Some persistent problems of rural life and education in the south

Abstract

Special attention should be given to the rapid and material changes which rural life has undergone in recent years. The agency that should have made and should continue to make the most significant contribution to the general improvement of rural life-the rural school-is the agency that seemingly understands least the changing pattern of country life; and has apparently made the least effort to adapt its program to present-day conditions and needs of country people. Except in a few notable instances, the schools have not made maximum use of opportunities to help improve actual life conditions. If education in rural areas is to accept this challenge and be instrumental in raising the cultural and economic standards of country life, it must be greatly improved. A program of improvement based on a sound foundation can be instituted. It is necessary to begin with feasible things and to capitalize on what has been done. The rural school as it is found today is the starting point. Its teachers, pupils and parents should cooperate in an effort to improve rural living. Efforts should be made to develop plans and formulate programs designed to help people to help themselves. The problems of rural education are inseparable from the social and economic problems of the region. The major problems of the people grow out of the low economic level of a rural population. The South, potentially rich in natural resources, soil, climate, and people, is now, in large part, a wasted land. In many rural areas poverty with all its attendant evils is the rule rather than the exception. Measured in terms of annual income, diet, general health, comforts, and luxuries the South lags far behind every other major region of the nation. The steady increase in farm tenancy has drained resources from rural areas and has been detrimental to wholesome home life and community pride. Soil erosion and depletion of soil fertility, and the exhaustion of natural resources have seriously affected the stability of people and the standards of living. Measured in terms of the training and pay of its teachers, the length of the school term, its holding power, and certainly what it has done to improve the living conditions of its supporters, the