Seventy-Third Annual Report 1257 



schools. Two liimdred and sixty-eight other pupils are studying 

 the subject in other high schools not being vocational agricultural 

 departments. 



The local school with its agricultural course must connect itself 

 with the home and the community. The best school of agriculture 

 is closely identified with the community and its alfairs. The 

 degree of success seems to depend in a large part upon how much 

 the school gets from the community and how much it gives in 

 return. Such a school stands for progress and efficiency and 

 through its officers and teachers takes the initiative in movements 

 toward community welfare. Each farm, home, organization and 

 society seems to be rich in opportunity for the school seeking it. 

 Each boy and girl comes to school with an almost inexhaustible 

 store of experience. The wise teacher takes advantage of such 

 conditions. He connects his school v/ith as many of the neighbor- 

 hood centres as possible; he leads his pupils to interpret their ex- 

 periences in the light of biological and physical laws ; he en- 

 courages the development of the sense of social interdependence. 

 This procedure does not always result in a temporary knowledge 

 of the number of swimmeretts on a crayfish, or the laws of falling 

 bodies in terms of S^ % gt^, but it does formulate a groundwork 

 of science in terms of experience. This fundamental science is 

 necessary as a basis for later instruction along the special lines 

 of agriculture and homemaking. It is evident that local and indi- 

 vidual work of this kind cannot be outlined in a general syllabus, 

 nor can its results be tested by a uniform examination. On the 

 other hand, experience has shoAvn that some standard is necessary. 

 In view of these facts, the Education Department encourages the 

 development of local activities and local syllabuses under the close 

 direction and supervision of the Division of Vocational Schools. 



It is necessary for these schools to have definite assign- 

 ments of home project work so that the pupils will knew 

 about the business of farming from another standpoint than 

 mere book learning. These local schools are for farms boys. 

 The art of farming is learned at home and the science 

 of farming is learned at school. The art and the science 

 should not be divorced ; hence provision should be made for 

 " home project '' work carried on at home under the direction 

 of the teacher of agriculture. One of the best of these 



