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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

BUREAU OF EDUCATION, Washington, October 7, 1915.

SIR: Were it possible to print for distribution among those who are directly interested in education. a complete account of all the education exhibits of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, a distinct service might thereby be rendered to the cause of education. But this bureau has no funds with which to have such a report compiled, nor are there funds available for printing it if it were compiled. I have, however, caused two brief reports to be made of some of the most interesting features of these exhibits; a brief general statement of the nature, purpose, and most striking features of the several exhibits, by W. Carson Ryan, jr., editor in this bureau, and a more detailed report of the exhibits in agricultural education and rural schools, by Harold W. Foght, the bureau's specialist in rural school practice. Those who read these two reports will have a fairly good idea of the meaning of these exhibits. I recommend that both be published as bulletins of the Bureau of Education, and I am transmitting herewith the second of these reports for that purpose. Respectfully submitted.

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P. P. CLAXTON,

Commissioner.

PREFACE.

This bulletin was prepared to indicate recent progress in rural life and education as disclosed by the educational exhibits at the PanamaPacific Exposition of 1915. The discussion includes (1) the general phases of progress in rural education, and (2) advancement in its more specific agricultural phases. Little attempt has been made to present the subject in a systematic way, either by kinds of schools or by school subjects, as the comparatively small number of organized State educational exhibits made such an arrangement impracticable. What was true of exhibits from many of the American States was also true of educational exhibits from foreign nations, which were limited on account of the war or for other reasons. Particularly was this true so far as rural school exhibits are concerned.

The plan followed, therefore, has been to treat the exhibit partly by subject classification and partly by States and countries. A large number of diagrams and photographs has been included, which are depended on to make the context clear and interesting.

Bulletin, 1916, No. 1, prepared by W. Carson Ryan, jr., editor of the Bureau of Education, deals in a more general way with all the educational exhibits at the exposition. It would be desirable for the reader to study this bulletin before taking up the rural and = agricultural phases of the exhibits.

Acknowledgment is due the Government Exhibit Board and a number of foreign, State, and local educational commissioners for the use of diagrams and photographs and for much other assistance given while the report was being prepared.

H. W. F. 7

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RURAL AND AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION AT THE

PANAMA-PACIFIC EXPOSITION.

I. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.

The general educational exhibit at the Panama-Pacific Exposition was prepared by the Department of the Interior through its Bureau of Education, in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture and many schools and colleges throughout the Nation. The exhibits occupied a commanding position, with many thousand square feet of floor space, near the center of the Palace of Education. The Government exhibits may be divided for convenience into1. Organization and work of the United States Bureau of Education.

2. Exhibits planned and arranged by the Bureau of Education. 3. Organization of agricultural education in the United States. 4. Activities of agricultural colleges and experiment stations.

UNITED STATES BUREAU OF EDUCATION.

Comprehensiveness of the exhibits.-The Bureau of Education exhibits occupied nearly 9,000 square feet of floor space and comprised numerous large mounted graphic charts, maps, and photographs illustrative of the present status of education in the United States, miniatures of model one-teacher schools and consolidated rural schools, the principal publications of the Bureau of Education, printed matter comprising student annuals and student publications of the leading higher educational institutions, home reading courses offered by the Bureau of Education, bound volumes of the principal educational surveys conducted in this country in recent years, and much other printed matter of interest to the public. The exhibit included, further, the work of the Bureau of Education among the natives of Alaska; the schools of the District of Columbia, with their organization, interests, and activities; schools for Negroes, indicating the present status of Negro education in this country; a comprehensive study of school health in the United States; stereomotographs, moving pictures, and moving hexagonal cylinders showing many phases of educational needs and progress in many sections of the country.

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Organization of the United States Bureau of Education.-The Bureau of Education was established by act of Congress in 1867, in answer to a public demand for a general educational agency to supply accurate information on the subject of educational progress in this and other countries, to make critical investigations of vital educational problems, and otherwise to act as an educational clearing house for the Nation.

The Bureau of Education is under the immediate direction of a Commissioner of Education. Its activities are classified under 16

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FIG. 2.-Floor plan of the Palace of Education and Social Economy, showing space devoted to education exhibit.

divisions in charge of 26 specialists, 111 collaborators, and 40 clerks. Among other things, the bureau helps to determine the results of the expenditure of $800,000,000 annually for the school education of 20,000,000 children and the character and intelligence of 100,000,000 people. As appears in the chart reproduced herewith, the Bureau of Education serves higher education through more than 1,500 institutions, secondary education through 13,500 high schools, and rural education through 243,000 schools. It concerns itself with

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