The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1900-12-28
CONSOLIDATION OF RURAL
SCHOOLS.

SCHOOLS.
A paper read by School Examiner
George Biddle, of Cecil county, at the
meeting of the Association of School Com
missioners held at Baltimore December
9th, 1900.
The aim of school work should be to
make good, useful citizens as basis Of
individual and national life. 1t should
aim to widen our sphere Of usefulness, to
increase good will, to incite to higher
thoughts and brighter hopes, to foster
honesty, thrift, industry, culture, to edu-
cate, to make the ideal man.
The environment of the school room
does much to shape the aims and aspira-
tions of the boy. That which flows from
the teachers heart will glow in the boys
bosom. Who can wonder then that with
such aims our people should be so willing
to give to their support. Duty demands
that we should make the best return.
l am much inclined to The view that we
err i'll having too many, rather than too
few school houses. Our aim should be
quality rather than quantity. The char
acter of the school is of far greater i'm
portance than its accessibility. What can
one, poor woman do towards keeping
forty children in order, and at the same
time teach some thirty classes in six or
seven grades in six short hours? Is it
any wonder that she is nearer of lessons
rather than Il teacher of them?
To you need not say that it is abso-
lutely necessary that our schools shall be
graded. To me it is equally clear that for
best results a teacher should not be called
upon to manage more than one or two
grades, and better still, ifthe departmental
system can be adopted. You al know
that the study which the teacher loves is
reflected in the pupil With the multi
farious duties of the single room teacher
she can give but little time to any one
class, or carry out any well defined plan
or system of work. Taking our own
school at Elkton, we have with the first
and second grades two teachers, one fol-
lowing a full and complete system Of
teaching reading the Ward method), the
other the arithmetic. l am confident that
we accomplish as much in two years as
any single room teacher with all Of the
grades can do in three years.
You all know the contrast between the
large school in town and the small one in
the country. The larger school with its
increased salary will attract the better
prepared teacher, this with the grading
will accomplish better results
AS far back as 1869, the idea of concen-
tration, of consolidation, was conceived
in Massachusetts, and law was enacted
did not at once take practical shape, per-
haps because it was little understood by
the masses. Yet we find that in 1899 the
State expended over $22, 900, and in 1898
over $4,000 for the purpose of trans
ferring children to nearby schools. The
growth has been steady and continuous.
At this time more than IS per cent of her
towns have found it advantageous to con-
soldate. Mr.. Rockwell, of Montague, re-
ports that 1--WE have the best attendance
from the transported children, who all
like it; that the township saved over 5000
per annum, and that everybody is con-
verted to the plan, though at first it met
with strong opposition
In 1892, under conditions very similar
to those now existing in Maryland, the
township of Kingsville, Ohio, inau yurated
practical and successful trial Here it
became necessary to build school house
in an outlying district with but few pupils.
Upon investigation it was found cheaper
to convey the children to the town than
to employ the extra teacher in the country,
to say nothing of the cost Of the new
house and the incidentals incident to
every school. They had no law bearin 6
upon the subject, aud this gave rise to the
relating laws now on the statute books of
Ohio, which provide that any township
may secure transportation to an adjoinin g
school if the expenses are not increased.
Contracts are made for the transportation
of the children from their homes to school
and return. The contract is awarded to
the lowest bidder, provided the Board
deem him fit to have care of the children,
the moral character of the bidder enterin g
into the consideration, he being bound in
writing to collect the children at stated
time and to return them in the evening
He is also to see that there shall be no
profane, immoral or indecent language or
alcoholic drinks used while he has charge
of them.
This plan was watched with the closest