Chapter I: Preface

This volume is addressed to the men and women who have at heart the interests of rural life and the rural school. I have tried to avoid deeply speculative theories on the one hand, and distressingly practical details on the other; and have addressed myself chiefly to the intelligent individual everywhere--to the farmer and his wife, to the teachers of rural schools, to the public spirited school boards, individually and collectively, and to the leaders of rural communities and of social centers generally. I have tried to avoid the two extremes which Guizot says are always to be shunned, viz.: that of the "visionary theorist" and that of the "libertine practician." The former is analogous to a blank cartridge, and the latter to the mire of a swamp or the entangled underbrush of a thicket. The legs of one's theories (as Lincoln said of those of a man) should be long enough to reach the earth; and yet they must be free to move upon the solid ground of fact and experience. Details must always be left to the _person_ who is to do the work, whether it be that of the teacher, of the farmer, or of the school officer.

I am aware that there is a veritable flood of books on this and kindred topics, now coming from the presses of the country. My sole reasons for the publication of the present volume are the desire to deliver the message which has come to fruition in my mind, and the hope that it may reach and interest some who have not been benefited by a better and more systematic treatise on this subject.

By way of credential and justification, I would say that the message of the book has in large measure grown out of my own life and thought; for I was born and brought up in the country, there I received my elementary education, and there I remained till man grown. Practically every kind of work known on the farm was familiar to me, and I have also taught and supervised rural schools. These experiences are regarded as of the highest value, and I revert in memory to them with a satisfaction and affection which words cannot express.

If there should seem to be a note of despair in some of the earlier chapters as to the desired outcome of the problems of rural life and the rural school, it is not intended that such impression shall be complete and final. An attempt is made simply to place the problem and the facts in their true light before the reader. There has been much "palavering" on this subject, as there has been much enforced screaming of the eagle in many of our Fourth of July "orations." I feel that the first requisite is to conceive the problems clearly and in all seriousness.

If these problems are to be solved, true conceptions of _values_ must be established in the social mind. Many present conceptions, like those of the _personality_ of the teacher, _standards_ for teaching, _supervision_, school _equipment_, _salary_, etc., must first be _dis_-established, and then higher and better ones substituted. There will have to be a genuine and intelligent "tackling" of the problems, and not, as has been the case too often, a mere playing with them. There will have to be some real statesmanship introduced into the present _laissez-faire_ spirit, attitude, and methods of American rural life and rural education. The nation in this respect needs a trumpet call to action. There is need of a chorus, loud and long, and if the small voice of the present discussion shall add only a little--however little--to this volume of sound, there will be so much of gain. This is my aim and my hope.

JOSEPH KENNEDY

THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA

CONTENTS

PAGE

CHAPTER I. RURAL LIFE 9

A generation ago; Chores and work; Value of work; Extremes; Yearly
routine; Disliked in comparison; Other hard jobs; Harvesting;
Threshing; Welcome events; Winter work; What the old days lacked;
The result; The backward rural school; Women's condition
unrelieved; The rural problem must be met; Facilities.

CHAPTER II. THE URBAN TREND 19

Cityward; Attractive forces; Conveniences in cities; Urbanized
literature; City schools; City churches; City work preferred;
Retired farmers; Educational centers; Face the problem; Educational
value not realized; Wrong standard in the social mind; Rural
organization; Playing with the problem.

CHAPTER III. THE REAL AND THE IDEAL SCHOOL 28

The building; No system of ventilation; The surroundings; The
interior; Small, dead school; That picture and this; Architecture
of building; Get expert opinion; Other surroundings; Number of
pupils; It will not teach alone; The teacher; A good rural school;
The problem.

CHAPTER IV. SOME LINES OF PROGRESS 38

Progress; In reaping machines; The dropper; The hand rake; The self
rake; The harvester; The wire binder; The twine binder; Threshing
machine; The first machine; Improvements; The steam engine;
Improvements in ocean travel; From hand-spinning to factory; The
cost; Progress in higher education; Progress in normal schools;
Progress in agricultural colleges; Progress in the high schools;
How is the rural school?

