Mower County transcript., 1904-08-31
GENERALIZATION
OF SCHOOLS
Mayor George Chandler of Usage
Does Not Favor Rural System for
the Northern States.

the Northern States.
II notice that the people up here in
Minnesota are starting a little agita-
tion for centralized school districts" "
said Mayor George Chandler of Osago,
Iowa, to Minneapolis Times reporter
Wednesday. eve have tried it out
down in Iowa and the system is thus
far far from being success" he contin-
ued Mr.. Chandler is a veteran in Iowa
school matters and has been mixed up
in school politics in the Hawkeye
state for the pait twenty-five years.
During this time he was for a long
time superintendent of the Mitchell
county schools, where one of the first
experiments Of centralized school dis
tricts in the state was conducted.
II do not believe that the proposition
will ever be a success in Iowa, "con-
tinued Mr. Chandler, "and for that res-
son fear that it would not be all that
people expect for it in this state, were
the movement inaugurated.
zone of the things which actuate
most strongly against the success of
the system with regard to rural
schools in Iowa is the extremely rigor-
Gus winters which we have. You know
that under the centralized system the
children are hauled back and forth
from their homes to school in wagons
and sleighs, much the same as cream is
collected. Well, it is many family
whose children receive ride of ten
miles twice day getting to and from
school. For the routes in picking up
the other children are necessarily cir
cuitous, and although the sleighs are
covered and warmed in winter, it is a
pretty cold ride, and when roads are
bad it takes all the way from an hour
and a half to two hours to make the
trip. A good many parents won't let
their smaller children endure this and
so the attendance is materially affect
ed in the winter.
"With the old system of district
schools it took an awfuly cold day to
materially affect attendance.
"Another thing that initiated against
the success of the system: The CEN
tralized school house is generally To-
Gated in some small town central to
the whole township. The farmer finds
that he is contributing funds to build
up that town, while the value of his
own farm is possibly decreasing be-
cause Of it's distance from the school
house. 1t isn't long before the average
farmer begins to object to this proce-
dure and when the farmers in Iowa
begin to object to anything that thing
is generally doomed. Such is especially
true of rural schools for their establish
ment is optional with each township.
"At the time of establishment of
centralized rural schools in Iowa the
claim was set forth that by these
means better teachers and specialists
in various lines could be secured and
thus the youth would have better ad
vantages. We did not find this theory
to work out in practice. From compu-
tations made in our state it was found
that the average length of service
given by every person entering teach
ing as profession, was twenty-five
months. The school year is so short
and the pay so small1n the rural districts
that men and women dependent upon
their earnings for their support, soon
get into other work unless they prove to
have exceptional ability. And ein that
case they are. not long in rural work.
Superintendents Of larger 21chools are
constantly upon the lookodt for good
teachers and they go from the rural
school to the small city and then to the
city schools. As an instance of this I
could tell you that two tof our Usage
teachers are coming to teach in Mime
apolis schools this year. ,~>-~~-,,-->-,-~,--~
$50 the grade of teachers secured are
not much better, and in some cases not
as good as that secured by the old rur-
al school SYSTEM In the rural schools
l have known Of teachers doing fine
work with school Of twelve to fifteen
pupils, and falling absolutely down
when put in charge of a room of forty
or forty-fVe pupils. -. .~.s. T..
"Of course the expense Of the cen
tralized school is less, but do not be-
lieve the results justify the decreased
expense" " ...>, 49,. - -. u.
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