RURAL SCHOOL AND THE COMMUNITY 127 



but that it will teach the spirit of co-operation — 

 and there is hardly anything more needed today 

 in rural life than this spirit of co-operation. 

 The schools can perform no better service than 

 in training young people to work together for 

 common ends. In this work such things as 

 special day programmes, as for Arbor Day, 

 Washington's Birthday, Pioneer Day; the hold- 

 ing of various school exhibitions; the prepara- 

 tion of exhibits for county fairs, and similar en- 

 deavors, are useful and are being carried out in 

 many of our rural schools. But the best 

 example of this work is a plan that is being used 

 in the state of Maine, and is performed through 

 the agency of what is called a School Improve- 

 ment League. The purposes of the league are: 



(1) to improve school grounds and buildings; 



(2) to furnish suitable reading-matter for pupils 

 and people; (3) to provide works of art for ^ 

 schoolrooms. There are three forms of the 

 league, the local leagues organized in each 

 school; the town leagues, whose membership 

 consists of the officers of the local leagues; and 

 a state league, whose members are delegates 

 from the 'own leagues and members of the local 

 leagues who hold school diplomas. Any pupil, 

 teacher, school officer, or any other citizen may 



