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REGULATIONS OF THE STATE HIGH-SCHOOL BOARD

Relative to Schools Seeking Aid under the Putnam and Benson-Lee

Acts.

1. APPLICATIONS FOR STATE AID.

a. Applications shall be made before the 1st day of August of the first year for which aid is asked on the blank form prepared for the purpose.

b. Each school must be listed provisionally by the high-school board before it begins work. If at the end of the first semester it has complied with the conditions, it shall be officially designated for that year.

c. Each school district of less than 18 sections listed for the $2,500 aid is required to effect association with rural school districts so as to embrace within its territory at least 18 sections.

2. AWARD OF AID.

a. The annual award shall be made at the regular August meeting of the highschool board and shall be based on a compliance with the statutes and the rules of this board relative to amount of aid for which the school has qualified.

b. Each school qualifying for $2,500 aid shall receive not exceeding $2,500 per year, and in addition thereto $150 per year for each associated rural school district, but in no case shall the total amount received by any such school exceed two-thirds of the sum actually expended upon such agricultural and industrial department as certified to the State high-school board.

c. Each school qualifying for $1,800 aid shall receive not exceeding $1,800 per year, and in addition thereto $150 per year for each associated rural school district, but in no case shall the amount awarded exceed the actual expenditure of the school for an agricultural department and a department of home economics or manual training as certified to the high-school board.

d. In reckoning aid credit shall be given for (a) salaries of special instructors-in case part time is devoted to this work, corresponding credit shall be given; (b) equipment, including tools and apparatus; (c) supplies, including seeds; (d) labor and team work; (e) reference books; (f) extension work in rural schools and among farmers; (g) transportation of instructors.

3. COURSES OF STUDY.

a. The industrial courses required by law and covered by these rules shall be maintained throughout the school year.

b. The work in agriculture shall include: (a) A course based on textbooks, bulletins, and lectures. Agronomy and animal husbandry shall be given not less than a year each. It is desirable that botany, chemistry, zoology, and physics should be given an agricultural trend, but these subjects shall not be counted as a part of the four years course in agriculture. (b) A general course of one year to include gardening, fruit growing, dairying, and poultry raising. (c) A laboratory course, including physical examination of soils, preparation of weed-seed cases, testing of seeds, testing for butter fat, grain judging, stock judging, etc. (d) Special work along some line of local interest, such as dairying, corn breeding, small grain, potatoes, fruit, meat products, poultry, etc. The school shall not only maintain a standard of general efficiency, but shall develop strength in chosen specialty. (e) The organization of institute work in cooperation with extension division of the college of agriculture of the State university. (f) A short course of three months. In case local conditions are unfavorable the course may be discontinued with the written consent of the inspector.

4. INSTRUCTORS.

a. In a school receiving $2,500 aid the corps shall include not less than three special instructors, one qualified to teach agriculture, one shopwork, and one home economics. The entire time of each instructor shall be devoted to his department.

b. In a school receiving $1,800 aid two industrial instructors shall be employed, one qualified to teach agriculture and one to teach either home economics or manual training. These instructors shall be in addition to the instructor per 30 students required for State high-school aid.

c. The principal of a graded school having not to exceed five grade teachers may teach one industrial subject. In such case he must have the qualifications of an industrial teacher.

d. The agricultural instructor shall be employed for the full calendar year of 12 months. The year of employment shall begin August 1. His entire time shall be given to the teaching of agriculture and extension work, provided that in schools receiving $1,800 aid the instructor in agriculture may, with the written consent of the inspector, be permitted to teach one additional subject, particularly one related to agriculture. This rule shall not prevent the principal of a graded school from acting as instructor of agriculture.

e. The instructor shall be provided with laboratory facilities. During the fall and the spring of the year he shall have not less than a continuous half day for outside and extension work. He shall make a close study of local conditions and attend markets, horticultural meetings, meetings of creamery and stock-breeding and other associations, and such other gatherings as afford opportunity to make the acquaintance of farmers. f. The instructor in agriculture may not direct manual training, but in schools receiving $1,800 aid instructors in manual training or home economics may, if qualified, devote part time to academic work. The work in home economics may be divided between two instructors, one for sewing and the other for cooking.

g. The legal qualifications of instructors shall be those prescribed under "Requirements in Regard to Certificates of Teachers in High and Graded Schools."

