Small schools in rural areas have not been helped much over the years by the standardization of various course requirements, which moves them away from their strengths. On their own, they would more naturally work from their strengths - their ability to make education more personal, the need to draw more heavily on local resources and use more of the place as a basis for curriculum. The course structures with their various clock-based requirements keep the schools distant from what is important locally. This is not a path to higher quality schooling and learning. What I see in many small rural schools are attempts to accommodate all the external mandates, including the various curriculum frameworks and related tests to the detriment of higher quality teaching and learning.
Teachers feel forced to make a more limited set of choices about what to teach and for how long.
This can't be particularly healthy. I don't believe that. I believe our resources should be devoted to helping all schools, teachers and communities develop high quality settings. This means getting closer to the settings, not standing far away.