The New Education
No. 3
STILLWATER, OKLAHOMA, JANUARY 15, 1910
Vol. 1
THE NEW TEACHERS AT THE A. & M. C.
RURAL EDUCATION
4
so-
THE SHORT COURSES
D.
farm
many
way in many of the
here brought forward
branch of the State’s
Expressed in the terms
the near future, this
large State agricul-
being provided for
Oklahoma. Those
high schools express
The program for the Farmers' Short Course,
opening January 17, is attracting much attention.
We extend a wide and cordial invitation to come
and enjoy our feast of reason, and take part in
these great meetings for the advancement of the
agricultural interests of Oklahoma.
The Good Roads features to be given by
Ward King of Missouri are appealing strongly to
Oklahoma citizens.
The popularity of J. E. Wing of Ohio as an ag-
ricultural writer and the very favorable impression
he made upon his audience when here three years
ago make his appearance upon the program an at-
tractive feature.
The Claremore Commercial Club* has written
that it has appointed a delegation of five to attend
the meeting and several men of prominence in
different parts of the State have signified their in-
tention of being in attendance.
The State Swine Breeders’ Association has ac-
cepted invitation to meet at the College at this
time and announce that they have engaged three
speakers of prominence for the occasion. These
addresses will be an addition to the general pro-
gram announced in last issue.
JANUARY 19 th will be the birth-
day anniversary of Robert E. Lee.
On that day let us think of that
noble spirit, dignified and gentlemanly
manner, cultured and kindly heart,
and steadfastness of purpose, that
marked this nature's true nobleman.
For as long as men shall admire heroic
courage, prize learning and skill, re-
joice in unwavering loyalty to convic-
tions, respect a pure manhood, and love
a brotherly heart, so long will be re-
membered the resplendent name and
spotless fame of Robert E. Lee.
44444    4444 44-4444444444 >44-4 44444
In his address at the commencement exercises of
this College in June last, Dr.Tlayes clearly outlined
some strong facts and policies relating to home own-
ership, the family, schools, the church, and institu-
tions of higher learning. The rural home, rural
schools and industrial education in Oklahoma were
given most careful consideration. We have space
at this time for only a few sentences from this great
address, ...... “And it is of much inter-
est to see this new State of Oklahoma assuming
those functions which cannot be performed by its
local institutions. You have not only established
this State College of agriculture and mechanic arts
and other State institutions, but you have begun
state wide coordination of your schools into a unified
system, each part to help each other part. Your
organic law has placed forever in your plan of gov-
ernment the fullest cooperation of the State with the
local community in educating the children for the
farm, the shop, and the home, as well as for the
called professions.
“Good fortune has led me to see the several
elements of our rising country life educational
system. Some of these elements are best de-
veloped in an isolated
older States, but are
together as a unified
public school system,
of the Oklahoma of
branch of your school system presents a grand
country side vision.
“Were the State fully settled and its seventy-
five counties supplied throughout with village
and one-room rural schools for purposes of il-
lustration we may broadly assume that it
would have 10,000 one room rural school dis-
tricts. But with consolidation this will be
changed so that 9,000 of the one-room schools
would be consolidated with the village and
town schools and into 1,500 consolidated rural
schools in the open country. Thus the insti-
tutions Especially devoted to education for
country life would consist of one State College
of Agriculture; probably a dozen State agri-
cultural high schools and State normal
schools, all with secondary and teachers’
courses in agriculture . home economics;
500 village and town schools providing more
or less instruction in agriculture and other
local industries and home making; 1,500 con-
solidated farm schools in the open country;
1,000 one-room rural schools remaining in
isolated and sparsely settled communities, but
supplied with teachers able to give instruction
in the rural vocations, and most important of
all, 200,000 family farms.
“Thirty thousand consolidated rural and vil-
lage schools in America will carry three-
fourths of the school work of country life edu-
cation; and the higher schools will merely
supplement them in this work, as they in turn
supplement the several millions of farm homes.
“Thirty thousand principals of consolidated
schools trained to teach agriculture and as
assistants trained to teach home making, trained to
teach the general subjects of the two years of high-
school work, would in a generation make American
rural life over.
