Armstrong High School - Resume Yearbook (Armstrong, IL)

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Q 5 H H H ll Q isufpieimnceuin Q H H H H F who are engaged in teaching commercial work. Let me say this to the : parents, see that your children take commercial work while in high school and let them get that commercial education which you were not able to secure, thereby fitting your sons and daughters for better citizen- : ship in this business world of which we all must take a part. 2 THE VALUE UF AN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION By Albert l.au,rence From its earliest beginning, Agricultural Education has been ridi- E culed by a class of people who do not believe in anything progressive, or showing improvement. The easiest thing in the world to do is to criti- cize. Anyone can always point out flaws in every move or action, no : matter how useful or praiseworthy it may be. It is a significant fact that in the majority of cases in every commun- : ity, it is the children of the most progressive farmers who attend High School and take Agricultural as well as other subjectsg while those young people from the farm who do not attend High School are more commonly : the children of farmers who are satisfied with the customs and practices that have been common for a generation or twog and do not care to change their mode of farming until compelled to by force of circumstances. As : Agricultural Education becomes more common and well fixed, this opposi- tion is rapidly disappearing. ' : Agricultural Science has done much to change the farmer's prac- tices many of which ideas are laughed at until their values are proved. The inoculation of alfalfa and soybean seed is an example. The idea of : coating the seed with soil from a field where the crop has been grown successfully was considered ridiculous at first. But no progressive far- mer today doubts the soundness of the practice on fields where the crop has not been grown previously. r In our Agricultural Courses we take up three main lines of study. 2 One is the work of Agricultural investigators and Experiment Stations in their efforts to improve farm practices by better seed, better stock, con- Tltlr n ll'- 'lF-'-'1I Q 1 92 4 Gill'-4-II u --u- nj

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ll ll' ' 19' ll 1' Q illnrplc zmh Gjulh Q ll ll ll ll -1 Some people bring up the argument that the commercial schools to- day are not fully meeting, all the demands of modern business. Now that is not a just criticism, because the same may be said of the medical schools, the law schools, and all other schools of technical or professional training. The schools of medicine are not fully meeting all the demands cl the medical profession. Can we say that the law schools are meeting al tlie demands of the legal prolesslon? If the graduates of these pro- QGSS,Ol'lHl schools who spend several years in intensive training for their profession do not measure up to the highest standard of professional pro- ilclency, we surely then may expect that some of the graduates of our commercial schools or those who take commercial subjects in high school to 1a-l short of tae highest standards of business service. How can we expect at this stage of development of the commercial work, pew:- iectlon irom all. But I do beneve that graduates of our commercial de- partment of our high school are as well qualified or better qualified than graduates of other departments. This year there will not be a failure an the commercial department unless some students radically fall down in their work between now and graduation. ,' Reports from commercial de- j citniciits of other schools can also be shfown that do not have a failure. This is not true every year, but contrast commercial work with other sub- jtets and note the failures. Some think commercial work rather easy. but I urge all who think it so to enter into the Work and I know that they will change their minds. We commercial teachers are frequently accused of not being famil- iar with nor teaching cultural subjects. I do know that some higher in- stitutions of learning that give full value and credit for basket making and not even recognize such subjects as shorthand or typewriting. But I believe that any subject is cultured that will develop a person, make him better, make it possible for him to enjoy life to the fullest, and make him a citizen of the highest type. I sincerely trust that the commercial subjects may be able to get the recognition that they deserve. Show me a man or woman who will not use a knowledge of bookkeeping during their life, even to the smallest ex- tent. Shorthand is becoming more popular every day, while in nearly every home you will now notice a typewriter and many times I have heard this remark by men and women, I wish I could operate a type- Writer. Commercial education is just coming into its own. As to how rapidl- ly it will continue to develop, depends upon the students and upon those ll' n n :Il II If--Q 1 9 2 4 G-:ur-an n ll ll E

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E-fuiu n u T agurpj, ,mn 45,45 VII u u u -TH trol of plant and animal diseases, better methods of feeding, improved means of maintaining and building up the fertility of the soil, etc. A second is the study of the farms-soils, crops, live-stock and build- ings of the different farms in the neighborhood, both good and poorg noticing especially why some farms and farmers are more successful than others. In our visits to various farms as a part of our class work we request the suggestions and opinions of the farmer himself as to what he considers best in the different breeds of stock, varities and methods of raising crops, as well as general points of management. A third line of study which is not entirely separate from the two just explained but which, in part, is to a certain extent a summary of the above mentfoned points is Farm Management. This is a comparitively new sub- ject, but is rapidly gaining in importance. There are two main divisions of this subject. The first is the study of more economical methods of production of crops and raising of live- stockg and in this connection making better use of man, horse and tractor labor. This is studied in the same manner as the points previously men- tionedg namely, the reslgts of Experiment Stations, articles in Farm papcrs, and the different practices common in this community. As an illustration of this point, the class in Farm Management during the pres- ent school year made a detailed study of Illinois Bulletin 231, The Horse and the Tractor, which is a study of horse and tractor labor on 112 typi- cal cornbelt of Illinois. A second illustration is that of the project records which are required of every student taking Hgh School Agriculture. In the project the boys keep exact record of cost of production of a field of wheat, oats or corng or of the costs and returns of several sows, cows, chickens, etc. These project records show for example, that where the yield is low per acre, as in wheat, the cost of production is 5.80 to 51.00 per bushel. But where the yield is good-from 25 to 30 bushels per acre-the cost is usual- ly 5.65 to 5.80. The second 'mportant division 07 the work in Farm Management is the study of Farm Marketing. We feel that the Agricultural High Schools can and should furnish a real help in this regard for the farmers of this country. In the past the knowledge of marketing factors and the information available as to the influences affecting the rise and fall in prices as regulated by Supply and Demand and other economic conditions l' 1 u,- u +I!-lr-'Q 1 9 2 4 Qin n u u IE -lil