MUL UMN Newoule ED 328 374 RC 017 788 TITLE Farm Leaders and Teachers Plan Together. What Agricultural Leaders Want the Schools To Teach. Reports of Eight Regional Conferences of Agricultural and Educational Leaders. INSTITUTION National Education Association, Washington, D.C. Dept. of Rural Education. PUB DATE 47 NOTE 35p. PUB TYPE Collected Works - Conference Proceedings (021) -- Historical Materials (060) EDRS PRICE MFO1/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Agricultural Education; Conservation Education; xEducational Attitudes; Elementary Secondary Education; *Farmers; *Formative Evaluation; National Surveys; *Regional Attitudes; Relevance (Education); xsRural Education; Rural Urban Differences; School Attitudes; School Community Relationship; *School Role IDENTIFIERS Urban Bias ABSTRACT This booklet is a collection of recommendations from participants in eight regional conferences held in 1946 by the American Institute of Cooperation and the National Education Association. The conferences consisted of small groups of agricultural leaders and educators from every section of the United States, who discussed common problems of rural education. The attending educators remained in the background of the discussion, giving themselves an opportunity to hear what agricultural leaders wanted the schools to do. Tne conference summaries reflect some of the thinking that grew out of the discussions. Farm leaders often Called for greater educational emphasis in the following areas: natural resource conservation, basic skills, community issues, family and community life, vocational education, guidance, and teacher training. Farmers also voiced the desire for stronger school-community ties. Also included in the booklet is a brief report of a questionnaire survey showing the opinions of U.S. farm leaders about rural education. Among other things, farm leaders were asked to rate the value of high school subjects to rural youth and to suggest what subjects rural schools should improve. Forty-six percent of the agricultural leaders believed that schools in small towns tended to overemphasize preparation for urban life. Seventy percent were in favor of paying teachers to give educational and recreational leadership during the summer months. (TES) RAEKEKAEAREKEKEKKKRKEKARAKKKRAEARKEARAERKKKRARARKARARAREARARARAARARARARAERRERKRAKRAREREARARKEARRKRKEREEEK * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made x x from the original document. x RARER ARARAARARARAERARARRAARRARARARARRARARARARARARRAAREKARARARARRAARARAERARRR Farm Leaders and Teacher PLAN TOGETHER ED328374 “PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Leon ore Re bins TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC).” U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational R and | EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) yA document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization onginating it C Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality @ Points of wew or opinions stated in this docu ment do not necessarily represent official OER! position or policy Farm Leaders and Teachers Plan Together What Agricultural Leaders Want the Schools To Teach LIBRARY NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATIOR WASHINGTON. D. C, 1947 Reports of Eight Regional Conferences of Agricultural and Educational Leaders BEST COPY AVAILABLE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF COOPERATION and DEPARTMENT OF RURAL EDUCATION of NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION L_IBRARY | NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIA fice WASHINGTO!N 6. c y 1150 CopyYRIGHT, 1947 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES 1201 Sixteenth Street, Northwest, Washington 6, D. C. Permission to reprint is granted upon acknowledgment of source. Sale price per copy, 25¢. Discounts: 2-49 copies, 10%}; 10-99 copies, 259%; 100 or more copies, 33 1/3°%. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Pee Peep merry pen POET eee ee ees 5 Agricultural Leaders and Educators Work Together in Planning Educational Policy ae tawieneeadies 7 Reports of Conferences of Agricultural and Educational Leaders ee TI isc SSR pene ORs rs bk Pea es ewe ae 9 Montana, Oregon, Washington South Amieete Comionemee....... .. «2.6. -.----55.. ere 10 Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia Midsouth Conference _. Sed cue twue etter ae I Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana Great Lakes Conference ..... OOP hors par eer 13 Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, “Wisconsin Temes I oF souk doy on ener n nae 15 Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania pee TN CII, os occ oss os nh cnc inna keke ess Seem 17 Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont Sen: TS 8 See eit Site cate ei tee eee J lowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota Western and Rocky Mountain States Conference 1 anna Cas, Ga 22 Utah, California, Wyoming, Idaho Summary of Questionnaire Survey on What Farm Leaders Think about Teachers ; ate ee Participants in the Eight Regional Conferences . “pre 27 ee Lore: ahh ik sdk w's Wa aieadl 35 [3] Foreword During the year of 1946 the American Institute of Cooperation and the Depart- ment of Rural Education of the National Education Association jointly sponsored and arranged eight regional conferences in which small groups of agricultural leaders and educators from every section of the United States discussed the common prob- lems of rural education. Each conference met for an entire day with an average attendance of about thirty people, approximately two-thirds of whom were agri- cultural leaders. In each instance the small group of educators present remained in the background of the discussion making the most of an opportunity to learn what agricultural leaders want the schools to be and do. Summaries of these conferences reflect some of the thinking of agricultural leaders on educational policy. These summaries are not presented as a final and complete statement of policy, but as the thinking which grew out of a day’s discussion of edu- cational needs in the rural areas of the country. They are being published with the hope that they will be useful to state and local groups in further educational planning and discussion. Rapid changes taking place in American life make it imperative that adjustments be made in educational programs. Such adjustments should reflect the best thinking of both professional and lay people. If this report stimulates other well- planned conferences of this type, it will have been worthwhile. Credit for initiating these conferences is due to the group of educators who attended the rural education workshop conducted by Dr. Frank W. Cyr at Teachers College, Columbia University, in the summer of 1945. There the need for such conferences was first recognized. Recommendations made by this group encouraged the American Institute of Cooperation and the Department of Rural Education to take the initiative in bringing agricultural and educational leaders together in these discussion groups. The leadership provided by Dr. Cyr in organizing the conferences is worthy of special recognition. Howarp A, Dawson, executive secretary, Department of Rural Education, National Education Association [5] Agricultural Leaders and Educators Work ogether in Planning Educational Policy Raymond W. Miller President, American Institute of Cooperation Frank W. Cyr Consultant on Rural Education, American Institute of Cooperation He American farmer has always been deeply interested in public education. Out jo his hopes and aspirations and the work of his hands came the early common schools of the United States. A group of rural people in an open-country neighbor- hood or village would meet together, usually in someone's home, decide they needed a school in the community they were building on the edge of the frontier, incorporate a school district, arrange for a tax levy, erect a building, employ a teacher, keep the school accounts, and follow carefully the progress of the school from week to week thruout the year. Then, at the “annual meeting” of the district in the spring, the men, women, and children would meet together to discuss the past year’s work, the authori- zation of a budget, the employment of the teacher, the making of repairs or erection of a new building, and other current matters. Our deep-seated belief in public education, and the strength and virility of the American school system are due in large measure to the fact that the quality of the early-day school depended upon the people themselves—the interest they expressed in a tangible way. This source of vitality must not be lost. American farmers have always considered the school as one of the main avenues thru which their children could be prepared to enjoy a better way of life. They have a responsibility for keeping it a kind of institution that will accomplish this purpose. During the past forty years, especially, many changes have come in rural schools. The original common school has been supplemented by the high school which experienced a tremendous growth, with enrolment nearly doubling every ten years between 1890 and 1930. Increased training required of teachers, new developments in teaching methods and in textbooks, and the utilization of modern transportation to and from school for rural children—all these have multiplied greatly the amount of education provided, and added to the complexity of providing it. Today, the average farmer has a much smaller part in developing the elementary- school program and, in many states, takes practically