VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 33 



training; and that the project method of bringing agricultural 

 science immediately to bear on actual farm practice, in going 

 commercial agricultural enterprises, conducted by the boys them- 

 selves, is a promising solution of our most pressing problem in this 

 field of vocational training. 



Young People Respond. 



The Smith's Agricultural School at Northampton, Massachu- 

 setts, beginning with the school year 1908-1909, has employed a 

 man throughout the summer for the express purpose of assisting 

 the boys in applying the teachings of the school in their home 

 farm work. This method immediately appeals to the motor in- 

 stincts and activities of boys of secondary school age. The success 

 of boys in the corn growing clubs in may states shows that boys 

 instantly respond to help at home. 



A school boy of sixteen at the recent Massachusetts Corn Show 

 won the sweepstakes against all comers, including the sweepstakes 

 winner of last year at the big New England Corn Show, for the best 

 single ear of corn and also for the best collection of ten ears. He 

 had been given seed by the former winner, and had been told and 

 shown out of school hours what to do, and when and how to do it 

 on his father's land. The man who helped him said "That boy 

 has pumped me all summer!" Most boys, like most men, learn 

 best by being told and shown on the field of action. 



Earning and Learning. 



This method offers the boy, all too eager to quit school for work 

 on reaching his fourteenth birthday, a strong incentive to continue 

 in school; because it bids fair to make him an earner while still a 

 learner. Boys like to feel that as members of the family they are 

 at last able to pay their own way. 



