ridge, our most successful project for 

 applying our theory to practice has been our chicken industry. 



We began by building a chicken house which we endeavored to 

 make a model in design and workmanship. It was built in sections 

 which were tacked together inside the manual training room and 

 later removed to the chosen site where the building was com- 

 pleted. 



In the spring we organized in our fourth grade the Fifth Grade 

 Poultry Club. Officers were elected, committees appointed, and 

 plans laid for promoting the business. 



Each member paid in ten cents for a share and the total amount 

 comprised the paid up capital of the club. They bought their 

 equipment, three clucks and some feed, secured some eggs, and 

 commenced business. 



The Park Ridge Business Men's Association gave them twenty- 

 five day old chicks, Fischel of Indiana sent them a sitting of eggs 

 from his famous White Rock stock and poultry breeders from 

 Illinois and Michigan volunteered their cooperation. 



|317 



