The Sit-still Method 139 



We must outgrow the sit-still and keep-still 

 method of school work. I want to see our 

 country school-houses without screwed-down 

 seats, and to see the children put to work with 

 tools and soils and plants and problems. A 

 child does not learn much when he is silent 

 and inactive. Out of this work will grow the 

 necessity of learning to read and figure and 

 draw. 



This redirection of educational effort will, 

 of course, come slowly. A new spirit is arising 

 among school patrons here and there, and this 

 will aid to bring it about. The people must 

 feel that they, themselves, have something to 

 say about the schools, and that all power is 

 not centered in departments and boards. And 

 then society should see that useful ideas of 

 education are sown among its members. 



If these redirective forces are to be set in 

 motion and made effective, much public money 

 will be required. This money will not be a 

 gift to an agricultural class, but an appropria- 

 tion to aid in developing the internal re- 

 sources of the country. The farmer is not a 



