io8 THE FARMER AND THE NEW DAY 



ers who do not realize that the school of yesterday 

 will not answer as the school of to-morrow. 



Not all of the difficulties in developing the rural 

 schools are to be laid at the door of the farmer. State 

 aid is often inadequate. Supervision is not seldom 

 poor. School officials are often obliged to pay too 

 much attention to politics; sometimes they endeavor to 

 transplant bodily the city school system to the country. 

 There is no national program of rural education based 

 upon the fundamental relationships between education 

 and rural democracy. We can progress rapidly only 

 when we have a program that is vital and practicable, 

 one that appeals to the farmers and has their support. 

 We need the vision to organize a great national move- 

 ment in behalf of the rural schools of America. 



SOME ITEMS OF RURAL SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT 



The rural schools should be as good as the city 

 schools. They may not teach the same subjects or in 

 the same way, but the country boy and girl in all justice 

 should have opportunities equal to any offered any- 

 where. Some farmers do not realize how backward 

 many rural schools are. And perhaps some educators 

 do not realize what good results actually come from 

 the better class of country schools. But we can hardly 

 say with truth that the education given in rural schools 

 to-day is as good as that given in the cities. 



We must insure better teaching far, far better 

 teaching. There is an astonishing amount of good 

 teaching in the country schools, but it is really a marvel 

 that it is as good as it is. The majority of rural teach- 

 ers are not properly trained. They get very small pay, 

 they stay in the school a very short time. Reforms at 

 these points are fundamental higher salaries for bet- 



