And then, a second question we need to ask ourselves is, Whom is education for? or, What classes should have the benefits of it? A close comparison of the school ideals of twenty-five years ago with the most progressive ones of to-day reveals a surprising situation. Without seemingly realizing the fact, we continued for generations in this country to tax ourselves heavily for the purpose of supporting schools almost exclusively in behalf of the so-called professional classes. We said, especially to the growing boy: "Now, if you wish to become a lawyer, a physician, a minister, or a teacher, here is your opportunity. Pursue this well-arranged course, finish it up, and that all at our expense. But if you wish to become a farmer, a merchant, a craftsman of any sort, then this institution is not at your service. We will teach you to read and write and cipher, after which you may look out for yourself." Thus we were taxing the masses for the exclusive education of a few classes. To-day the best ideal is a radically different one, as it attempts to serve all worthy classes and vocations through the school administration. It assumes that artisans as well as artists and the professional classes have the same inherent right to both the practical aid and the direct culture which an educational course may furnish. As a practical result of this new ideal, now rapidly advancing throughout the country, we are about to have an age of cultured farmers, high-minded stock raisers, refined architects and builders, and so on. That is, our newest and best educational courses are beginning to provide the means and opportunities for the education of all worthy classes. So it behooves all interested rural parents to turn their best efforts toward the transformation and the betterment of the country school. Certain specific achievements in relation thereto are now being planned for and in many instances accomplished. Let every one concerned take notice of this situation and join with all possible earnestness in the forward movement. In his instructive monograph entitled "Changing Conceptions of Education," Professor E. P. Cubberley states the new ideal as follows:-- "The school is essentially a time- and labor-saving device, created--with us--by democracy to serve democracy's needs. To convey to the next generation the knowledge and the accumulated experience of the past is not its only function. It must equally prepare the future citizen for the to-morrow of our complex life. The school must grasp the significance of its social connections and relations, and must come to realize that its real worth and its hope of adequate reward lie in its social efficiency. There are many reasons for believing that this change is taking place rapidly at present, and that an educational sociology, needed as much by teachers to-day as an educational psychology, is now in the process of being formulated for our use." WORK FOR A LONGER TERM