﻿AGRICULTURAL TRAINING FOR EMPLOYED TEACHERS. 9 



student without any interruption ol his regular employment and 

 without taking up the greater part of the vacation period. The 

 expense incident to a correspondence course is usually small . Another 

 advantage lies in the fact that correspondence work can be carried on 

 by single individuals, and the student is not required, therefore, to 

 attend upon the sessions of any institution, thus saving money, time, 

 and travel. It is undoubtedly true that under the guidance of a good 

 correspondence -ourse much more systematic and thorough work can 

 be done than if the student depends upon mere general reading. 



On the other hand, correspondence study undoubtedly has many 

 disadvantages. It is hardly possible for the student to do more than 

 an elementary grade of work by this method, and there is considerable 

 danger of his getting incorrect ideas on the more complex questions 

 which arise, because of the absence of any one to question him and 

 to correct his inaccurate impressions. Furthermore, there is a lack 

 of enthusiasm in isolated study which is generally found when several 

 students are associated together. No one can hope to learn as much 

 or as readily by the correspondence method as when associated with 

 other students in a class under the direct supervision of a competent 

 instructor. The personality of such an instructor is a great factor in 

 class instruction, which is wholly lacking in correspondence work. 

 Another great disadvantage of correspondence work lies in the 

 practical impossibility of doing thorough laboratory or experimental 

 work. Some simple experiments which do not require any apparatus, 

 or only such equipment as may be constructed at home, may, of 

 course, be performed; and some field observations and experiments 

 may be conducted if the student is industrious and conscientious 

 enough, but at best the work of this sort must be more or less crude 

 and unsatisfactory. 



The popular demand for correspondence courses in agriculture is 

 evidenced by the number of State and private institutions in which 

 such courses are now offered. The results of a recent investigation 

 by this office show that at present there are in the United States and 

 its territories, as nearly as can be learned, 25 State institutions and 

 5 private schools in which some regularly established correspondence 

 work in agriculture may be done. Besides, there are five private 

 correspondence schools which offer more or less complete courses in 

 agriculture. In at least seven of the State schools college credit may 

 be obtained by students having the proper qualifications upon passing 

 satisfactory examinations. In one, credit may be prescribed by the 

 State superintendent of public instruction. In several others certifi- 

 cates are awarded for the successful completion of a certain number of 

 courses. The number of distinct courses in agriculture offered by 

 these various institutions ranges from 1 to 56. Nearly all these 

 institutions offer courses in elementary agriculture or agricultural 

 5773°— Bull. 7—13 2 



