Show farm teaching in school Js Is favored authority says education Is for good of masses prom from now new york state college colleen ot of ture service dr n R SI steward Ste viard of cornell university deplored the trend toward book teaching and defended the old principle of learning to do by doing in addressing the agricultural section ot of the american vocational association 1 I cannot become enthusiastic about sucha cueli a school problem as tir pruning lining an apple tree without having an apple tree to mako make the problem difficult vague and indefinite adds no merit to teaching the boy may learn about pruning without having an apple tree to prune but only with extra estra effort real situations have more influence a and nd beget a better type ot of thinking lie he says lie ile upholds the teaching of vocational agriculture or special training it although he agrees that education should he be designed for the good of the masses and not for individuals to outstrip their neighbors however until society takes a much different attitude on training lawyers physicians dentists and other individual out strippers agriculture Is not yet doing violence to that principle A high school course in agriculture properly or organized provides the best means of oc a general education possible for many rural communities agricultural training may mav bp be called special but the group of agricultural vocations touch life at every point and lend themselves better to human and social influences than any similarly related group ot of vocations vocational education has no quarrel with general education each has too much to offer the other and the sixteen years experience of vocational training has contributed much to the general education field he says if we begin with the general as we probably do it ft remains barren and futile until vitalized vitali zed by special experiences if we be begin in with the special n as we probably do not we shall soon discover that lie principles from which fundamental values of life arl arise seare are the same principles that other types of special education come to lecog nize it Is then the business of vocational education to check periodically its fundamental purposes points of views methods and results with general education of which it Is an integral part to find the common bases of mutual help |