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Manual Training
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become proficient in at least one. All young people, on leaving
school, should have a knowledge of some trade or occupation by
which, if need be, they may earn a livelihood.
The objection most often urged against industrial training in
school is the large outlay and heavy expense involved. But the
object to be gained is worthy of its cost. No other work committed
to us is so important as the training of our youth, and every outlay
demanded for its right accomplishment is money well spent.
Even from the viewpoint of financial results, the outlay required
for manual training would prove the truest economy. The expen-
diture for gardens, workshops, and facilities for water treatments
would be more than met by the saving on hospitals and reformato-
ries. And the youth themselves, trained to habits of industry, and
skilled in lines of useful and productive labor—who can estimate
their value to society and to the nation!
As a relaxation from study, occupations pursued in the open air
and affording exercise for the whole body, are the most beneficial.
No line of manual training is of more value than agriculture. The
Bible says much about agriculture—that it was God’s plan for human
beings to till the earth, that the first man, the ruler of the whole world,
was given a garden to cultivate. Many of the world’s greatest people,
its real nobility, have worked the soil. Of those who cultivate the
soil the Bible declares, “They are well instructed; their God teaches
them”
Isaiah 28:26
, NRSV. And again, “Whoever keeps the fig tree
will eat its fruit.”
Proverbs 27:18
.
In the study of agriculture, let students be given not only theory,
but practice. While they learn what science can teach in regard to
the nature and preparation of the soil, the value of different crops,
and the best methods of production, let them put their knowledge to
use. Teachers should share the work with their students, and show
what results can be achieved through skillful, intelligent effort. Thus
may be awakened a genuine interest, an ambition to do the work
in the best possible manner. Such an ambition, together with the
invigorating effect of exercise, sunshine, and pure air, will create a
love for agricultural work that with many youth will determine their
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choice of an occupation.