338 EEPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



are truck gardening clubs; in California, garden city clubs, with their 

 accompanying banks and city government organizations; also in 

 California, tree-growing clubs; in North Dakota, agricultural and 

 home economics clubs, with short courses at the agricultural college 

 as prizes; in Texas and Louisiana, hog clubs; and in many other 

 States similar organizations with their accompanying exhibits, judg- 

 ing contests, study of reliable literature, and other educational fea- 

 tures — all exceedingly popular, but withal sane and sure to exert a 

 powerful influence upon the coming generation for the development 

 of a sturdy and intelligent manhood and womanhood and the upbuild- 

 ing of rural life and institutions. 



CONNECTING THE SCHOOL WITH THE FARM HOME. 



A unique scheme for promoting more sympathetic and helpful 

 relations between the rural school and the farm home is reported 

 from Oregon. Credit for the project is due to L. R. Alderman, State 

 superintendent of public instruction, who has outlined his plans as 

 follows : 



That civilization is founded on the home all will agree. The school should be a 

 real helper of the home. How can the school help the home? How can it help the 

 home establish habits in the children of systematic performance of home duties, so 

 that they will be efficient and joyful home helpers? One way is for the school to take 

 into account home industrial work and honor it. It is my conviction, based upon 

 careful and continuous observation, that the school can greatly increase the interest 

 the child will take in home industrial work by making it a subject of consideration at 

 school. A teacher talked of sewing and the girls sewed. She talked of ironing, and 

 they wanted to learn to iron neatly. She talked of working with tools, and both girls 

 and boys made bird houses, kites, and other things of interest. A school garden was 

 planned in a city, and one of the boys was employed to plow the land. Seventy-five 

 children were watching for him to come with the team. At last he came driving 

 • around the corner. He could manage a team. He drove into the lot, and 150 eyes 

 looked with admiration at the boy who could unhitch from the sled and hitch on to 

 the plow, and then as he, " man fashion " — lines over one shoulder and under one arm — 

 drove the big team around the field, all could feel the children's admiration for the 

 boy who could do something worth while. I have seen a girl who could make good 

 bread or set a table nicely get the real admiration of her schoolmates. 



The school can help make better home builders. It can help by industrial work 

 done in the school, but as that is already receiving consideration by the press and in a 

 few schools, I shall not in this short article treat of it. 



The plan I have in mind will cost no money, will take but little school time, and 

 can be put into operation in every part of the State at once. It will create a demand 

 for expert instruction later on. It is to give school credit for indu.strial work done at 

 home. The mother and father are to be recognized as teachers, and the school-teacher 

 put into the position of one who cares about the habits and tastes of the whole child. 

 Then the teacher and the parents will have much in common. Every home has the 

 equipment for industrial work and has somebody who uses it with more or less skill. 



The school has made so many demands on the home that the parents have, in some 

 cases, felt that all the time of the child must be given to the school. But an important 

 thing that the child needs along with school work is established habits of homo-making, 

 and these habits can come only from real home-making. A\'hat one does depends as 



