STATE AND OTHER TEACHERS' ASSOCIATIONS 63 



congressional district agricultural schools located at Americus 

 and Monroe, Ga. Each type is described in sufficient detail to 

 give a clear understanding of its organization and actual work. 

 The final conclusions of the Committee are summed up in 

 nine paragraphs, two of which should be quoted here since they 

 refer to conditions that continue to exist : 



That the supply of properly trained teachers for carrying on this work 

 is totally inadequate to meet even the present demand, and that the increase 

 in the demand for such teachers in the near future requires a very large 

 increase in the facilities for their preparation, and to supply these facilities 

 special training schools should be established throughout the country for 

 the preparation of elementary rural-school teachers; that the normal schools 

 whose graduates find positions in rural schools should broaden and strengthen 

 in every way their courses of instruction along industrial lines adapted to 

 the needs of rural schools; that the agricultural colleges favorably situated 

 for such work should undertake to organize special courses for the purpose 

 of training teachers for the secondary schools, capable of giving instruction 

 in agriculture and related subjects. 



That in the growth of public sentiment, in the development of ideals, in 

 the preparation of courses of study, and in the facilities for the training of 

 teachers for industrial work in rural schools, decided progress has been 

 made in recent years; but that much yet remains to be done before the 

 importance and value of this kind of industrial education shall be fully 

 appreciated by all concerned, and before it shall receive its appropriate 

 recognition and find its proper place in our educational system (83). 



In 1906 a call was sent out to members of the Association 

 who were interested in agricultural education to be present at 

 the annual meeting of the Department of Superintendence for 

 the purpose of discussing various problems concerning this sub- 

 ject. There was an encouraging response and an interesting 

 meeting was held. At this meeting the National Committee on 

 Agricultural Education was formed. 



The second conference of this committee was held at the meet- 

 ing of the Association of 1907. At this session three important 

 papers were read and discussed: "The Work of the National 

 Government in Extending Agricultural Education through the 

 Public Schools" ; "What Has Been Done and Is Being Done by 



