THE TRAINING OF FARMERS 



the general lay of the land, and something 

 about the soils ; how many farms in the dis- 

 trict, and what they produce and why ; the 

 common or significant animals and plants ; 

 the woods and the streams ; how the local- 

 ity is governed ; how the houses are built ; 

 what the local factories are; and so on. 

 And I would teach him how to keep himself 

 from being sick or lazy. I would not have 

 all this told to the child as news or pleasant 

 pieces of information. I would have it 

 constitute the real work and substance of 

 the school, carrying the method out to 

 the world questions as the pupil reaches 

 the proper understanding; and I would 

 enrich his life by bringing in the literature 

 and the history and biography, and incor- 

 porating them into his education, as the 

 figures are woven into a fabric. 



It may seem to be a difficult thing to 

 teach all this; but that is no argument 

 against it, for such things must be taught. 

 We must train the child into touch and 

 sympathy with life, not take him out of and 

 away from life. Ideals that are worth any- 

 thing must grow out of the common things 

 152 