5. DEMONSTRATION PLAT.

Each school receiving $2,500 aid shall maintain a demonstration plat of 5 acres or more. This plat shall be owned by the school district or be held under a long lease. It must be kept free of weeds and in a state proper for cultivation and for demonstration purposes. The border shall be seeded down into a sward. A part of the plat shall be devoted to a permanent rotation of field crops, of which a record shall be kept by the instructor.

6. EQUIPMENT.

a. Agriculture. The instructor shall have one or more rooms exclusively for this work. The classroom shall be equipped with a well-arranged reference library, including bulletins and facilities for displaying agricultural products. The laboratory shall be provided with apparatus for testing soils, milk, and seeds. The agricultural quarters shall be easily accessible to visitors or persons bringing in farm products. An outside entrance is desirable.

b. Home economics. (a) In schools receiving $1,800 aid a special room shall be fitted up with tables, cooking utensils, table service, cupboards, and conveniences for storing kitchen supplies. An adequate equipment shall also be provided, including cutting tables, one or more sewing machines, material suitable for patterns, the materials required for exercise, and such implements as are required in the usual sewing room. (b) In schools receiving $2,500 aid the quarters shall include a dining room or administration room, a kitchen laboratory, and a room equipped with tables and machines for sewing.

c. Manual training. A special room for woodwork shall be provided with benches and the necessary tools. Material for exercises shall be supplied free of charge. Lumber for articles taken home may be charged for at cost. Schools receiving $2,500 aid shall provide facilities for blacksmithing.

d. The rooms used for industrial purposes must be approved by the inspector Where but one room is used for a department not less than 700 square feet of floor space shall be considered adequate, and all rooms must be properly lighted and well ventilated.

e. Schools receiving $2,500 aid shall maintain a farm building large enough to store supplies, tools, and machinery, in case the plat is remote from school building.

7. CREDITS.

If the work is done satisfactorily, two periods given daily to an industrial subject or subjects for one year shall count as a credit.

TYPICAL SHORT COURSES

Offered by the Putnam and Benson-Lee Schools.

The following is an outline of the 14 weeks' short course offered at the Benson-Lee School, at Red Lake Falls, in 1912:

PURPOSE AND NATURE OF THE COURSE.

There are many young people in Red Lake Falls and its surrounding farming territory who have not had adequate educational opportunity. Home duties prevent their attendance at school for a full school year of nine months. The rural school, because of its limited facilities, they have outgrown and do not desire to attend. For these young people the course outlined on these pages is offered. It may seem by reading through the brief outlines of the various subjects in the course that the aim is to keep the work intensely practical in nature.

FARM ACCOUNTS.

Three periods per week.

The course will be a combination of very practical arithmetic and farm accounting. Under farm arithmetic acreage of fields, contents of bins, cribs, and tanks, lumber measurements, interest, discounts, and other topics of equal importance will be treated. Under accounting a simple system of bookkeeping for farm use will be taught.

AGRICULTURE.

Three periods per week.

The time in this work will be divided between actual exercises in milk testing, seed testing, grain and stock judging, rope splicing, etc., and a study of the same topics from a practical textbook and the school's agricultural library and bulletins.

ENGLISH.

Two periods per week.

The writing and speaking of correct English, use of capitals, punctuation, and letter writing will occupy the time devoted to this subject.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

Three periods per week.

A study will be made of the school district, the township, the county, and the State, both as to organization and administration.

BUSINESS LAW.

One period per week on the subjects of contracts, negotiable instruments, riparian rights, transfers of real property, etc., simple business law with which every citizen should be equipped.

COOKING

Two double periods per week.

The time devoted to cooking will be spent upon the actual mixing and baking of doughs and batters used in the making of bread, cakes, muffins, etc., and in the preparation and serving of meat. The splendid cooking equipment installed a year ago will be used in this work.

SEWING.

Three periods per week.

Garments, such as aprons, undergarments, shirt waists, and dresses will be made in this sewing class. Materials used in these exercises to be furnished by the students, and the garments will be their property after completion.

CARPENTRY.

Three periods per week.

The articles which will be recommended for choice in the woodwork class will be the milk stool, singletrees, evener, wagon jack, wheelbarrow, hayrack, and other useful articles. One of the best tool and bench equipments owned by the schools of northwestern Minnesota will be available for the work in carpentry.

BLACKSMITHING.

One double period per week.

The young men will be occupied in blacksmithing in making useful articles such as staples, barn-door hooks, chains, welding, repair work, work with stocks and dies, drill, etc. The board of education of Red Lake Falls installed in September a fine forge equipment with anvils, tongs, shears, drill, etc. This will be at the service of the students enrolled in the short course.