no part in formulating policies that govern the high school. It is impossible to return to the practices of pioneer days where the people of each district provided and carried on their own school with little assistance and guidance from outside the district. But, our rural public schools cannot be schools of the people, by the people, and for the people, unless ways are found thru which both leaders and average citizens can study and understand the educational needs of their children and their communities, and participate in develop- [7] LIBRARY 7 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATIO® WASHINGTON D.C ing a program to meet them. Rural citizens must take a greater part in determining what the school shall teach, as well as in formulating other general policies which affect the welfare of the school. Their participation must be as effective as that of the pioneers who built the school building or cut the wood for fuel. Their efforts must be reflected in the general quality of the school program. Today, we have people who are especially trained to build the buildings, install the plumbing, teach the children, and administer the school’s program. The average citizen can no longer perform these tasks. He can help to decide, however, what the schools should teach. With one hundred and ten thousand local school districts in the United States, rural citizens can hardly do this job individually without losing the great benefits of educational research and experience. They must work together cooperatively in their county, in their state, thruout each region, and on a nationwide basis in deciding on an effective educational policy. This can be done best in coopera- tion with professional educators who are trained in the organization and operation of educational programs. These educators have the responsibility of helping lay lead- ers crystallize their hopes and aspirations into workable objectives, and the further responsibility of devising methods and technics for putting into effect the kind of education that the lay leaders desire. The eight regional conterences of agricultural and educational leaders reported in this pamphlet represent a pioneering effort to bring together these groups thruout the nation to consider what the schools of rural America should teach. It is clear from analyzing these reports that there are many fundamental points of agreement which, if put into effect, would greatly increase the effectiveness of our public schools and unify our nationwide efforts to achieve true democracy. It is hoped that this small startsmay pave the way to regular and continveus means thru which agricultural leaders may clarify their ideas and help in the formulation of policies for the develop- ment of our rural schools. |S] S Northwest Conference of Agricultural and Educational Leaders Montana, Oregon, Washington ocaL arrangements for this conference of twenty-eight agricultural and educa- : tional leaders were made by Martin P. Moe, executive secretary of the Montana Education Association, who served as chairman. The conterence was held in the Placer Hotel, Helena, Montana, on March 26, 1946. Recommendations 1. Greater emphasis should be placed in our educational program on the de- velopment of human resources. Better preparation for family life and rural- community living should be provided. Improvements in agricultural production and marketing and conservation of our natural resources should contribute to better individual and community life. Schools should prepare young people so that they can choose their future life- work wisely and participate in it effec- tively whether in city or country. 2. Conservation of natural resources should be included in the school cur- riculum to a greater extent for the good of farmers and of society as a whole. The purpose of the conservation of nat- ural resources is to conserve human re. sources. Conservation should be a part of all school activities—not a separate course on a particular level. 3. More work in our schools should be devoted to real problems of living such as is done in programs of 4-H Clubs and in Future Farmers of America org .niza- tions. 4. Teachers and pupils should be given greater opportunity to discuss current controversial issues. All sides of such problems as Missouri and Columbia River Valley developments, operation of local and state government, financing of schools, taxation, political issues, inter- national and national issues, should be thoroly discussed so that the greatest measure of understanding is secured. 5. Schools should teach about funda- mentals of democracy and the American economic system, including problems of agriculture, business, labor, cooperatives, and the like. 6. All education cannot be crowded into the first few years of a child’s life; it must be continued thruout lite. Changing conditions require continued study. Adult education should be for the benefit of adults themselves and for understanding the educational neegs of children. >. Teacher-education institutions should prepare for living and wo.king effec- tively in rural communities. Teachers should have an understanding of farm organizations, of work done on the farm and in farm homes, and of possible uses of resources available for teaching in rural communities. 8. Major lay groups of the state should work closely (thru representative leaders or individually) with educators in deter- mining school curriculums and in mak- ing school policies. g. Teachers should be judged by the same social standards as other members of the community. [9] 10. Since rural school buildings are tax-supported, they should be made avail- able for such community activities as meetings of farm organizations, recrea- tional activities, political meetings, can- ning centers, moving pictures, and library services, 11. Schools should develop closer re- lationships between farm and town peo- ple. Farm children attending school in a village center should have opportuni- ties equal to village children to partici- pate in all school activities. Farm peo- ple should have opportunities to take part in making the policies for the schools their children attend, 12. Good teachers should be hired and encouraged to continue in rural com- munities by providing adequate . Opportunities tor vocational educa- tion should be expanded, particularly in agriculture and other occupations in which many rural children will engage as well as adults. Since rural areas tur nish surplus population to industrial and trade occupations, the education of rural youth for such occupations must be con sidered in any comprehensive school program. 8. Schools should provide a program of recreation with the youth taking part in planning it. Special provisions should be made to carry it on thruout the whole year in cluding the summer months. School buildings should be planned to house community and recreational activities. g. A continuous program of recruiting and training teachers who understand rural youth and rural community life 1s basic to an educational program such as this. Without a well-organized etiort of this kind, the competent and etlective educational leadershipyneeded in rural communities tannot be provided. 10. Provisions of in the rural community adequate educa tional opportunities in rural areas equal to those in urban areas should be the first concern of agricultural and educa tional leaders. Great Lakes Conference of Agricultural and Educational Leaders Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin | ge arrangements for this conference were made by Joseph Ackerman, associate director of the Farm Foundation. It was attended by forty farm-organization officials and educational leaders. The conference was held in the LaSalle Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, on May 21, 1946. Recommendations Education is a continuing process that ends only with life itself. In the education ot the American citizen, the home, the church, the school, and the community should cooperate to the fullest extent. Each should assume its particular respon- sibility to the end that individual initia- tive and enterprise are developed. Every person needs to be qualified and willing to participate in effective group action and thereby establish and preserve the democratic processes in all phases of so- cial living. All education should be directed to- ward the end of preparing pupils in the art of living together. We believe this can be done best by the application of the principles of Christianity and the Golden Rule. The school should be a part of, rather than apart from, the community and should prepare the children effectively to think thru and meet the everyday prob- lems of life they must face. To equip rural children and youth adequately to meet these problems, edu- cation must give emphasis to the fol- lowing considerations: 1. The basic skills, including reading, writing, arithmetic, and the skills of communication, should be mastered and should be so taught that they contribute to the art of living. This includes teach- ing the methods and skills needed by in- dividuals and groups in communicating their aims and purposes to others so as to reach a common understanding and course of action. 2. A functional, well-rounded _ pro- gram in health education is needed which includes physical and mental health, nu- trition, safety education, social hygiene, first aid, control of communicable dis- ease, community health, and methods of providing adequate health and medical service. 