45 



that the farm itself will furnish employment the unit in China 

 is too small. As extension work increases, a number of 

 assistants, of middle school training, can be utilized, provided 

 they are young men who have had a goodly amount of practical 

 experience. 



On the other hand eventually the majority of well-trained 

 teachers in the elementary schools must come from schools of 

 middle school grade. It is also probable that to a large extent 

 the preachers who serve the farm-village churches must be 

 trained in schools of similar grade. Both tea:- her and preacher 

 in the farm community should have knowledge of the rural 

 problem, should have studied some agriculture. But the ques- 

 tion whether they shall get this work in special agricultural 

 schools, or in connection with special types of normal and 

 theological schools, is one that cannot be decided alone by those 

 responsible for agricultural education. 



One of the most difficult matters to adjust in the agricultural 

 school of this grade, is to persuade students to take a course 

 that is not intended to lead to college, but that is avowedly a 

 "finishing" course. This fact constitutes still another reason 

 for proceeding slowly with agricultural middle schools. College 

 faculties must consider seriously the admission of graduates of 

 these schools on terms not too difficult; and the schools 

 themselves must weigh carefully the content and scope of the 

 course. In Europe the tendency has been to make the 

 agricultural school of this grade highly specialized and highly 

 technical. In America the pressure is to make the work really 

 a "fit" for the agricultural college, and hence to retain in the 

 curriculum a large proportion of conventional high school 

 subjects. Neither course appeals to one as quite the solution. 

 Why not utilize much the same principles as in the case of the 

 college course, as to both vocational emphasis and breadth of 

 teaching? Emphasize the project method, and take special 

 pains to bring the student close to the real problems. In these 

 schools pupils should perform a great deal of manual work. 



A school of this grade can not do investigational work of a 

 really scientific character, but it should make surveys of actual 

 farm conditions, carry on some experiments, and especially test 

 varieties and methods, both in order to get the students into the 

 spirit of investigation and to gather local facts as a part of the 

 survey efforts of the colleges. 



