2 AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS 



we are told, can be accomplished best on the farm. Again, on 

 the affirmative side, it has been said that the resourcefulness 

 of the man who is engaged in the various occupations of the 

 farm cultivates breadth of character and initiative in dealing 

 with all the engagements of life. Whatever the terms em- 

 ployed, the professional educator has come to regard the op- 

 portunities which are presented in farm life as valuable means 

 of training children. 



With the recognition of these numerous and strong motives 

 for the development of agriculture as a part of the educational 

 system, there comes a whole train of difficult problems of 

 organization. Even those who recognize the importance and 

 value of agricultural education are in doubt as to the best methods 

 of attaining the result that they regard as ideal. One of the 

 first questions that arises is the question of the level of training 

 at which agricultural courses shall be introduced. Is the study 

 of any phase of farming a suitable subject for elementary school 

 children, and, if so, what simple elements of the subject can 

 properly be taught at this early stage of school work? On 

 the other hand, the problem of finding suitable agricultural 

 courses for higher institutions is, no less difficult. The agri- 

 cultural colleges have found themselves in frequent conflict 

 with the traditional colleges. The agricultural colleges have 

 sometimes been criticized for conducting a lower grade of work 

 than that which is conducted by other institutions of higher 

 learning. In spite of these criticisms, in some quarters the 

 agricultural courses have developed to such an extent that the 

 conventional academic courses have almost disappeared from 

 the institutions in the state. In either of these cases the difficulty 

 of organizing advanced work is manifest. It has sometimes 

 been suggested that the agricultural high school is a better 

 means of promoting agricultural education than is the elementary 

 school or the university. When an agricultural high school 

 has been organized it has degenerated at times into an ordinary 

 high school with one or two theoretical courses in agriculture. 