3. In order to appreciate and preserve our American ideals, a broad program of citizenship education is needed, This will involve study of local, state, and federal government. Experience should be provided which will point out clearly the responsibilities of each individual as well as specific benefits he derives from government, 4. Education must be a proper blend- ing of preparation for making a living and living a life. There should be inclu- sion of the fine arts, and appreciation and preservation of the cultural values of rural life. 5. A ful! understanding of the Ameri- can way of life, in its historical perspec- tive as well as in its present functioning, requires an understanding of the farm- ers’ movements instituted for the pur- [13] 13 pose of fostering methods of bettering different phases of rural economic and social welfare; an understanding of the history, objectives, and programs of farm organizations and other organizations and movements closely related to rural life, such as the PTA, the extension services, and cooperative enterprise; and a similar understanding of labor, indus- try, and government. 6. The school should give children the opportunity to learn the art of living to- gether thru working, playing, planning, and sharing together. This experience should be an essential element in both elementary and secondary schools. It should be extended to include the com- munity, the state, the nation, and the world. 7. The schools should help children to understand what contributions can be made by each of the four basic ways of doing business—as individuals, as_par- ticipants in a corporation where invest- ment of capital controls voting power, as members of voluntary cooperative groups, and thru public enterprise—with emphasis on pitfalls, advantages, and problems of each. 8. The schools should teach the need for, and means of, implementing a pro- gram of conservation of natural and human resources. g. The public schools should provide a program of adult education adapted to community needs, where such needs are not met by other agencies. Without such adult education the schools themselves cannot be properly supported. 10. Textbooks should be modified to give proper emphasis to rural life in order that pupils can see the advantages of living in the country and the chal- lenges inherent in rural life. Public schools in rural areas of the United States are at varying stages of progress toward these objectives, Their effective attainment requires modifica- tion and redirection of present programs and greater emphasis on such matters as effective education for teachers in rural areas; the use of such new develop- ments as visual aids and radio; the re- organization of school units; the ade- quate financing of education; and the use of circuit teachers, modern transporta- tion and mobile units for such services as health clinics, libraries, and other instructional resources adapted to use in the small community. Both methods and contents of teaching should be di- rected toward the objectives set forth. [ 14] 44 North Atlantic Conference of Agricultural and Educational Leaders Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania His conference was held at the Men’s Faculty Club, Teachers College, Columbia University, in New York City on June 19, 1946, under the chairmanship of J. Cayce Morrison, assistant commissioner of research, State Education Department, Albany, New York. It was attended by thirty-three farm-organization officials and educational leaders. Recommendations 1. Schools should teach young people to do something constructive; not to ex- pect the country to owe them a living. They should be taught that any useful, honest work is honorable; that they must do something worthwhile for society if they expect society to take care of them. They must realize that freedom for one means equal freedom for all, and that every right and privilege is accompanied by a responsibility. Schools should impart knowledge and facts, but more important still, they should teach fundamental skills of living. Boys and girls should be taught to face and solve problems; to seek out unbiased information and to sift out misinforma- tion; to see both sides of a question; and to evaluate and differentiate. Schools should teach them that this is not only a personal asset, but their civic duty. 2. Education in a democracy should provide a way for every individual to reach his greatest potential growth as a person and as a citizen. Educational programs, whether in school or out, should be judged as to their influence upon the total growth of each participant, and the group as a whole, towards greater social understanding. This criterion is not a new one, but the atomic age has made it one of the chief imperatives of the present. Schools should move toward teaching social understanding and _ responsibility for all rural children in open country and town. They should seek to break down unfair prejudices against agricul- ture and raise the level of respect for country life. The rural child should get at the true reason why economic life on the farm is difficult and should have a good general understanding of the whole problem of country living. But, at the same time, he should learn about, and understand, the problems of people in industrial centers. 3. Vocational agriculture and home economics should be taught in all rural high schools and in urban schools that serve rural areas. Where there is reluc- tance on the part of local administration to install such departments, farm organi- zations and individual farmers should make their desires known. Both town and farm boys should be admitted to agricultural classes. This will make it possible for more people to have an ap- preciation of farming, farm life, and farm problems. Vocational agriculture thru its farm-shop program serves as a prevocational course for persons who may wish to become established as trades- men in such occupational groups as carpenters, blacksmiths, motor mechan- ics, or plumbers. [15 ] 15 The teacher in a vocational-agriculture or home-economics department should understand the problems and needs of rural youth, have the confidence and active support of the adult population, and be able to cooperate with agricultural leaders in the area served by the school. Farming is becoming more complex. This makes it imperative that high qual- ity boys and girls be guided into farm- ing and other rural occupations, and that the best known methods of farming and the best information available in re- gard to family life should be taught in the schools. Rural high schools should provide vo- cational courses dealing with the prac- tical problems of persons already estab- lished in farming, since there is little opportunity for such training to be secured in land-grant colleges or other special institutions. 4. Education for living in one world involves learning to live with minorities and with groups of all kinds. The prin- ciples and practices of democracy should be taught in the classroom where there is a sense of sharing and community participation and where the teacher is one of the group. 5. Reading, writing, spelling, and arithmetic need to be taught more effec- tively so that they will be usable in everyday life. To accomplish this, chil- dren must understand what they are learning and use it in practical, ‘mean- ingful situations. 6. We are living in an age when meth- ods of education are changing rapidly. In order to keep informed of these changes, farm organizations and edu- cational agencies should work together in exploring sources of reliable informa- tion and presenting it concisely and un- derstandably. 7. Are people (consumers) willing to pay enough for food? Students in city schools as well as in rural areas should be taught what it costs to produce the food which they eat every day and where the costs arise. They should be taught what “good food” really should mean in terms of nutrition and health. Consumers now require lima beans to be harvested be- fore they are fully grown; yet, they would carry more food value and be much cheaper to produce if left to grow a few more days in the field. Peaches must be picked green in order to stand shipment undamaged to market; grading stand- ards also result in picking before ma- turity; yet, when consumers do have a chance to buy tree-ripened peaches, ex- perience shows that sales have multiplied as much as ten times even tho these fruits were ungraded and some might be bruised. Better education in both city and rural schools would teach factual recognition of real quality in farm prod- ucts and result in more satisfactory living. Inefficient methods of distribution may more than double the city price of many farm-produced foods. Pupils should be made aware of the more efficient distri- bution methods rapidly evolving. They should learn how they are related to the economic life of the nation. They should know how the nutritional value of this food is related to the type of soil from which it came, to its degree of maturity, and to how it was harvested and handled. Commercial advertising stresses “eye appeal.” Students must learn that other qualities are just as important when that food reaches the table. Some sacrifice in eye appeal may mean a better-fed family. Many restrictive laws and regulations which tend to interfere with the rapid and efficient flow of farm products to the city, and of manufactured products to the rural areas, could be avoided thru [ 16] 16 better understanding of rural-urban re- lationships. Educators in both rural and urban areas can contribute to an under- standing of these problems. 