The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1902-09-18
CONSOLIDATION OF
COUNTY SCHOOLS,
A Paper from a Former
Cobb Countian.

more attention than the improvement
OF the conditions of life in rural COM
munlties. No subject deserves to re-
ceiye more attention. By this do not,
for a moment. wish to be understood as
thinking that the conditions of life in
the country are bad. spent too many
happy years in Cobb county for that.
The conditions of mans happiest exis-
tence are in the country. The trees and
the flowers, pure air and pure water,
silence and freedom from excitement
and worry are there. 1t is there that
great men are born and great minds de-
velope. But the country lacks some
things which it needs and which new
order of this will bring to it
Most of the advantages of city life
can be carried to the country. These
are mainly better educational advanta.
ges and the means of quick and easy
communication When this is done the
country will be the ideal place in which
to live and the man who is compelled to
live in noisy, dusty. and smoky cities
VIII deserve pity.
The middle west is now being trans
formed by good roads, farm telephones,
travelling libraries and rural delivery of
mails. The farmer can sit by his own
tlreside and read the daily papers on the
day of publication, can order groceries
for dinner from town over the telephone
and have them delivered by the mail
carrier, can sell his products without
leaving the farm, can call his physician
without riding for HMM short he has
all the easy communication with the
rest of the world which the city man
has-and this country life is robbed of
those features which operate most
against its pleasantness-its isolation,
its solitude and its monotony.
The most important movement for
the betterment of social conditions in
the country, and one which is Just now
receiving vast amount of attention, is
the movement to consolidate the
schools of neighboringcommunities into
larger and better schools. This plan is
entirely feasible and would do more for
the country than almost anything that
can be imagined.
A few years ago, four school districts
in Kansas were consolidated and a CEN
trail school house was built in the village
of Lorraine. The children were brought
to the school in covered wagons, the
school was graded, several teachers
were employed, the term was lengthen-
ed, two years high school course was
added and the total cost, including
transportation of the children to and
from school, is little more than that of
four schools in the small, unsanitary
and uncomfortable district schools,
with their scant courses of study to
which the children had to walk through
snow, mud and sleet.
The annual convention of the Ma
tional Educational Association, held at
Minneapolis in July of this year, de-
clared that the common schools of this
country ''are the one great agency up
on which the nation is to rely for a
barrier against the setting up of class
distinctions which have no place on
American soil" and 1--WE believe that it
is just and possible to keep the county
schools-in all respects up to the high
est standard of excellence and efficien-
cy. The movement to consolidate the
weaker districts in the country and to
provide public and free transportation
for the pupils to and from the schools
tends to that end"
This subject has long been of great
interest to me. In July 1890, before
there was any agitation on the subject,
| published in the Journal an article in
which tried to demonstrate that the
way to have better schools is to consol-
idate the small ones into large ones
Ny conviction that consolidation would
solve the problem of good schools grew
deeper with several years experience as
teacher, and has continued to grow
deeper with subsequent study of the
subject.
The advantage of large schools over
small ones are beyond question. The
cost of building several small uncom-
Portable houses would build one good
one; the possibility of grading would
reduce the number of teachers needed
and thus allow better teachers to be
employed for the same money libra
ries could be sccum ulsted in the, school
buildings; the enthusiasm of teachers
parents and pupils would be increased.
A large school with a wide patronage
would command more attention and
respect and would become the. social
centre of the community. Frequently
in small schools, there is only one pupil
in an advanced branch. He cannot
pursue his studies with the same en-
thusiasm as he could if he had class