TG
HOarE AM) FA"RM MAGAZINE SECTION
The Country School Once More
jJ4j33S"SS3$
iS Professor Joseph Schafcr, I'll. J
$ D., Director of Extension Work S
S and Professor of History In tiio $
S University of Oregon at Eugene, $
$ in .1 special nrtlclo to tho Farm J
Magazine, tells fnrmcra why tho $
old-Mmo one-room school H'.ould J
becomo a union two, threo or S
" four room school In a consoll- $
$ dated district. Tuxes need not s
S bo Increased by this operation, $
S wlillo school efficiency Is. Tho S
S school lnw of Oregon permits $
S such consolidations. Dr. Schaf- $
S cr's nrtlclo Is of vital interest
3 to farmers with families still to 3
$ bo educated. A second and con-
eluding nrtlclo will bo run In S
J tho next lssuo of tho Pnrm
$ rngazlne. Editor. J
.. ,$,; A j :,; t j, rf ,j , r
THE REASON WHY wo nro having
such a determined, unabating ngl
tatlon of tho rural school question
becomes clear only when wo tuko a
Inrgo view of it.
A recent bulletin of tho Bureau of
Education presents theso significant
educational facts: (1) That 10 per
cont of the children of school ago Id
tho United States nro Solng taught
in city and town school; (22 that CO
per cont nro being taught in rurnl
schools, so-culled, and 30 per cent of all
children nro taught in country schools
having ono room and ouo teacher.
Our problem is found in tho last
stntcmont that moro than ono-third of
all American children nro still being
"educated" in tho ono-room, ono
teacher school. This is so becauso of
tho limitations upon this lyjo of school
as nn Institution, and not because,
within its proper scope, it has failed to
Justify itself. No ono familiar with
American pioneer history can fnll to
rovoronco tho "district school" because
of what it has meant to our pcoplo in
tho past. It was well adapted to caro
for tho needs of a people engaged
almoit exclusively in u simple, non
scientific and almost primitive agricul
ture a pcoplo who camo only indirect
ly in touch with tlioso phases of busi
ness lifo which wore complex or with
correspondingly intricate social or
political affairs.
It was easy to establish, for whon
over a few families moved Into somo
now vnlley or pushed out Into n now
area of tho plains, they could havo
their school for at least a few months,
thus keeping open tho priceless oppor
tunity of learning to tho boys and girls
of tho frontier households. Moreover
this "district school" has boon tho
scono of nctlvity of thousands of men
and women who nro rcmomborod by
many moro thousands ns capablo and
devoted tonchors, whoso lives havo boon
woven Into tho mornl nnd intellectual
woof of American society.
Ono Boom an Auacronlsm.
Wo all should honor tho district
school of tho past, but bo far ns it
still remains an Institution of ono room
nnd one teacher it has becomo an nit-
ncronlsm in American life nnd must bo
changed to something different before
tho country school cducntlon of today
can bo mndo adequate to tho Hoclal
needs of children living in tho country
today.
Thero Is hardly need to nrguo the
point. Everybody admits that farming
both ns a business and ns a lifo is
vastly diffcront from pioneer condi
tions. Tho farmer, because land is high
priced nnd margins of profit narrow,
must bo n man trninod to closo busl
tics habits, liecauso science can aid in
making his fnrm moro productive or
In preventing losses, bo must bo trnlned
nt least to apply scientific principles in
his business.
Because tho farmer is today cosmo
politan in his business nnd social rela
tions, ho must havo tho trnlulng neces
sary to cnnblo him to understand social
and economic facts in all their varying
forms na local, state, national and In
ternational. Hocnuso ho is n citizen
dealing directly with tho most vital nnd
far-reaching problems problems, moro
over, which grow moro nnd moro com
plex with tho progressive intensifica
tion of American life tho farmer as n
prop of tho commonwealth nnd of so
cioty, requires for his equipmont an
education no whit less thorough or less
broad than that which today comes
ns n matter of courso to tho mnn en
tering business lifo In tho towns or
cities. And similar statCMcnt will
hold for tho women on tho fnrm.
Adoquato Education.
Therefore, nn education ndequalo to
tho need of tho prcsont day inrmcr
must differ from tho old tlmo district
school education in range of subject
mntter, in tho degroo of perfection to
which training is carried, nnd in its
vocational aim. AW of this moans, moro
and moro specially trained teachers,
moro equipmont, moro yenrs cf school!
It means somo opportunity for vnrln
Hon In the training given to tho two
soxca respectively.
A school of two rooms nnd two teach
crs n man who, nmong other subjects,
enn givo boys the special training now
kmjuihu in uricuiiuro win tno mo-
chauic arts, nnd n won.nn. to teach girls
tho homo-making arts With equipment
proper to its work, is tho least that any
country dwelling parent should bo sat-
isfled with. Prom this minimum, thero
should bo ns rapid nn nscont as possl
llo to n school of from four to five
teachers, equipped to enro for pupils
through tho high school years.
