HOME PROJECTS IN SECONDARY AGRICULTUKK. f) 



can be properly correlated with his course of study and meet other 

 requirements of a project there should be no objections to accepting 

 it as a substitute for a home project. 



The 'project to be a part of the instruction in agriculture. — The project 

 should have a definite relation to the course of study. If the student 

 is taking a course in farm crops his project should be along the line 

 of crop production; if he is studying animal husbandry, his project 

 should be connected with the care of animals; projects in fruit 

 growing or vegetable gardening may accompany courses in horti- 

 culture; and if a special course in farm management is given, special 

 problems of management should be assigned as projects. 



Boys and girls not taking the course in agriculture may be induced 

 to take up some special phase of practical agriculture at home, but 

 such work does not come within the definition of a project. A 

 student while taking a course in animal husbandry may start to 

 keep records of the home herd in connection with a dairy project, 

 his interest may cause him to continue the work the following year 

 while he is taking a course in fruit growing, but some work pertaining 

 to the production of fruit should then constitute his main project. 



The project to present a new problem. — It should be borne in mind 

 that the primary aim of the home project is educational. A project 

 should be considered in the light of what the student may learn from 

 it in principle and practice. A student may grow an acre of corn year 

 after year and continue to learn something new, but if the work of 

 the first year has been properly planned and supervised it will have 

 far greater educational value than in the succeeding years. After 

 growing corn one year the student may better take up some other 

 crop or, better still, an entirely different phase of farming. 



Pupil, parents, and teacher unite upon plan. — The home project when 

 properly administered is an excellent means of bringing the home 

 and school together in their educational problems. The teacher 

 should know the home conditions surrounding the student and should 

 not attempt to plan a project without first getting the consent of the 

 parents. Not only should their consent be obtained, but every 

 attempt shoidd be made to secure their hearty cooperation. Whether 

 a written agreement is made or not will depend upon the relation of 

 the project to the plan upon which the agricultural course is con- 

 ducted. In productive projects and in other projects as far as possi- 

 ble, the student should be given entire responsibility regarding the 

 work and should have a financial interest in its outcome. If the 

 student is using his father's land or live stock, he should pay rent or 

 interest on a fair valuation. He should work with an understanding 

 that he will participate in the profits, if they are not all to be his, and 

 at the same time feel that he will be responsible for any losses. 



