New Ideals in Rural Schools

Ideals in Rural Schools, by
George Herbert Betts

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Title: New Ideals in Rural Schools
Author: George Herbert Betts
Release Date: April 24, 2007 [EBook #21213]
Language: English
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IDEALS IN RURAL SCHOOLS ***

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Riverside Educational Monographs

EDITED BY HENRY SUZZALLO
PROFESSOR OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
NEW IDEALS IN RURAL SCHOOLS
BY
GEORGE HERBERT BETTS, PH. D.
PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY CORNELL COLLEGE, IOWA
[Illustration]
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY BOSTON, NEW YORK AND
CHICAGO
The Riverside Press Cambridge
COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY GEORGE HERBERT BETTS
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

CONTENTS
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION v
PREFACE ix
I. THE RURAL SCHOOL AND ITS PROBLEM 1
II. THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE RURAL SCHOOL 25
III. THE CURRICULUM OF THE RURAL SCHOOL 57
IV. THE TEACHING OF THE RURAL SCHOOL 92

OUTLINE 121

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
In presenting a second monograph on the rural school problem in this
series we register our sense of the importance of rural education. Too
long have the rural schools suffered from neglect. Both the local
communities and the State have overlooked the needs of the rural
school system. At the present hour there is an earnest awakening of
interest in rural life and its institutions. Already there is a small but
certain movement of people toward the country and the vocation of
agriculture. A period of agricultural prosperity, the reaction of men and
women against the artificialities of city life, the development of
farming through the application of science, and numerous other factors
have made country life more congenial and have focused attention
upon its further needs. It is natural, therefore, that the rural school
should receive an increased share of attention.
Educational administrators, legislators, and publicists have become
aware of their responsibility to provide the financial support and the
efficient organization that is needed to develop country schools. The
more progressive of them are striving earnestly to provide laws that
will aid rather than hamper the rural school system. In his monograph
on The Improvement of the Rural School, Professor Cubberley has done
much to interpret current efforts of this type. From the standpoint of
state administration he has contributed much definite information and
constructive suggestion as to how the State shall respond to the
fundamental need for (1) more money, (2) better organization, and (3)
real supervision for rural schools.
It is not so clear, however, that rural patrons, school directors, and
teachers have become fully aware of their duty in the matter of rural
school improvement. To be sure much has been done by way of
experiment in many rural communities; but it can scarcely be said that
rural communities in general are thoroughly awake to the importance of
their schools. The evidence to the contrary is cumulative. The first

immediate need is to reawaken interest in the school as a center of rural
life, and to suggest ways and means of transmuting this communal
interest into effective institutional methods. To this end, Professor Betts
has been asked to treat the rural school problem from a standpoint
somewhat different from that assumed by Professor Cubberley; that is,
from the point of view of the local community immediately related to,
and concerned with, the rural school. In consequence his presentation
emphasizes the things that ought to be done by the local
authorities,--parent, trustee, and teacher. Its soundness may well be
judged by the pertinent order of his discussion. Having stated his
problem, he initiates his discussion by suggesting how the social
relations of the school are to be reorganized; only later does he pass to
the detail of curricula and teaching methods. It is a clear recognition of
the fact that the community is the crucial factor in the making of a
school. The State by sound fiscal and legislative policies may do much
to make possible a better country school; but only the local authorities
can realize it. The trained teacher with modern notions of efficiency
may attempt to enlarge the curriculum and to employ newer methods of
teaching, but his talents are useless if he is hampered by a conservative,
unappreciative, and indifferent community. When the school becomes a
social center of the community's interest and life, there will be no
difficulty in achieving any policy