# Edward J. Tobin explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ring Lardner.

## What happens

A brief, whimsical poem about Edward J. Tobin, the County Superintendent of Schools in Chicago, who advocates for outdoor work like gardening as a way to develop children into productive adults.

## Themes in this chapter

### Work and Profession

The poem satirizes the idea of hard work in a vegetable garden as a means of developing 'human machines'.

### Humor and Satire

The exaggerated, rhyming advice about gardening and beans mocks simplistic educational theories.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The narrator presents a lighthearted, satirical take on Edward J. Tobin's educational philosophy.

## Key lines

> Ed favors outdoors as a means Of developing human machines, If kids will work hard in The veg’table garden, He think they’ll have pretty good beans.

Edward J. Tobin believes that outdoor labor, such as working in a vegetable garden, is an effective way to turn children into productive adults, and that such effort will yield good results.

_The poem humorously reduces Tobin's educational philosophy to a simple gardening metaphor._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se/chapters/edward-j-tobin
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_19_se/chapters