Of course, tho chief obslaclo In tho
way of gottlng such sohools in plnces
whero thoy do not exist is tho lack of
money. Districts now nro orgnnlnod
on tho basis of furnishing support for n
ono-room, one-teaohor school to bo
reached by tho children from their
homes, traveling on foot. Frequontly
tho valuation of tho district pronortv Is
only high enough to socuro nt n reason
nblo rnto of taxation tho sunnort ro-
quired for ono teacher; Bomo districts
nro too poor to do this without aid from
tho country.
Consolidate Districts,
If tho schools were to bo developed
to n two-room basis, or something still
moro pretentious, tho financial support
would havo to bo expanded correspond
ingly. This would Involvo, usually, tho
enlargement of tho district by union
with other ndjoinlng districts or tho
formntlon of what Is cnllod n "consoli
dated district" for which tho school
law of Oregon provides already.
Tho pcoplo nro nccustomod to tho
"district school" of ono room nnd ono
tonchor; the bulk of tho prosent genera
tion "wont to school" in somo "llltlo
red school houso"; somebody, or bov
oral persons in ovory district hnvo prop
erty near tho school houso and thoy
fenr that consolidation would nffect
5"?0'1 vts7rr--
..iuii oi schoo aim :j '"" rtiL
"'ings ronml "g?,.and Wet to C
oni.o,o having chliZ "C'
lane these must i C Ca 4
bciiooi. Jcnlousy nmon n.. eMb ll
Uriels, lll0 ISS of CUtj"
""owfangledncss" ,T,',"I
routs to the formation d'1"-
districts. t80Vml '
various obstacles ,mi,t 'b Sta?
overcome, for tho education e(2S
Iron In such a way u to .( ,UTt
sonablo guaranty of success il ,i
J- Mgh-daa, citfrens, STaJ?
tho first and moit prMsl
tbo present adult generation. T
Wanted Badly.
A Louisville man tells of an Jtel
nt a Sunday school convention. I, ,.
swor to tho roll call of tho iUIh u
ports wcro verbally given by tie tiI
ous stato chairmen. When Tmu u
called a big man stepped Into tk th,
and in stentorian tones cxcUlmedj '
represent tho imperial State ofTcm,
Tho first whito woman born In Tcm
s still llving-sho was born la Tuu,
Hon of over 3,000,000." Wherenpw
u voico from tho gallery cried ont U
clarion tones: "Send that womia (,
Idaho wo need her."
LGOING EAST or
COMING WEST
Wt can STK IMU Mnnnf
Automobile, tic n$ SBBJJ
IUti and Infornutloa raralthiid n nutt,
Pacific Coait Forwarding Company
201 Wlko. Duildln,. PtU.j OrHM
'P
BORROW THIS CAR
FOR A YEAR
A full yrar's uie at practically
no cot pcrhapi jou'tb ner
thought of It In this war be (or,
hut It't a fact nererthtltu that
today you can buy a r-bullt Win
ton and after tiling It far a full
aeaion tell It without a cent of de
preciation. It's HVo borrowing car from
your friend for a year and return
ing It to him after uilng it for 90S
day.
Krery traded-ln Wlnton Blx
many of them come to ui In part
payment on new roodeli each year
It given a thorough orerhautlng
In the Wlnton ahops and brought
up to the regular Wlnton atandard
fine tlx-c) Under self -cranking
automobile!.
Theie In turn are dlipoaed of
to our rapidly Increaied Hat of
"uaed" car cuttomera at exactly
the price allowed for them when
taVen In exchange.
In thla way the buyer ti able to
pick up a Wlnton Six at about
half the coat of the time car new
and le fully protected by tho com
pany'a guarantee that It will giro
the latlifactlon for which Wlnton
Slxca are famed. Let ut tend you
today our latest complete bargain
list.
THE WINION MOTOR CAB CO.
Tortland, Oregon.
Seattle, Wash. Spokane, Wash.
Not the Cheapest
But the BEST
VIM
FLOUR
WE ARE SO SURE
OF THE
QUALITY
OF
Made In Oregon
TheJobes Milling Co.
St Johns,-PortIand, Oregon
Gold Shield
Coffee
That we ask you to give Gold Shield a
trial, feeling that you will then insist
on Gold Shield when
buying coffee.
SCHWABACHER BROS.
& CO., Inc.
Importers and Boasters of Coffee
Scattlo, Wash.
liHffyi
LIFE
HEALTH
ACCIDENT
Phone Main ITU
a One IPolicy
COMBINATION
ONTRAOT O H
ft!
n$
&
Clip this) Conpon nd mail to the Besa
Offle for full Information. We
bllgktlon locurrei.
Kara I
omImihmiimiIMhW
AadrJM
MMM
Oooupatlont
-"
'.NSURANCE CO.
MIIMlMMW
A. BOAXMt blrthder.. ...
Arat InsnnuiM Bug Pm:
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