308 Missoiui Agricultural Report. 



m 



The following incidents will give my reasons for doing so. In the corn 

 show held in Livingston connty last year a special preminm was offered 

 to the boy or tlie'sirl who could select the host car of corn. This 

 premium was taken by a little girl not more than 14 years old. In a 

 teachers' and parents' meeting held in Mound City, Missouri, very 

 recently, a special premium was offered to the boy or the girl attending 

 rural school, who would present the best note book on agriculture. This 

 premium, as well, was taken by one of the girls of that county. This 

 is evidence to show that girls can pursue this subject with great profit 

 and educational advantage to themselves. 



However, I have claimed from the beginning of my connection with 

 the Rural School Department of the University that a course in elemen- 

 tary Home Economics should be provided for the girls. This course 

 should be similar in nature to the great body of subject matter compos- 

 ing the common school curriculum. From the very nature of the case 

 it can not be specialized. It must deal with the great fundamental 

 facts of the science. It must be general and not particular. It must 

 deal with the subject of foods, clothing, sanitation, decoration and so on. 



The life of the farmer differs very greatly from the life of the men 

 living in the city. The merchant's business is separate and apart from 

 his home. The lawyer, doctor, railroad employee — in fact nearly all 

 business men — have their offices or shops away from the home. The 

 hours of the day are spent in the place of business. A few hours during 

 the evening are spent at home. "With the farmer this is different. His 

 business is about his home. His house, yard and garden are a part of 

 his daily care and work. If this is true in regard to the farmer himself, 

 it is also true of the farmer's wife. Home Economics as a study relates 

 to the home and its environments. A good definition for Home Eco- 

 nomics would be The Science of Home Making. 



While I have always accorded to women the right of equal oppor- 

 tunities with men, equal opportunities to become self-supporting and 

 independent, and am willing to open to them all avenues of legitimate 

 business, still, I am one of those who hold to the old theory of our 

 fathers and grandfathers, that a Woman's interest and greatest pleas- 

 ures will always center in and about the home. I claim to be a remnant 

 of that old Missouri-Kentucky-Virginia stock who believe that in the 

 home the woman should rule as queen. It is to this end, namely, that 

 the home should be a delightful and inviting place for women, that 

 I insist that home economics be given a place in the common school 

 curriculum. 



During the recent years the pedagogical arena has accentuated 



