ON EDUCATIONAL TRAINING FOR OVERSEAS LIFE. 285 
into the University, the Normal School, or the Ontario Agricultural College. The 
result of this change in examination requirements cannot, of course, be seen as yet. The 
chief difficulty in carrying out the intent of this change is lack of qualified teachers. 
As the High Schools provide for this change in curriculum the number of elementary 
school teachers able to teach agriculture in the rural schools will be increased mate- 
rially from year to year, resulting in an improved rural school. 
*High School.—The value of agriculture as an educational subject, which develops 
the mind of the student by teaching him in terms of his everyday surroundings 
rather than in terms of the abstract and remote, is becoming more apparent each 
year. One-third of the present public-schools’ teaching staff in Langley are graduates 
of our High School Course in Agriculture, and by their ease of adaptation to the needs 
of the rural schools and interesting and practical methods of teaching the course 
in nature study and elementary agriculture have emphasised to a surprising degree 
the technical value of the instruction given in our High School Course. 
‘The feeling is growing amongst the people generally that if the education of to-day 
has any relationship whatever to the welfare of the people of to-morrow, then agri- 
culture both educationally and vocationally is a subject that must not be neglected. 
‘The teaching of agriculture in “‘ High Schools ’’ is now well established in all the 
Provinces of the Dominion, and is meeting with greater success year after year. This 
is partly due tothe factthat better-qualified teachers are being employed than formerly, 
resulting in more efficient instruction, and partly to a better understanding of the real 
nature and value of the work on the part of parents and school authorities.’ 
REPORT FOR 1922-23. 
AGRICULTURAL CouRSES IN HicH SCHOOLS. 
‘The regular two-year course in agriculture is now carried on in twelve High 
Schools and one Superior School in the Province, the total enrolment for the year 
being 510, an increase of fifty-three over last year. The two-year course in agriculture 
is given in Grades X and XI, and in most cases is preceded by a course of general 
sciencein GradeIX. Thisintroductory course in science has been found advantageous 
as an introduction to the study of agriculture as well as to other branches of science, 
and is usually taught by an agricultural instructor. 
‘ The offering of courses in agriculture in city High Schools was looked upon at first 
as a rather doubtful experiment, and no doubt many were ready to regard it as rather 
fantastic and quite inappropriate as a subject of study in such schools. Those, of 
course, who so regarded it were labouring under a wrong impression as to the character 
and purpose of these courses—the impression that only those boys who were definitely 
preparing to go on the land to earn their living could possibly be interested in such 
courses or could hope to be benefited by them. After six years’ experience in the 
City of Victoria and three in New Westminster, and an even longer period in smaller 
cities in the Province, there is little room for doubt as to the beneficial character of 
the work in those cities. Spasmodic efforts are made from time to time by Boards 
of Trade and other organisations to promote mutual understanding and good-fellow- 
ship as between the rural inhabitant and the dweller in the city. This, of course, is 
highly desirable, but in no way can it be as soundly and permanently established as 
by giving to city-bred boys and girls the opportunity to study at first hand the essen- 
tials of food production and of rural economics. City boys and girls have responded 
in a very satisfactory manner in every case where an opportunity was offered them to 
include the study of agriculture in their elective courses. We should have more 
agricultural specialists in our city High Schools.’ 
AGRICULTURAL COURSES FOR GIRLS. 
‘We must all, however, confess to a certain amount of surprise at the remarkable 
degree of success which has attended the study of agriculture by the girls in our various 
High Schools. In the classroom, in the experimental gardens, and in the judging 
pavilion they have more than held their own, for they have succeeded on more than 
one occasion in carrying off the premier honours in examinations and in agricultural 
judging competitions in which more boys than girls participated. 
DEVELOPMENT OF A GENUINE RurRAL INTEREST. 
_ ‘The High School agricultural classes are steadily growing in size and the work 
is gaining in popularity. Not only is this shown by the increasing number of students 
selecting agriculture, but also by increasing interest manifested by the ratepayers 