CHAPTER V. A BACKWARD AND NEGLECTED FIELD 49

Rural schools the same everywhere; Rural schools no better than
formerly; Some improvements; Strong personalities in the older
schools; More men needed; Low standard now; The survival of the
unfittest; Short terms; Poor supervision; No decided movement;
Elementary teaching not a profession; The problem difficult, but
before us; Other educational interests should help; Higher
standards necessary; Courses for teachers; The problem of
compensation; Consolidation as a factor; Better supervision
necessary; A model rural school; The teacher should lead; A good
boarding place.

CHAPTER VI. CONSOLIDATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS 63

The process; When not necessary; The district system; The township
system; Consolidation difficult in district system; Easier in
township system; Consolidation a special problem for each district;
Disagreements on transportation; Each community must decide for
itself; The distance to be transported; Responsible driver; Cost of
consolidation; More life in the consolidated school; Some grading
desirable; Better teachers; Better buildings and inspection; Longer
terms; Regularity, punctuality, and attendance; Better supervision;
The school as a social center; Better roads; Consolidation coming
everywhere; The married teacher and permanence.

CHAPTER VII. THE TEACHER 77

The greatest factor; What education is; What the real teacher is; A
hypnotist; Untying knots; Too much kindness; The button
illustration; The chariot race; Physically sound; Character; Well
educated; Professional preparation; Experience; Choosing a teacher;
A "scoop"; What makes the difference; A question of teachers.

CHAPTER VIII. THE THREE INSEPARABLES 88

The "mode"; The "mode" in labor; The "mode" in educational
institutions; No "profession"; Weak personalities; Low standard;
The norm of wages too low; The inseparables; Raise the standard
first; More men; Cooperation needed; The supply; Make it
fashionable; The retirement system; City and country
salaries--effects; The solution demands more; A good school board;
Board and teacher; The ideal.

CHAPTER IX. THE RURAL SCHOOL CURRICULUM 100

Imitation; The country imitates the city; Textbooks; An
interpreting core; Rural teachers from the city; A course for rural
teachers; All not to remain in the country; Mere textbook teaching;
A rich environment; Who will teach these things?; The scientific
spirit needed; A course of study; Red tape; Length of term;
Individual work; "Waking up the mind"; The overflow of instruction;
Affiliation; The "liking point"; The teacher, the chief factor.

CHAPTER X. THE SOCIAL CENTER 114

The teacher, the leader; Some community activities; The literary
society; Debates; The school program; Spelling schools; Lectures;
Dramatic performances; A musical program; Slides and moving
pictures; Supervised dancing; Sports and games; School exhibits; A
public forum; Courtesy and candor; Automobile parties; Full life or
a full purse; Organization; The inseparables.

CHAPTER XI. RURAL SCHOOL SUPERVISION 127

Important; Supervision standardizes; Supervision can be overdone;
Needed in rural schools; No supervision in some states; Nominal
supervision; Some supervision; An impossible task; The problem not
tackled; City supervision; The purpose of supervision; What is
needed; The term; Assistants; The schools examined; Keep down red
tape; Help the social centers; Conclusion.

CHAPTER XII. LEADERSHIP AND COOPERATION 139

The real leader; Teaching _vs._ telling; Enlisting the cooperation
of pupils; Placing responsibility; How people remain children; On
the farm; Renters; The owner; The teacher as a leader;
Self-activity and self-government; Taking laws upon one's self; An
educational column; All along the educational line.

CHAPTER XIII. THE FARMER AND HIS HOME 152

Farming in the past; Old conceit and prejudice; Leveling down;
Premises indicative; Conveniences by labor-saving devices; Eggs in
several baskets; The best is the cheapest; Good work; Good seed and
trees; A good caretaker; Family cooperation; An ideal life.

CHAPTER XIV. THE RURAL RENAISSANCE 160

Darkest before the dawn; The awakening; The agricultural colleges;
Conventions; Other awakening agencies; The farmer in politics; The
National Commission; Mixed farming; Now before the country;
Educational extension; Library extension work; Some froth; Thought
and attitude.

CHAPTER XV. A GOOD PLACE AFTER ALL 169

Not pessimistic; Fewer hours of labor than formerly; The mental
factor growing; The bright side of old-time country life; The
larger environment; Games; Inventiveness in rural life; Activity
rather than passivity; Child labor; The finest life on earth.

RURAL LIFE AND THE RURAL SCHOOL