The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1913-08-05
RURAL SCHOOLS
TO Be HONORED
To Have First Place at Next
International Congress.
PROBLEMS ARE COMPLEX.

Educators Will Meet In Buffalo Aug 25
to 80 to Discuss School Hygiene.
Little Red SchooIhouse" and How to
Improve II Will Be Chief Theme of
Discussion at Session.
The little red schoolhouse" is to oc-
cupy a place of honor on the pro-
gram of the Fourth international con-
gress on school hygiene, which will
meet in Buffalo from Aug. % to Aug.
80, according to a statement issued by
the program committee, which is COM
posed Of Drs. Robert w. Lovett and
David L. Edsall of Harvard, DR.. Lu-
ther II. Gulick of New York and DR..
Thomas A. Storey of the College of
the City of New York, secretary gen.
eral Of the congress.
'"The problems of the city schools
have received great deal of much
deserved attention" say the members
of the committee in their announce
ment of the program. "The very Sc
rious problems of the village school
and of the rural school have received
but little attention. The study and the
solution of these problems are OF OBJ
viouS compleXity and Importance. The
committee is therefore anxious to Sc
cure papers relating to rural school
hygiene and village school hygiene as
well as to the city school hygiene"
DR.. Claxton's Report.
In a report issued at Washington
United States Commissioner of Edu-
cation Philander Z. Claxton calls at
tention to the subject of the little red
school in the following terms:
"Unil very recently few careful
studies Of the rural schools have been
made, and we yet have little accurate
information about them and little
knowledge of the factors entering into
the problem of their improvement. We
do know in a general way that their
terms are short, their support made
quate, their teachers poorly prepared,
their, attendance irregular, their man
agement unscientific and wasteful of
money, time and energy; their courses
of study Ill adapted to their needs and
the houses in which the children are
taught cheap and poorly equipped and
furnished. That this is not true of all
rural schools goes without saying, but
1t is unfortunately true in a large
measure of most of them"
In all there are some 212,000 one
teacher little red schoolhouses in the
United States alone, according to the
Washington report, prepared by A. G.
Monahan. In this report there is a
picture of a one teacher rural school
house which is characterized as "a
fair type of about one-half of the 212,-
600 one teacher rural schools" Most
of the original red paint seems to have
been washed off those schools.
An Erroneous Impression.
"a general impression has been Gre
ated," says Mr.. Monahan. that there
exists an American school system
which is sufficient and nation wide,
with equal educational opportunities
in all parts of the country. The i'm
preston is erroneous. 1t Is probably
true that the public schools, both urban
and rural, have made considerable
progress, but the marked progress has
been confined almost wholly to the
city and town. The majority of rural
schools are housed in uncomfortable
buildings, unsuitable from every stand
point, without proper furniture or IA
cilities for heating, ventilating and
lighting: without adequate provisions
for guarding the health and morals of
the children and with comparatively
little equipment for teaching"
DR.. Fletcher B. DresSlar, school hy-
giene specialist in the bureau of educa-
tion, who is chairman of the commit
tee on scientific exhibit at the fourth
international congress, has recently
been making a special study of the
rural school building and grounds. The
result of his investigation, which is to
be published in a special bulletin, will
be called to the attention of the dele
gates at Buffalo. DIR. Dresslar found
that, although there is great need for
reform, nevertheless the indications at
the present time point toward a mark
ed Improvement in the rural school
building, ground and equipment.