El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-12-02
Copyright 1911. by Frank c. Carpenter)

and his plans include the grown-ups
! as well as the babies.
Waking Up the Great American
Brain.
Indeed, our national brain is being
reused as never before. Every depart
ment Of the government is stimulating
it, and the wires are reaching out from
here to every man. woman and child
in the country. In this letter I want
TO show something Of what is being
done Tor the people outside the cities.
The bulk OF our population is in the
country, and one Of the greatest move
ments Of the time is that for the i'm
provement of the country school
We all know Of the little frame
schOolhouse. There are several hun
dred thousand Of them in the United
States. They pepper the Union, and in
most cases each is taught by one man
or one woman. Some Of these school
houses have less than a dozen pupils
Kansas has more than 1900 with an
attendance of 10 or less. Maine> has
more than 1000 schools Of one room
each, and 200 Of these have less than
eight pupils Michigan has 1900
schools Of 10 students, and Nebraska
has 1900 Of the same character. In
Hardin county, Iowa, where the land
is worth a hundred dollars an acre
and the farmers are compare lively
rich, there are large number Of
schools where the average attendance
IS less than six, and in Olmstead coun-
ty, MINI, there are 16 district schools
whose average attendance is only five
The same conditions prevail all over
the country.
Going to School in Wagons.
The advanced movement provides
for the wiping out Of these little
schools and the organizing of large
ones at such distances apart that many
OF the children must be brought in
carriages or wagons. 1t presupposes
10 s7-.T
or 40 square miles. The nearby chill
dren walk, and those who live on the
outskirts ride. The schools ORGANIZED
have an attendance of several hun
oreq- The pupils are given a thor
OuBn educauOn and the child starts in
at the kindergarten and comes out at
the high school In some schools the
high school is omitted, but there are
eight years Of graded school, with
a grade for each year, and in this way
the country boy or girl gets a school
ing which compares well with that of
the best schools Of our cities.
This consolidated school system is
slowly working its way over the
union. It is now in existence in 80
different states, and there are more
than 1000 such schools in operation
1t is estimated that the number will
eventually be 10000 and that two
thirds of the small rural schools which
now exist viii have been done away
with
The bringing the children to school
in wagons has been found to be Of
great success. The transportation per
pupil costs but few cents q dav
and the expense is small in compari-
son with the advantage gained. In
Massachusetts where the system is in
thorough operation and covers the
state, the amount spent for TRANSPORT
alton is about 100000 a year. In In
diana it is only d little less, and in
Vermont it is about SIS 0O0 In Flor
ida the schools have been consolidated
in 80 different counties. and the cost
Of carrying the children to school is
$4,000 per school year.
The Passing of the Log schOOIhouse
This movement means the passing
away Of the log schOOlhouse, the sod
schOolhOuse and the little frame shack.
1t means the erection Of big school
buildings, well ventilated and lighted,
with steam heat and all the comforts.