322 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



dogmas." While this is to some extent true this very conservation 

 is one of the strong points of the jjublic schools. It is well that they 

 are not carried away by every dreamer with a freak educational 

 system. Nevertheless certain changes, not reforms, are needed if the 

 country schools are to adapt their pupils to farm life. By country 

 schools we mean not only the one room country schools but the town- 

 ship high schools as well. 



That it is the function of these schools to adapt their pupils for 

 farm life should not be questioned. Practically all their pupils come 

 from the farm and most of them will continue on the farm. Very few 

 of them will attend any other school and must therefor get whatever 

 education schools can give them in these schools. It should be the 

 function of the schools to train the pupils for the conditions of to- 

 morrow so far as they can be foreseen, but since the morrow cannot 

 be seen let us train them for to-day rather than for yesterday. 



The specific adverse criticisms made of the country schools are 

 that they do not touch the heart of the community, that they are 

 modeled too much after city schools, that they do not give enough 

 useful knowledge, and that they are inclined to place the fitting of 

 students to meet college entrance requirements ahead of training 

 for life, that is they are inclined to sacrifice the interests of the ma- 

 jority for the benefit of the few. The reasons of these tendencies are 

 far to seek but the remedy is not always so easy to apply. The 

 leaders in education have not been workers in the rural schools and 

 there has been a constant drainage of the best teachers from the 

 country to the city schools and the professions on account of the 

 better salaries- The country teachers have in general recognized the 

 superiority of the city school and in seeking for improvement have 

 naturally been led to copy. A great deal more thought has been 

 given to the improvement of city schools for city environment be- 

 cause of the better organization and higher salaried men. 



The public gives the teacher of the township schools more credit 

 for fitting one student for college than for what he does for all the 

 rest of the school. It is natural therefore that the teacher should give 

 special attention to this one again. The teacher is perhaps a college 

 graduate and would of course like to furnish a new student to his 

 alma mater. 



In order that the school may touch the heart of the community it 

 must become more of a social center. The games and amusements 

 entered into by the pupils contribute more toward this end than any 

 other one thing. Where you see a school that can get up a ball 

 game you will see one that is getting next to the people. 



If we admit that the rural schools are not meeting their pos- 

 sibilities and can point out their specific weaknesses we should then 

 seek the remedies. Some of these have already been suggested, per- 

 haps none of them are new to you. The two great opportunities for 

 improvement are by centralization and consolidation and the intro- 

 duction of vocational studies. Centralization and consolidation will 

 mean fewer schools so that we can pay better salaries and have better 

 teachers and more close supervision. It will make the school more 

 of a social center, stimulate civic pride, increase attendance, and in- 

 terest more people. Consolidation and centralization are placed first 

 not because they are regarded as of more importance than vocational 



