New Ideals in Rural Schools | Page 3

is to live, whether it be

in the shop, on the farm, or in the profession. For knowledge lies at the
basis of all efficiency and success in whatever occupation. Education
must (2) shape the attitude, so that the individual will confront his part
of the world's work or its play in the right spirit. It must not leave him a
parasite, whether from wealth or from poverty, ready to prey upon
others; but must make him willing and glad to do his share. Education
must (3) also give the individual training in technique, or the skill
required in his different activities; not to do this is at best but to leave
him a well-informed and well-intentioned bungler, falling far short of
efficiency.
The great function of the school, therefore, is to supply the means by
which the requisite knowledge, attitude, and skill can be developed. It is
true that the child does not depend on the school alone for his
knowledge, his attitude, and his skill. For the school is only one of
many influences operating on his life. Much of the most vital
knowledge is not taught in the school but picked up outside; a great
part of the child's attitude toward life is formed through the relations of
the home, the community, and the various other points of contact with
society; and much of his skill in doing is developed in a thousand ways
without being taught. Yet the fact remains that the school is organized
and supported by society to make sure about these things, to see that
the child does not lack in knowledge, attitude, or skill. They must not
be left to chance; where the educative influences outside the school
have not been sufficient, the school must take hold. Its part is to
supplement and organize with conscious purpose what the other
agencies have accomplished in the education of the child. The ultimate
purpose of the school is to make certain of efficiency.
The means by which the school is to accomplish these ends are (1) the
social organization of the school, or the life and activities that go on in
the school from day to day; (2) the curriculum, or the subject-matter
which the child is given to master; and (3) the instruction or the work
of the teacher in helping the pupils to master the subject-matter of the
curriculum and adjust themselves to the organization of the school.
These factors will of necessity differ, however, according to the

particular type of school in question. It will therefore be necessary to
inquire into the special problem of the rural school before entering into
a discussion of the means by which it is to accomplish its aim.
The special problem of the rural school
Each type of school has not only its general problem which is common
to all schools, but also its special problem which makes it different
from every other class of schools. The special problem of any type of
school grows out of the nature and needs of the community which
supports the school. Thus the city school, whose pupils are to live the
industrial and social life of an urban community, confronts a different
problem from that of a rural school, whose pupils are to live in a
farming community. Each type of school must suit its curriculum, its
organization, and its instruction to the demands to be met by its pupils.
The knowledge taught, the attitudes and tastes developed, and the skill
acquired must be related to the life to be lived and the responsibilities
to be undertaken.
The rural school must therefore be different in many respects from the
town and city school. In its organization, its curriculum, and its spirit, it
must be adapted to the requirements of the rural community. For, while
many pupils from the rural schools ultimately follow other occupations
than farming, yet the primary function of the rural school is to educate
for the life of the farm. It thus becomes evident that the only way to
understand the problem of the rural school is first to understand the
rural community. What are its industries, the character of its people,
their economic status, their standards of living, their needs, their social
life?
The rural community is industrially homogeneous. There exists here no
such a diversified mixture of industries as in the city. All are engaged
in the same line of work. Agriculture is the sole occupation. Hence the
economic interests and problems all center around this one line. The
success or failure of crops, the introduction of a different method of
cultivation or a new variety of grain, or the invention of an agricultural
implement interests all alike. The farmer engaged in planting his corn
knows that for miles around all other farmers are similarly