Rural School Leaflet 8ii 



3. the district superintendent 



With the new supervision of schools, a great impetus has come to the 

 work in connection with the Rural School Education Department of the 

 State College of Agriculture. While in the past we have had the coopera- 

 tion of many school commissioners, there has never been such widespread 

 interest as at the present time. The district superintendents are making 

 effort to give the teachers opportunity to become familiar with work 

 relating to country-life interests. They are doing their part in every 

 way to help the teachers in their districts to make use of our publications 

 and any suggestions that we are sending from the College. This is most 

 encouraging and is an essential movement in the interest of a better rural 

 life. The opportunity of the district superintendent for the improvement 

 of rural conditions is limitless. We wish to cooperate with him in every 

 way and will be grateful for suggestions for making our work more suited 

 to the needs of teachers. Whether agriculture and nature-study shall be 

 taught in the public schools of New York State is not for the State College 

 to decide, nor is it our province to say how much time should be given to 

 these subjects. That rests with the State Education Department. Our 

 work is to help place before the rural teachers of New York State accurate 

 subject matter, prepared by persons who are teaching the various subjects 

 in the State College. 



There are many ways in which the district superintendents can help to 

 make oiir work more effective, the most important of which are: (i) By 

 sending us the names 0} their teachers as early in the year as possible. (2) By 

 urging the teachers to send us the names of the children at the beginning of 

 the year. (3) By encouraging the teachers to have the children write letters 

 to the College three or Jour times during the year. 



With our large correspondence, it is absolutely necessary that we file 

 the names of teachers and pupils who desire the publications. It is quite 

 important that the materials should be mailed to the teachers the first 

 of the year. It is the right of every boy and girl in New York State to 

 know that he is entitled to copies of the Cornell Rural School Leaflet 

 which are prepared for him. The district superintendents can help us 

 to keep our mailing-lists complete and accurate. They can help the boys 

 and girls in their districts by encouraging them to take an interest in 

 the out-of-doors and in farm practices. 



It would be well for the district superintendents to speak to their 

 teachers about the importance of sending addresses when they make 

 request for the leaflets. Many letters have reached us in which no 

 address was given. 



The following report will doubtless be interesting since it shows the 

 distribution of the Cornell Rural School Leaflet for the year 1911-1912: 