“The ideal plan seems to be to have in each county
not one school but a county system of splendidly
developed consolidated rural schools with two years
of high-school work, and the last two years high-
school course provided for in
tural high-schools, such as are
in the five judicial districts of
who are taught in agricultural
the belief that such schools away from the pupils’
homes, where the equipment must be built upon the
school farm, should be in units with not less than
twenty to thirty thousand dollars for the annual cur-
rent expense and with a large farm and ample
buildings for the various farm specialties. The
original school of this class, organized twenty-one
years ago in Minnesota, now has 700 students, and
about fifty similar schools have been established in
a dozen states, three being in Minnesota. Nothing
have I done in which I take greater pride than to
have helped organize that original school and the
system of similar schools being established in Min-
nesota and in the nation. ’’
Many new members have been added this
year to the teaching force of the A. & M. C.»
with the creation of two new departments and the
enlargement of others. A brief account of the
new teachers reveals the interesting facts that
they have come from all parts of the United
States, are vigorous men and women in the prime
of life, and in nearly every instance have had, not
only thorough university training, but also excep-
tional experience both as teachers and as original
investigators and practical workers in the special
subjects they are now teaching.
To the newly created Chair of Pedagogy the
Board of Regents called Dr. John H. Bowers.
Having graduated from the University of West
Virginia with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and
Bachelor of Laws, Professor Bowers completed
his university training in G a Ohio Wesleyan Uni-
versity, the Illinois Wesleyan University and the
University of Chicago. As a teacher, Professor
Bowers began in an ungraded country
school. He has been, at various times, high
school principal, city superintendent, princi-
pal of a preparatory school, and professor in
a state normal school. For ten years Dr.
Bowers has been a lecturer at institutes and
upon the public platform. To one who is to
teach pedagogy this wide and varied experi-
ence is invaluable.
To the new Chair of Domestic Arts (co-
ordinate with the Chair of Domestic Sci-
ence) Miss "Rebecca P. Acheson was called.
Miss Acheson was born in Pennsylvania,
brought up in Florida and educated in the
A. & M. College of Florida and the Drexel
Institute of Philadelphia. She taught do-
mestic art for four years in Philadelphia and
foi two years in th? Hid insti-ute of Massa-
chusetts. It is worthy of comment that she
added to her knovdedge of her subject by a
tour of the western nations of Europe.
Dr. C. J. Bushnell, Professor of History
and Political Science, received both his
Bachelor’s Degree and the Degree of Doctor
of Philosophy from the University of Chi-
cago. Though a young man, Dr. Bushnell
has observed life widely. For the past eight
years he has taught in colleges and universi-
ties in the West, the South and the Middle
West. Assisted by his wife, who is a trained
social worker and investigator, Dr. Bushnell
organized “Progress City’’ and supervised
industrial schools and playgrounds in In-
dianapolis, Cleveland, and the City of Wash-
ington. Out of these practical social experi-
ences have grown numerous magazine arti-
cles and several most instructive and helpful
lectures. Dr. Bushnell is a trained thinker,
an interesting writer and a forceful speaker.
For the Chair of Mathematics the Board se-
lected Dr. Carl Gunderson. Though a native of
Norway, Dr. Gunderson was educated in the
United States, receiving the Bachelors Degree
from Leland Stanford University and bo th the
Master’s and the Doctor’s Degree from Columbia
University. Dr. Gunderson has made a repu a-
tion as a thorough scholar and a
teacher. He comes to Oklahoma from a pos.t.on
as Associate Professor of Mathematics in the Ag-
ricultural College of Michigan.
Dr. Hardee Chambliss, the head of the Depart-
ment of Chemistry, graduated from »he W'S*"*11
Military Institute, later receiving the Master s De
gree from Vanderbilt University and the Doctor s
Degree from Columbia. His experience is a wide
one especially noteworthy being a year as Assis-
tant in Chemistry in Columbia Univers.ty and six
years as research chemist for the General Chemi-
cal Company of New York. That he knows not
only the theory of chemistry but its practical ap
Plication in the industrial world gives »-s teaching
a definiteness and practical usefulness which pre
pare students definitely for whatever branch> of
industrial chemistry they may wish to make their
life work.                       ,            .
(To be continued m later issue.)
WILLIAM M. HAYES
Assistant Secretary U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C,