CHAPTER IX 

 PERIODICAL LITERATURE 



Popular periodicals have become an important factor in 

 education. They reach thousands of people. Several have a 

 circulation of more than 100,000, and a few claim to reach a 

 million readers. Every subject of popular interest is exploited. 

 This popular interest determines in a large measure the choice 

 of subject-matter, but not always. Interest in new things 

 is often stimulated by well-written articles. Indeed there is a 

 keen search for new things or the beginnings of new move- 

 ments that may seem to have elements of popular interest. 

 The importance of rural education, the inefficiency of the pres- 

 ent system, and the need of redirecting rural education are 

 new things from the standpbint of the popular periodical. 



An educational system which originated in pioneer days, 

 and which served its purpose well in those days, persists today 

 with less modification than has taken place in any other fea- 

 ture of rural life. The few changes that have taken place were 

 brought about largely through imitation, either voluntarily or 

 impressed by law, of urban schools, and were not the changes 

 of an adaptive growth. This static condition of rural educa- 

 tion was until a few years ago, and is, in most communities at 

 the present time, looked upon with complacency and satisfac- 

 tion. Patrons who were not satisfied quietly moved to some 

 town or city where their children might have better educational 

 advantages, but little or no criticism of the rural school was 

 ventured and little or no effort made to improve it. 



With this situation in mind, it is easy to see why any 

 departure from the established routine in rural-school manage- 

 ment or any effort to make its work better adapted to rural 

 conditions would be regarded by editors of popular periodicals 

 as something new and worthy of wide publicity. 



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