h schools, and institutions of a
similar kind in every state, a three-year course for teachers above the
eighth year, specially designed to prepare them for rural school
teaching, should be established. Such a school would furnish the proper
atmosphere and the proper courses of instruction to suffuse the minds of
these prospective teachers with appreciation and love of country life
and rural school work.

=All Not to Remain in the Country.=--It is not contended here that all
who are born and brought up in the country ought to remain there for
life. Many writers and speakers preach the gospel of "the country for
country children," but this cannot be sound. Each one, as the years go
by, should "find" himself and his own proper place. There are many
children brought up in the country who find their place best in the
heart of the great city; and there are many brought up in the cities who
ultimately find themselves and their place in the country and in its
work. While all this is true it may still be maintained that the proper
mental food for country children is the life and the activities of the
country; and if this life and these activities are made pleasant and
attractive a larger percentage of country children will remain in the
country for the benefit of both country and city.

=Mere Textbook Teaching.=--Many teachers in the country, as well as in
the city, follow literally the textbooks provided for them. Textbooks,
being common and general, must leave the application of the thought
largely to the teacher. To follow them is probably the easiest kind of
teaching, for the mind then moves along the line of least resistance.
Accordingly the tendency is merely to teach textbooks, without
libraries, laboratories, and other facilities for the application of the
thought of the text. Application and illustration are always difficult.
It frequently happens that children go through their textbooks under the
guidance of their more or less mechanical teachers, without making any
application of their knowledge. Their learning seems to be stored away
in pigeonholes and never used again. That in one pigeonhole does not
mix with that in another. Their thoughts and their education in
different fields are in no sense united. Pupils are surprised if they
are asked or expected to use their knowledge in any practical manner. A
man who had a tank, seven feet in diameter and eight feet high, about
half full of gasoline, asked his daughter,