8. Educational leaders are needed who can see the things which need to be done in the school and can find ways to do them. Teachers should be progressive, open-minded; they should be eager for new knowledge, feeling that their educa- tional background has provided them with readiness for new ideas—not that their own education is complete. Teachers should keep in constant con- tact with research (not propaganda) and should use it in meeting classroom and community problems. Such periodicals as farm journals, and other materials widely read by rural people, should be read, analyzed, and compared for dif- ferent points of view. Teacher-training courses should develop the ability to analyze such materials since it is an im- portant factor in molding public opinion in rural communities. Probably the most crucial need is the development of each teacher’s own per- sonality. Special emphasis should be given to the development of self-confi- dence, especially in those students who fall in the lower 25 per cent of their college class. The sense of fair play should be developed thru working and playing with others. Opportunity for co- operative projects in which they work with others should be part of all teach- ers’ preservice education. g. Some methods of working toward the development of schools that will provide the kind of education called for above are: securing a board of educa- tion that represents the whole commu- nity, including the open country; develop- ment of improved administrative units; increased public funds equitably dis- tributed; and effective cooperation of farm organizations in defining and sup- porting the kind of education they want in the public schools. New England Conference of Agricultural and Educational Leaders Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont OCAL arrangements for this conference were made by Ernest Nybakken, State De- L partment of Education, Canaan, Connecticut. Edgar Fuller, New Hampshire commissioner of education, served as chairman. The group consisting of thirty-four farm-organization, educational, and other community leaders met at Keene Teachers College, Keene, New Hampshire, on June 23, 1946. Recommendations 1. Education should recognize that rural life is of major importance to the welfare of the nation, 2. The economy of the nation is de- pendent on agriculture, labor, and indus- try like the three legs of a stool. Educa- tion can be of great service in helping to inform the people so there is the under- standing that when one leg becomes shorter than the others, the stool topples [17] 17 over. For prosperity, each must con- tribute and receive its fair share. 3. We want for our rural children education for living and making a liv- ing in the country that is comparable in quality to that given in the city. Since many farm children must make a living in the city, what is taught in the rural school should be broad enough to fit youth for either rural or urban living. Cities need farm children for replace- ments, and more children grow up in rural areas than can earn a livelihood there. 4. Opportunities for education of rural children should be comparable to those of city children, but should relate to rural life. We want our children to have an education centered around today’s prob- lems. Science, mathematics, English, music, the arts, bookkeeping, commercial law, etc., are needed in rural living as in city living. 5. Education should provide work ex- perience as well as academic learning. It should relate activities to life, thus de- veloping principles based on student needs. 6. Since the American home is the most important unit of living, education should stem from the needs of family life and the relation of its members to the outside world. 7. Closer relationships of home, school, and church are necessary for better rural life. All the burden should not fall on the school, but parents, too, should par- ticipate in planning and assume some re- sponsibility in carrying out educational aims. Learning to build up the home is the most important job in America today for every boy and girl. 8. Youth should have a chance to pre- pare himself for what he is going to do. Vocational education is highly important in doing this. Vocational education should be a broad program which de- velops the understanding and attitudes, as well as the skills, necessary for effec- tiveness in vocations generally. This edu- cation should culminate in specific voca- tional training either in the high school or in the youth’s later educational experi- ence immediately preceding an employ- able age. The rural child should learn to understand and appreciate the culture in which he lives, as well as prepare for a vocation. g. The inefficiency and ineffectiveness of our system of distribution of goods and services require increased emphasis on education for its improvement. This will include the study of cooperatives and their principles as well as other forms of business organization. This will also contribute to the teaching of co- operation with others which is an essen- tial characteristic of good citizenship. There is need in American life for in- creased emphasis on service rather than personal gain. The world does not owe man a living. 10. Latin is of little or no value to rural living. (For example, one member of the group who studied high-school Latin in 1877 had not yet found it of practical value.) 11. Guidance in the rural schools is very important. To do’ his work well the guidance person should know the family life of the child and the cultural back- ground of the school. 12. There is need for more adult edu- cation. Better services at less cost can be received by a more careful coordination of the rural organizations and educa- tional agencies providing it. Adult edu- cation should contribute to, and rein- force, the program of education at earlier age levels. It will complete the cycle of educating the parents, educating the chil- dren, generation after generation. [ 18 | 18 13. Agricultural leaders should have a greater voice in establishing educational policy. The three areas of responsibility in regard to educational policy are (a) that of the layman who sets the frame- work, (b) that of the educator whose function it is to use the available resources as efficiently as possible within this framework, and (c) an area where edu- cators and laymen continue to get to- gether to redefine their joint and indi- vidual responsibilities. 14. No school on earth needs good teachers more than a rural school. The teacher should understand the rural child and his environment. The best teacher is usually the teacher who has come from a rural area; outstanding rural youth should be encouraged to prepare for teaching in rural communities. Some of the ways in which the kind of teaching we want can be provided are by securing good teachers, by providing adequate finance, and by setting up areas which are not too large or too small for effective educational administration. 15. Country life can be made more satisfying for more people by increasing the number of ways in which a living can be earned in a rural environment. The country should be not only a place where people sleep, but also the place where they work. For example, many who are mechanically minded and pro- fessionally capable could be kept in the country if we encouraged the growth of industry and the expansion of services in rural communities. An exploration of local resources by a planning committee often will bring to light opportunities for diversified em- ployment, sometimes in ways and ma- terials once prominent but which have been forgotten. Even agriculture, re- viewed in the light of modern living, may yield varied jobs and more of them thru better preparation of products, and better packaging and marketing. Midwest Conference of Agricultural and Educational Leaders Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota B pe conference of forty-two officials of major farm organizations and other farm leaders with administrators and teachers of state and local educational systems met at Kansas City, Missouri, on October 20, 1946. Professor Barton Morgan of Iowa State College was chairman of the conference. Recommendations A. General conclusions: 1. The primary aim of rural educa- tion should be the development of good citizens—citizens adequately prepared for meeting the responsibilities of life. This aim includes developing a philoso- phy of living and a sense of values that lead to better social understanding and a keener sense of social responsibility. [ 19 ] 19 Education is nore than imparting facts; it is not learning what to think, but how to think. Schools should present facts not as ends in themselves but as means to the development of skills, apprecia- tions, and attitudes, 2. The main motivating force should be the realization of some common goal rather than competitive striving jor in- dividual excellence. Students should com- pete with their own best records rather than against each other. Only so, can they be trained to achieve the good of the community, the good lite for all. 3. A proper balance should be main- tained between specialized vocational or technical training and general education. 4. An effective program of rural edu- cation is essential to rural life and agri- culture, and equally essential to the wel- fare of all America. Schools should be concerned with the education of rural youth who will remain in rural America and also with the education of the rural youth who will inevitably leave the rural communities and become a part of the urban life of the nation, 5. It is taken for granted that the language arts, mathematics, and science will constitute a large part of the cur- riculum of the schools. These subjects should be taught so as to make their maximum contribution to good citizen- ship and better living, B. Specific recommendations: In the light of the foregoing basic con- siderations, the conference agreed upon the following specific recommendations: 1. Social studies. The study of the community, population trends, organiza- ’ tions in the community, human relation- ships, and history as the basis for under- standing the economic and social prob- lems of today, should all be taught thru- out the school program, both in elemen- tary and secondary schools. 