The Putnam School, at Madison, gives a two-year short course, each 14 weeks long. The course comprises agriculture, woodwork, cooking, sewing, English, arithmetic, bookkeeping, civil government, and commercial law. The outline in agriculture follows:

FIRST-YEAR COURSE.

Soils. Work on soils of this county, elements in the soil, uses of green manures, barnyard manures, effect on soil of grain farming and stock framing.

Crops.-Testing grain for weed seeds, germination, corn and grain judging, selection of seed.

Forage crops.-Alfalfa, clover, vetch, rape, cowpeas. How to eradicate weeds. Horticulture.-Apples and plums-planting, grafting, propagation, protection from insects and diseases, pruning methods; strawberry and bush fruits-same outline as for apples and plums.

Entomology. Sprays and spraying for the important local insects. Testing of Paris green and the other sprays for impurities.

Animal husbandry.-Horses, draft and roadsters-care, feeding, judging. Dairy cattle-care, feeding, judging, proper rations, dairy herd records, milk testing, testing for tuberculosis, treatment of milk fever, feeding of silage.

Farm mechanics.-Construction of portable hog houses and other simple buildings. Road building and the maintenance of a good road.

SECOND-YEAR COURSE.

Animal husbandry.-Horses care of foal mare, care of foal, veterinary work, unsoundness of horses, sweenied shoulders, splints, corns, thoroughpin, age of horses. Hogs-feeding, ration for young pigs and fat hogs, preparing hogs for show purposes.

Sheep-proper houses, trimming, feeding, treatment for bloat. Poultry good breeds, poultry houses, feeding. Dairy and beef cattle-more advanced work than in the first year.

Soiling and

Rope work.-Making of rope halters, splicing rope, tying knots. Cereal and forage crops.-Proper rotations for the soil of this county. silage crops. Advanced grain judging. Identification of weed seeds. Farm mechanics.-Buildings, drainage of marsh lands, fence building, making of concrete fence posts, gas engines.

The Associated School at Spring Valley has annually, in addition to the regular short course, a junior course for the farmers and their wives. It is six days in length. Special work is arranged for (1) the farmers, (2) their wives, and (3) the rural teachers of the associated schools. Says the short course announcement:

There is no age limit; all we want is to gather together the farmers and their wives. No one will be refused instruction; but the course is especially adapted to the farmers conditions.

A man can take any two subjects, such as animal husbandry and farm crops, or he can substitute one of these with cooking or sewing. This is likewise true for the

women.

In case of the teachers of the rural schools, it will be necessary that they take a different course, which will be farm crops, cooking and sewing, and in some cases animal husbandry.

No one can take one subject one day and change the next, as this will make confusion.

The daily program of work for farmers' wives illustrates well the definite character of this school for grown-ups:

Monday.

10 a. m. Talk on food-its use in the body-digestion-effect of cooking-prep

aration.

1.30 p.m.

Demonstration. Eggs and milk-(a) custards (b) omelet. 3.30 p.m. Sewing methods fastenings sewing on

Tuesday.

hooks and eyes-loops.

9 a. m. Economy in the home-labor-saving devices.

buttons-buttonholes

10.30 to 12 a. m. Demonstration. Cooking starchy foods (a) cereals—(b) use of fireless cooker-(c) making white sauce.

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1 to 2.30 p. m. 2.30 to 4 p. m.

Wednesday.

9 to 10.30 a. m.

10.30 to 12 a. m.

1 to 2.30 p. m.

Thursday.

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9 to 10.30 a. m. 10.30 to 12 a. m.

Demonstration. Setting the table.

Talk on home decoration.

Talk on meat-principle of cooking.

Demonstration. Cooking the cheaper cuts.

Talk on care and feeding of little children.

Talk on home nursing.

Demonstration. Invalid cookery.

Vegetable cookery-demonstration-preparation of two or more

1 to 2.30 p. m. vegetables.

2.30 to 4 p. m.

Friday.

9 to 10.30 a. m. 10.30 to 12 m.

1 to 2.30 p. m.

2.30 to 4 p. m. etc.

Saturday.

9 to 10 a. m.

Repairing-(a) stockingette darn-(b) cloth darn—(c) patching.

Talk on yeasts and baking powders.

Demonstration. (a) Use of bread mixture-(b) white bread.
Garment seams demonstration of corset cover.

Laundry work--removal of stains-washing linen, woolen, silks,

Talk on preservation of foods.

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