This booklet is concerned with rural schools that give a general education and with the question whether they have a useful part to play in rural development. I hold the view, based on my own experience - and I have seen no evidence to the contrary - that in backward rural areas the schools cannot be made a main instrument of progress. I argue this in chapter 1 of the booklet, show why the commonly suggested solutions must be rejected, and arrive at the conclusion that only when economic development is already taking place can the schools be expected to play any part - and then only a subsidiary, though quite important, part. In chapter 2, I take a new look at what such an economically developing area might demand from its young, and in chapter 3 suggest some of the key requirements if teaching in the schools is to be effective.