2. Economics and business, This is a specific part of the social studies, All people, both urban and rural, should have a clear understanding of the channels thru which business is transacted in the distribution of goods trom producer to consumer. This presentation of business activity should be an integra! part of the school curriculum, and should include an unbiased presentation of the different forms of business enterprise for the per- formance of these functions: individual proprietorships, partnerships, corpora- tions, and cooperatives. The last-named economic activity is particularly impor- tant in rural life because of the continued and important growth of cooperative or- ganizations. 3. Conservation, No country is more prosperous than the fertility of its soil. Conservation must include soil, minerals, water, wild life, forests, and human re- sources. Conservation of all natural re- sources should be an integral part of all elementary and secondary education. 4. Agriculture. Every strong civiliza- tion has been built on a strong agricul- ture. This is a fact which all persons, urban and rural alike, should under- stand. On it we can base a sound phi- losophy of the nobility of agriculture and agricultural labor. We must not wait until the boy reaches high school to offer him technical agricultural information, nor must we confine agricultural teach- ing to the boys. 5. Home economics. The home is the germ cell of our whole social organism. Homemaking education should be of- fered in every grade. Boys as well as girls should be trained for home respon- sibilities. 6. The fine arts. Appreciation of beauty in all its forms should be a goal of good [ 20 ] On education, and rural children should not be deprived of it. Music, art, and drama should be provided in the program ot every rural school. 7. Health education and services. The fact that the proportion of selective-serv- ice rejections for health defects was higher in rural than in urban sections of the nation reveals the urgency of the need for rural health education and health services. Adequate provision should be made for health examinations for correction of physical defects thru school or other public agencies. Special attention should be given to nutrition. 8. Recreation, Mechanization of farm and home is increasing the leisure time of rural people. Recreation should be provided for all rather than a program of competitive games for the few. 9. Guidance. A sound program of guidance in vocational and personal prob- lems should be a goal for all schools. Spe- cially trained personnel should be pro- vided by schools acting jointly. Students in rural schools should have ample basis on which to choose between agricultural and other occupations. C. Means of attaining these objectives: 1. Altho the conference was called to consider what farm leaders want the rural schools to teach, the farm leaders participating in the conference repeatedly emphasized their support of the follow- ing changes in public-school organiza- tion and support as necessary means of attaining the improvements in rural edu- cation listed above: a. State financial aid to help equalize opportunities for all school children of the state. b. Reorganization of school districts into more efficient and economical units operating around the natural community center. c. Better - qualified and_ better - paid teachers. d. Improved teachers. e. Tax reforms. f. Liberal use of movies and other forms of visual education. g. Federal aid for education. h. Coordination of the various com- munity agencies with educational programs. living conditions for 2. Finally, the conference agreed that farm leaders and educators should meet together frequently to discuss such prob- lems and that the ultimate responsibility for accomplishing the desired reforms of rural education would rest with rural people themselves. The rural communi- ties of the nation are today better able financially to make their contribution to those reforms than ever before. To achieve these ends, the conference urges that everywhere organized groups work together in the old town-meeting tradi- tion to focus attention on problems of rural education and to secure the action necessary for their solution, [21] 21 Western and Rocky Mountain States Conference of Agricultural and Educational Leaders Utah, California, Wyoming, Idaho TT. conference met under the chairmanship of Clyde E. Edmonds, president of the Utah State Poultry Growers Association, in the Hotel Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, on November 11, 1946. It was attended by thirty-eight officials of farm organi- zations, professional educators, and other rural leaders. Recommendations In considering the question of what the schools should teach in order to serve best individual and community life in rural areas, members of this conference expressed the following opinions: 1. Greater emphasis should be given to mastery of the basic fundamentals of education in the elementary grades with a view to improving abilities in reading, writing, spelling, and common arith- metic. 2. More attention should be given in many of the schools to the growing mis- conception among children, youth, and adults that they can get something for nothing—that the world owes them a living. It is a fundamental problem of the schools to help people understand and accept the basic principle that worthwhile values can be created only from honest endeavor. 3. The preparation of teachers for po- sitions in rural schools should give them better acquaintance with the basic ele- ments of rural social and economic life. Persons who are not thoroly familiar with the problems of rural people, the values that shape their way of living, and the forces with which they must deal, cannot make much contribution to the improvement of rural living. 4. The school should more clearly recognize its obligation to improve the standard of rural living by acquainting farmers with types of research that need to be carried on, by encouraging greater use of modern farm and home conven- iences, by improving social and recrea- tional advantages for youth and adults, and by educating farmers to understand the problems of maintaining a high level of farm income. 5. The school must recognize that a large percent of farm youth wiil, and must, migrate to urban centers for em- ployment opportunities. Its program must be broad enough to meet the needs of those who will go to cities, as well as those who will remain on the farm, so that all will be able to use such abilities as they have to the best possible advan- tages. 6. The school should give emphasis to the native values of rural life. These are values in the relationship between people and the land which cannot be measured alone in terms of dollars and cents. The school should help people become aware of these values so that rural living will be enriched. Too fre- quently the unique values of urban life have been given emphasis while similar elements of rural life have been neglected. [ 22 } 22 7. The school should accept the re- sponsibility of teaching people how to make progress thru their own efforts. 8. The program of the school at the secondary level should be vitalized by making more work experiences possible. g. The educational program should give serious attention to assisting young people to become farm owners, A survey of dairy farmers in California who owned and operated their own farms shows the following age distribution: Percent Age Group 19 65 or over 24 55-64 27 45-54 19 35-44 9 25-34 2 Under 25 10. The school should give more con- cern to the discussion of current legisla- tive programs, governmental policies and problems, and social-civic affairs. 11. The school should give more at- tention to discovering new fields of use for tarm commodities so that the market will be expanded. Research agencies should carry on a more extensive pro- gram of marketing research involving the packaging, grading, storage, and han- dling of farm commodities, methods of distribution, supply and demand, and price cycles. 12. Marketing in its general aspects should be taught in the school program: a. A general unit on the basic prin- ciples of marketing in the social- studies program of the secondary schools for all pupils. b. A more specialized course in the vocational agriculture classes, in- cluding experience with cooperative marketing and dealing with grad- ing, packaging, storage, shipping, and various methods of distribution. c. A general course at the college level in which all students can enrol, dealing with economic principles in- volved in distribution and its rela- tionship to the well-being of the life of the family, community, and society as a whole. d. A more specialized college course dealing with marketing research, factors shaping demands, methods of estimating demands, etc. e. A correspondence or extension course that would meet the needs of adult groups. 