No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICUI/TURE. 271 



This sounds well froui tlie platform, reads well from the printed 

 page, but never has and never will work out in actual practice. 

 Building upon this theory, we have correlated our educational system. 

 We began at the toj) instead of the bottom of the ladder. Between 

 the Public School and llie College, there is a broad and deep chasm ; 

 so high and so wide, that only about five per centum of our boys 

 and girls ever cross it. We owe much to the pedagog of old New 

 England for the impractical and inefficient school system under 

 which we' have been working for a half a century. It is time that 

 the farmers should have something to say about who shall teach 

 and what shall be taught their boys and girls. 



CENTRALIZATION OR CONSOLIDATION 



In an Act of 1901, the word "Centralization' is defined as fol- 

 lows: 'That for the purpose of this Act, the word 'Centralization' 

 is hereby defined as a system of schools in a township providing 

 for the abolishment of all sub-districts and the conveyance of pupils 

 to one or more central schools." 



When the Pennsylvania School Code was enacted in 1911, all the 

 previous legislation referring to consolidation, transportation and 

 centralization was repealed and in its place the following sections 

 referring to the subject of consolidation were enacted. 



"The Board of School Directors of any school district in this Com- 

 monwealth may, on account of the small number of pupils in at- 

 tendance, or the condition of the then existing school building, or 

 for the purpose of better gradation and classification, or for economi- 

 cal or other reasons, may close and consolidate any one or more 

 of the public schools in its district, and, upon such school or schools 

 being closed, the pupils w^ho belong to the same shall be assigned 

 to other schools: Provided, That in any district of the fourth class, 

 pupils who belong to any such closed school, and reside one and 

 one-half miles or more from the school to which they are assigned, 

 shall be furnished proper transportation at the expense of the dis- 

 trict, to and from the school to which they are assigned." 



It would thus seem that under the School Code, "Consolidation" 

 rather than "Centralization" is the term to be used. 



EDUCATION DEFINED 



"Education is a reconstruction of our experiences." This is a 

 short, concise yet comprehensive definition. Much of the subject 

 matter that is taught in our public schools to-day has no relation- 

 ship whatever with the experiences of the boys and girls on the 

 farm. Hence, much of the teaching is meaningless and worthless to 

 them. Culture is the object sought in obtaining an education. Not 

 so many years ago it was quite generally believed that this could 

 only be obtained by studying dead languages and higher mathe- 

 matics. To-day we know that culture can be obtained just as readily 

 by studying the things which are practical as in studying those 

 which are not. The question of how and where they shall get their 

 culture of training, is of but little moment, so long as they get it. 