13. Farm leaders should assume re ponsibility of working more closely with the schools in the study of farm prob- lems. Valuable assistance can be given by sponsoring contests, conducting mar- keting tours of 4-H Club members, ad- dressing school groups on special types of farm problems, and by making vari- ous types of information available. 14. Farm organizations and agricul- tural colleges should give greater atten- tion to making the findings of research available in simplified form that can be read and understood by people of high- school age and by adults who have not had specialized training. 15. More attention must be given to special crops. Indications are now that farmers engaged in newly developed types of specialized farming, as for ex- ample, celery growers in Utah, are likely to take great losses during the next few years. Individual farmers and communi- ties need more information regarding consumer demands, price trends, and the amount of such commodities being produced. Schools have a responsibility for developing better methods of harvest- ing, packing, and marketing such crops. 16. Since so many farm youths migrate to cities and must become identified with labor groups, the school should accept [ 23] 23 the responsibility of thoroly acquainting them with labor organizations, their methods of operation, and their relation to the functioning of our economic system, 17. Conservation of natural resources is of paramount importance to the sta- bility of community, state, and national life. Well-organized conservation pro- grams which teach sound conservation practices thru the wise use of natural resources must be introduced into the school system at the elementary, sec- ondary, college, and adult level. Course of action recommended: The legislative committee of the Utah Cooperative Councils should study the problems of the trends-of-marketing courses which should be introduced in the school system, and upon this basis of study, make recommendations to the State Department of Public Instruction, Farm leaders should assume the re- sponsibility of conferring with local boards of education in adopting policies leading to an improved educational pro- gram for rural communities. [ 24] 24 Summary of Questionnaire Survey on What Farm Leaders Think about Teachers ts is a brief report of the questionnaire survey showing the opinions of farm leaders of national, state, or county officials of the four major farm organizations —the Grange, the Farm Bureau, the Cooperative Councils, and the Farmers Union, This survey by the American Institute of Cooperation was based on 321 replies which represent a 25 percent return on the questionnaires sent out. The county farm leaders were in the seventy-one laboratory counties which have been caretully selected by the United States Department of Agriculture as representative of rural America, Following is the report which was used in opening the discussion of each of the eight regional conferences: 1. Agricultural leaders believe schools should prepare their pupils better in: Percent Favorable Conservation of natural resources 98 Individual and community health 96 Home and family life 93 Farmers’ cooperatives 92 Community recreation 87 Political issues 78 Sex education 74 2. Agricultural leaders rated the value of high-school subjects to youth in rural areas—Excellent, Good, Poor, as follows: Excellent: Percent Good: Percent * Vocational Agriculture $2 ' Fine Arts 70 Vocational Home Economies $o Typing 67 Mathematics 68 Social Studies 55 English 59 Physical Education 49 a: » 4@ Science 50 Industrial: Arts 48 Bookkeeping 52 Poor: Percent Latin 74 Modern Foreign Language 55 * This should be read: Voeational agriculture was rated excellent by &2 percent of the agricultural leaders, ete, | 25 | 25 N 3. Forty-six percent of the agricultural leaders believe that schools in small towns tend to overemphasize preparation for city life. 4. Farm leaders believe that a high-school education is as important for rural youth as it is for city youth. 5. Seventy percent of the farm leaders are in favor of paying teachers to stay _da»the community during the summer months to give educational and recreational leadership. 6. Eighty-eight percent of the farm leaders believe that teachers should have the same right to express themselves on political and economic matters as other citizens in the community. 7. Agricultural leaders believe that rural schools in general do not (a) take enough responsibility in community life, (b) use community resources enough in teaching, (c) effectively serve the rural-community needs. 8. Altho 72 percent of the agricultural leaders feel that teachers are better trained today, 75 percent say that rural teachers are not adequately trained for the specific job of teaching in rural areas. Fifty-two percent of the agricultural leaders say that the quality of the teaching today is better than when they went to school, while only 17 percent say the quality of the teacher as a person is better. [ 26 ] 26 Participants in the Fight Regional Conferences Northwest Conference M. P. Moe, executive secretary, Montana Education Association, Helena, chairman Mrs. Ray Angell, president, Montana Farm Bureau Women, Bozeman Esther Anson, Eastern Montana State Normal School, Billings Russell C. Bolin, superintendent of schools, Park City, Mont. Ben Buisman, editor, Oregon State Grange Bulletin, Portland Harry A, Burke, superintendent of schools, Great Falls, Mont. Mrs. Rita Carstens, home-economics chairman, Washington®tate Grange, Harrington 1). W. Chapman, state president, Montana Farmers Union, Great Falls Shirley Cooper, assistant director, Rural Service, National Education Association, Washington, D.C. Frank W. Cyr, consultant on rural education, American Institute of Cooperation and professor of education, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, N.Y. Ernest F. Eaton, lieutenant governor of Montana, Billings Polytechnic Institute, Billings Charles E. Hood, superintendent of schools, Big Sandy, Mont. R. L. Irle, superintendent of schools, Glasgow, Mont. A. W. Johnson, supervisor of Vocational Agriculture, Bozeman, Mont. Orin P. Kendall, secretary, Montana State Grange, Thompson Falls Albert H. Kruse, commissioner of agriculture, Department of Agriculture, Helena, Mont. Maurine Laber, Oregon State Teachers Association, Portland H. L. Lawrenz, executive secretary and treasurer, Montana State Farm Bureau, Bozeman Clyde McKee, dean of College of Agriculture, Montana State College, Bozeman John H. Morton, director of elementary education, Eastern Montana State Normal School, Billings Wilferd Pederson, state secretary-treasurer, Montana Farmers Union, Great Falls A. G. Peterson, president, Eastern Montana State Normal School, Billings fF. A. Perregaux, American Institute of Cooperation, Washington, D.C. Del Rayburn, Public Relations, Montana Education Association, Helena Mildred E. Stoltz, state director of education, Montana Farmers Union, Great Falls H. B. Tootell, director, Montana Extension Service, Bozeman Winton Weydemeyer, master, Montana State Grange, Fortine Luke Wright, The Tribune, Great Falls, Mont. South Atlantic Conference QO. C. Aderhold, University of Georgia, Athens, chairman Neil Bass, Chief Conservation Committee, Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville Mrs. F. C. Beverley, Whitmell Farm Life School, Whitmell, Va. Julia P. Brinson, nutrition consultant, State Board of Health, Columbia, S.C. Reba Burnham, county supervisor, Oglethorpe County, Lexington, Ga. Frank W. Cyr, consultant on rural education, American Institute of Cooperation and professor of education, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, N.Y. [ 27] 27 Elizabeth Donovan, instructional consultant, Georgia Department of Education, Adanta *. Guy W. Fior, Jr., Cotton Producers Association, Atlanta, Ga. *L. G. Foster, general manager, Florida Citrus Canners Corp., Lake Wales Glenn Francis, Producers Marketing Association, Athens, Ga. Jane Franseth, director, Education of Supervisors, University of Georgia, Athens C. B. Funder Burk, Cotton Producers Association, Atlanta, Ga. C. A. Furr, superintendent of schools, Calhoun County, Concord, N.C. C. G. Garner, Agricultural Extension Service, Athens, Ga. W. A. Hambright, master, South Carolina State Grange, Blacksburg H. Cliff Hamilton, supervisor of elementary schools, State Department of Education, Charleston, W.Va. G. F. Holsinger, Virginia Farm Bureau, Harrisonburg Wellington Hughes, Atlanta Constitution, Atianta, Ga. J. A. Johnson, Georgia Agricultural Extension Service, Athens Mrs. J. A. Johnson, Athens, Ga. J. O. Knapp, director of extension service, West Virginia University, Morgantown Mrs. Mary Lins, Social Education Department,- Florida Farm Bureau, Women’s Division, Miami Ralph Lyons, Georgia Teachers College, Statesboro Lucile McGraw, rural supervisor, Cabell County, Huntington, W.Va. George S. Mitchell, Southern Regional Council, Atlanta, Ga. M. D. Mobley, director of vocational education, State Department of Education, Atlanta, Ga. W. E. Pafford, director, Division of Supervision, State Department of Education, Atlanta, Ga. R. Flake Shaw, secretary, North Carolina Farm Bureau, Greensboro T. E. Smith, Georgia State College for Women, Milledgeville *D. E. Timmons, secretary, Florida Council of Farmer Cooperatives, State College of Agriculture, Gainesville Beverly Wheatcroft, Library Extension Service, Library and Textbook Division, State Department of Education, Atlanta, Ga. *C. E. Wise, Jr., secretary-treasurer, Maryland Farm Bureau, Baltimore W. E. Yount, superintendent of schools, Alamance County, Graham, N.C. Midsouth Conference W. G. Eckles director, School Building Service, State Department of Education, Jackson, Miss., chairman Larry ]. Babin, superintendent, Ascension Parish Schools, Donaldsonville, La. Frank W, Cyr, consultant on rural education, American Institute of Cooperation and professor of education, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, N.Y. J. Lewis Henderson, Bay St, Louis, Miss. (represented Evon Ford of the Farmers Union) A. L. Jordan, secretary, Tennessee Council of Farmer Cooperatives, Nashville *S. H. Kyle, chairman, Educational Policy Commission, Delta Council, Clarksdale, Miss. Mrs, W. C. McLeod, president, Associated Women of the Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation, Madisonville * Did not attend conference, but reviewed report. [ 28 ] £8 H. E. Mauldin, director of vocational education, State Department of Education, Jackson, Miss. William Morgan, president, Future Farmers of America, State College, Miss. Graydon L. Morris, president, Tennessee Council of Farmer Cooperatives, Springfield F. W. Murphy, dean of education, University of Mississippi, Greenville Sue M. Powers, superintendent, Department of Education, Shelby County, Memphis, Tenn. *B. E. Stollones, secretary, Texas Federation of Cooperatives, Houston Great Lakes Conference Joseph Ackerman, associate director, Farm Foundation, Chicago, Il, chairman Paul Alexander, Division of Education, Purdue University, West Latayette, Ind, W. G. Armstrong, master, Michigan State Grange, Niles D. L. Bailey, director of rural education, Western Illinois State Teachers College, Macomb Pearl Barnes, president, Illinois Home Bureau Federation, Preemption Frank C, Beall, Indiana Farm Bureau Co-Operative Association, Clarksburg N. G. Bennett, president, Ohio Farmers Grain & Supply Association, MeComb E. B. Bowen, executive secretary, Co-Operative League of U.S.A,, Chicago, I, Lois M. Clark, Division of Rural Service, National Education Association, Washing- ton, D.C. R. B. Corbett, secretary-treasurer, American Farm Bureau Federation, Chicago, Ill. John K. Cox, director, Rural School Relations, Illinois Agricultural Association, Chicago, III. H. W. Culbreth, Organization Division, Ohio Farm Bureau, Columbus Frank W. Cyr, consultant on rural education, American Institute of Cooperation and professor of education, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, N.Y. Mrs. R. J. Douglas, Associated Women of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau, Juda Gertrude Eastmen, county commissioner of schools, Ludington, Mich. P. T. Egan, National Society of Accountants for Co-Operatives, St. Paul, Minn. L. O. Grieser, National Live Stock Producers, Chicago, III. H. M. Hamlin, professor of agricultural education, University of Illinois, Urbana W.C. Jackman, superintendent of elementary schools, Elmhurst, Ill. Otis Keeler, assistant superintendent, State Department of Public Instruction, Spring- field, Ill. D. E. Lindstrom, American Country-Life Association, University of Illinois, Urbana Mrs. Lois G. Nemic, assistant professor of education, University of Wisconsin, Madison Mrs. U. S. Newell, chairman, Michigan Farm Bureau Women, Coldwater Herschel D. Newsom, master, Indiana State Grange, Columbus Warren O'Hara, Education Department, Indiana Farm Bureau, Indianapolis Neal Peck, master, Wisconsin State Grange, Peshtigo Ralph E. Petersen, director, Wisconsin Farm Bureau, Berlin Mrs. W. C. Roberts, social and educational director, Farm Bureau, Heltonville, Ind. W. McKinley Robinson, director, Department of Rural Life and Education, West- ern Michigan College of Education, Kalamazoo Mrs. Harold Robison, director, Ohio Farm Bureau, Ashtabula * Did not attend conference, but reviewed report. [ 29 | 29 om a a NATIONAL FOUCATION Acenrtas pee ~ Hassil E. Schenck, president, Indiana Farm Bureau, Indianapolis Mrs. Benjamin Scott, second vicepresident, Indiana Farm Bureau, Clayton Mrs. Charles W. Sewell, Associated Farm Women, American Farm Bureau Federa- tion, Chicago, Ill. Charles B. Shuman, president, Illinois Agricultural Association, Chicago D. R. Stanfield, Ohio Farm Bureau, Columbus T. L. Stearns, Rural Education, Michigan State College, E. Lansing Helen Stenson, graduate student, University of Chicago Milo K. Swanton, executive secretary, Wisconsin Council of Agricultural Co-Opera- tives, Madison F. K. Wadsworth, president, National Society of Accountants for Co-Operatives, St. Paul, Minn. Mrs. Evelyn Witt, state educational director, Wisconsin Farmers Union, Chippewa Falls North Atlantic Conference J. C. Morrison, assistant commissioner for research, State Education Department, Albany, N.Y., chairman R. N. Benjamin, executive secretary, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Cooperative As- sociation, Harrisburg Genevieve Bowen, elementary supervisor, Bucks County, Wrightstown, Pa. Julian E. Butterworth, professor of education, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. Melda W. Chambre, helping teacher, Hunterdon County, Flemington, N.]. C. M. Chaney, American Cranberry Exchange, New York, N.Y. Lois M. Clark, assistant director, Rural Service, National Education Association, Washington, D.C. Thomas L. Cleary, editorial director, Ameiican Institute of Cooperation, Washing- ton, D.C. J. C. Corwith, farmer, vicepresident, Cooperative GLF Exchange, Water Mill, N.Y. Robert M. Coughlin, supervising principal, Nunda Central School, Nunda, N.Y. Frank W. Cyr, consultant on rural education, American Institute of Cooperation and professor of education, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, N.Y. Thomas J. Durell, assistant state commissioner of education, Elementary Division, Trenton, N.J. Mrs. Martin O. Eshleman, Pennsylvania Farm Women’s Society, Quarryville Kenneth H. Fake, legislative representative, New York State Grange, Cobleskill Harold R. French, district superintendent of schools, Loudonville, N.Y. A. K. Getman, chief, Bureau of Agricultural Education, State Education Department, Albany, N.Y. Mrs. Mae S. Gibson, helping teacher, Monmouth County, Freehold, N_J. Ralph E. Johnson, district superintendent of schools, Ulster County, New Paltz, N.Y. W. H. Jump, Delaware State Farm Bureau, Houston Mrs. W. H. Jump, president, Associated Women of the Farm Bureau, Houston, Del. H. B. King, assistant superintendent, State Department of Public Instruction, Dover, Del. D. L. MacDonald, Division of Vocational Education, American Institute of Co- operation, Washington, D.C. Walter W. Maule, trustee, American Institute of Cooperation, and Mushroom Growers Cooperative Association, Kennett Square, Pa. [ 30] LIBRARY20 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIANNOn WASHINGTON. D. ¢, E. Clyde McGrew, assistant manager, American Cranberry Exchange, New York, N.Y. Waldo R. McNutt, president, Eastern Division, National Farmers Union, Trenton, NJ. J. M. Pierpoint, National County Agents Association, Clarksburg, W.Va. Mrs. W. H. Potter, farmer’s wife, New York State Federation of Home Bureaus, Truxton Warren A. Ranney, Cooperative GLF Exchange, Ithaca, N.Y. Ralph R. Smith, New York State Horticultural Society, Poughkeepsie Troy L. Stearns, Rural Education, Michigan State College, E. Lansing P. Alston Waring, farmer, New Hope, Pa. Julia Weber, helping teacher, Warren County, Belvidere, N.J. Ed Yeomans, secretary, Eastern Division, National Farmers Union, Trenton, N.J. New England Conference Edgar Fuller, state commissioner of education, Concord, New Hampshire, chairman Jennie C. Allingham, state helping teacher, Southwest Vermont, Rutland C. Marsden Bacon, director, Eastern States Farmers’ Exchange, Middletow n, Vt. E. E. Baker, New Hampshire Farm Bureau Federation, Concord E. Carroll Bean, master, Maine State Grange, Augusta Mrs. Charles H. Brown, Pittsfield, Mass. Charles H. Brown, overseer, Massachusetts State Grange, Pittsfield Mrs. Kate B. Cargill, president, Associated Women of the Vermont Farm Bureau, Island Point Lois M. Clark, assistant director, Rural Service, National Education Association, Washington, D.C. Frank W. Cyr, consultant on rural education, American Institute of Cooperation and professor of education, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, N.Y. W. S. Dakin, formerly state director of rural education, Hartford, Conn. Scott F. Eastman, secretary, New Hampshire State Grange, Goffstown Wilfred Gamble, assistant in rural education, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, N.Y. Mrs. Philip H. Jones, president, Associated Women of the Connecticut Farm Bureau, Shelton Gertrude M. Lewis, director of elementary school services, State Department of Education, Concord, N.H. W. G. Loveless, Vermont Cooperative Council, Montpelier Mrs. Lottie E. Mead, president, Associated Women of the New Hampshire Farm Bureau, Laconia Ralph E. Noble, state commissioner of education, Montpelier, Vt. Ernest Nybakken, field superintendent, State Dept. of Education, Canaan, Conn. Harry L. Page, master, Connecticut State Grange, Guilford George M. Putnam, president, New Hampshire Farm Bureau Federation, Concord Alfred D. Simpson, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. W. F. Sinclair, United Farmers Cooperative Creamery, Johnson, Vt. Frieda A. Sloop, Eastern States Farmers Exchange, West Springfield, Mass. H. A. Stoddard, master, Vermont State Grange, Bellows Falls Mrs. Mildred G. Stoddard, home-economics chairman, Vermont State Grange, Bellows Falls [31] 31 Maynard C. Waltz, instructor, Keene Teachers College, Keene, N.H. C. M, White, chief, Division of Markets, State Department of Agriculture, Augusta, Maine Cliflord O. T. Wieden, principal, Aroostock State Normal School, Presque Isle, Maine Eli Wiggins, Eastern State Farmers Exchange, West Springfield, Mass. Harry C. Woodworth, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of New Hampshire, Durham L. P. Young, president, Keene Teachers College, Keene, N.H. Everett L. Austin, state supervisor, Elementary and Secondary Education, Providence, RI. Mrs. Everett L. Austin, Providence, FI. Midwest Conference Barton Morgan, director of teacher education, Iowa State College, Ames, chairman George E. Anderson, executive secretary-treasurer, South Dakota Association of Cooperatives, Huron Dan Arnold, executive secretary, Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Oklahoma City (also Oklahoma Agricultural Co-Operative Council ) Roy Bender, secretary-treasurer, Farmers Co-op Grain Dealers Association of Okla- homa, Enid (also Oklahoma Agricultural Co-Operative Council ) Viola Brandt, public school supervisor, State Department of Education, Kirksville, Mo. Edward G,. Brown, president, Sioux Honey Association Cooperative, Sioux City, lowa (also director, Plymouth Co-op Oil Company, LeMars, lowa) Mrs. E. G. Brown, farm homemaker, Sioux City, lowa Max Brown, secretary, Nebraska Cooperative Council, Lincoln L. D. Clements, supervisor of vocational agriculture, State Department of Public Instruction, Lincoln, Nebr. C. C. Cogswell, master, Kansas State Grange, Topeka M. L. Cushman, associate professor of rural education, lowa State College, Ames Frank W. Cyr, consultant on rural education, American Institute of Cooperation and professor of education, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, N.Y. Don E. Edison, secretary, Farmers Grain Dealers Association of Iowa and president, Iowa Council of Cooperation, Des Moines Glenn S. Fox, director of finance, Consumers Cooperative Association, Kansas City, Mo. William M. Franklin, member of Oklahoma Farmers Union, Oklahoma City Mrs. William M. Franklin, member of Oklahoma Farmers Union, Oklahoma City Loyd E. Grimes, assistant superintendent, State Department of Education, Jefferson City, Mo. Herman M. Haag, director of research, Missouri Farmers Association, Columbia Mrs. John Heline, farm homemaker, Pierson, Iowa Oscar Heline, president, Farmers Grain Dealers Association of Iowa, Marcus Mrs. M. Hendrikson, home and community chairman, Kansas Farm Bureau, Atchison George Kramer, manager, Farmers Co-op Elevator Company, Waukee, Iowa Clarence Lindle, lowa Grange, Rural Schools, West Liberty Mrs, Clarence Lindle, lecturer, lowa State Grange, West Liberty | 32 ] 2 32 D. L. MacDonald, American Institute of Cooperation, Washington, D.C. Mrs. Linwood Martin, state home and community chairman, Missouri Farm Bureau Federation, Centralia Merlin G. Miller, education director, Consumers Cooperative Association, North Kansas City, Mo. Raymond W. Miller, president, American Institute of Cooperation, Washington, D.C. Jay A. Person, president, Nebraska Cooperative Council, Wauneta Elmer Petree, director of inservice training, Central State College, Edmond, Okla. R. A. Praeger, president, Kansas Farm Bureau, Claflin Charles A. Richard, executive secretary, Kansas Co-Operative Council, Topeka Vance M. Rucker, secretary, Wichita Bank for Cooperatives, Wichita, Kans. Mrs. Raymond Sayre, state chairman, Women’s Committee, lowa Farm Bureau Federation, Ackworth F. L. Schlagle, superintendent of schools, Kansas City, Kans. H. E. Slusher, president, Missouri Farm Bureau Federation, Jefferson City Mrs. Haven N. Smith, state chairman, Associated Women of Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation, Chappell W. H. Stacy, extension rural sociologist, Iowa State College, Ames Alfred M. Stumley, director, South Dakota Association of Cooperatives, Brookings Adel F. Throckmorton, county superintendent of schools, Sedgwick County, Wichita, Kans. Floyd L. Wilkerson, executive secretary, South Dakota Farm Bureau Federation, Huron Earle W. Wiltse, superintendent of schools, Grand Island, Nebr. Western and Rocky Mountain States Conference Clyde C. Edmonds, Utah Poultry Producers Cooperative Association, Salt Lake City, chairman N. J. Barlow, assistant superintendent of public instruction, State Department of Education, Salt Lake City, Utah E. Allen Bateman, superintendent of public instruction, State Department of Educa tion, Salt Lake City, Utah R. F. Campbell, head, Department of Elementary Education, University of Utah, Salt Lake City G. Alvin Carpenter, secretary, Utah Cooperative Council, and Extension Marketing Specialist, Utah State Agricultural College, Logan A. W. Chambers, farmer, Smithheld, Utah A. W. Christie, field manager, California Walnut Growers Association, Los Angeles R. H. Cronshey, director of public relations, Challenge Cream and Butter Association, Los Angeles, Calif. Shirley Cooper, assistant director, Rural Service, National Education Association, Washington, D.C. Frank W. Cyr, consultant on rural education, American Institute of Cooperation and professor of education, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, N.Y. E. J. Erikson, director, Utah Poultry Ptoducers Cooperative Association, Salt Lake City Frank Evans, secretary, Finance to First Presidency, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah R. B. Farnsworth, Department of Agronomy and Animal Husbandry, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah | 33 | WASHINGTON. DO. CG. L. W. Frick, president, California Cotton Cooperative, Bakersfield W. H. Gardner, vicepresident, Utab eoultry Cooperative Association, Salt Lake Cit F. L. Hansen, general manager, I..aho Potato Growers, Idaho Falls Ernest M. Hanson, assistant superintendent of schools, Salt Lake City, Utah E. A. Hayen, Wyoming State Grange, Shoshoni James A. Hooper, manager, Utah Wool Manutacturing Cooperative, Salt Lake City L. R. Humphereys, professor of agricultural education, Utah State Agricultural College, Logan I. H. Jacob, Producers Livestock Marketing Association, Salt Lake City, Utah E. A. Jacobsen, dean of education, Utah State Agricultural College, Logan A. Ladru Jensen, professor of corporation law, University of Utah, Salt Lake City P. N. Mark, Tri-Valley Packing Association, San Francisco, Calif. Thomas L. Martin, agronomist, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah Joseph Merrill, member, Council of Twelve, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah Raymond W. Miller, vicepresident, San Joaquin Valley Walnut Growers Association and president, American Institute of Cooperation, Washington, D.C. Albert Negaskis, Utah Poultry, American Fork Mark Nichols, director, Agricultural Education, State Department of Education, Salt Lake City, Utah C, J. Olsen, assistant regional forester, U.S. Forest Service, Ogden, Utah J. R. Peavy, farmer, Spanish Fork, Utah John H. Schenk, president, Cache Valley Dairy Association, Logan, Utah Frank G. Shelley, Salt Lake City, Utah J. Harold Stanley, Advisory Board, California Canning Peach Association, Linden *R. H. Taylor, executive secretary, Agricultural Council of California, Sacramento W. P. Thomas, head, Department of Agricultural Education, Utah State Agricultural College, Logan J. L. Weidemann, president, Utah Poultry Producers Cooperative Association, Honeyville J. F. Weltzin, dean, School of Education, University of Idaho, Moscow George C. Yates, president, Idaho Farm Bureau, American Falls BEST COPY AVAILABLE * Did not attend conference, but reviewed report. [ 34 ] 34 INDEX WHAT THE SCHOOLS SHOULD TEACH Agriculture, industry and labor, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 23, 24 Appreciation of rural way of life, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 20, 22 Art of living together, ro, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20 Basic skills, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20 Basic ways of doing business, 14, 18, 20 Conservation and development of na- tional resources Human, 9, 14, 20 Natural, 9, 11, 14, 24 Consumer education, distribution and marketing, 9, 12, 16, 18, 20, 23 Cooperatives, 9, 11, 14, 18, 20 Curriculum that starts with community problems and uses community re- sources, 9, 10, II, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18 Current issues, 9, 10, 11, 20, 23 Dignity of labor, 15, 20 Fine arts, 13, 18, 20, 21 Fundamentals of democratic citizenship, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20 Guidance (personal and vocational), 9, 11, 15, 18, 21 Health of the individual and of the community, 11, 13, 14, 16, 21 Home and family life, 9, 11, 18, 20 Moral and spiritual values, 12, 13, 15, 19 Personal development, 13, 15, 19, 20, 22 Raising the standard of rural living, 10, II, 15, 20, 22 Recreation, 10, 11, 12, 21, 22 Responsibility for a life of service, 15, 19, 22, 23 Rural organizations, 9, 11, 13, 14, 20 Rural-urban relationships, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 24 Vocational education Agriculture, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 20, 22, 23, 24 Broad program, 9, 11, 12, 15, 18 For city as well as country, 9, 11, 12, 17, 18, 20, 22 Homemaking, 11, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22 Work experience, 9, 10, 18, 23 SUGGESTED Ways FOR IMPROVING THE SCHOOLS Better teachers Living conditions, salaries, and status, g, 10, 21 Teacher recruitment, 10, 12, 17, 19 Teacher training, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 17, 19, 21, 22 Closer bond between school and com- munity Adult education, 9, 11, 14, 18, 22, 23 Agricultural organizations and the school, 10, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24 Financial support Adequate funds, 10, 14, 17, 19, 21 Equality of opportunity, 12, 17, 18, 21 More aids to teaching Instructional resources, 9, 14, 16, 21 Research, 10, 16, 17, 23 Reorganization of school districts, 10, 14, 17, 19, 21 [35] BEST COPY AVAILABLE 35