The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1913-01-02
What The Rural
Schools Are Doing


schoolsare at last coming into their
own Long the neglected factor inI
American education, they are now
in progress Of q Degeneration that il
as acknowledging as it is necessary
tits not merely that educators
have turned their attention 10 the
problems 1t il not merely that mucl
is currently written on the subject
tone fourth oT The bulletins pub
lished in 1912 BY the United State
bureau Of education deal directly
with rural edueation); it is rather
that theory has given plaeeto prae
tice; that the work Of rural eduea
ton is.actually under way
Teachers 81 experience armed
withthe essential facts d rural life.
acquainted with the needs Of thel
communities they serve, sincere in
their faith n the country as the
place to live inand build up citizen
ship, are doing for the rural districts
what the pioneer teachers former
generations did for the city and
town
These rural teachers are actually
accomplishing the work that has sol
long been merely talked about. Old
one-room ram-shackle sehoolhouses
are torn down to make way for at
tractive little buildings, not neces-
.sarily larger than tile old, but built
on sound principles Of beauty and
utility, OF frequently the place Of
the discarded building has been
taken by the more imposing struc-
ture Of the consolidated school,
symbol Of educational efficiency.
Even the literature on rural edu-
cation shows the effects Of the prac-
ticai application Of what was for
merly only theories. Current bulle-
tins Of the bureau of education de- |
scribe the training Of rural school
teachers, not as something that has
been done and is done every day. It
is no longer the problem Of know
ing what ought to be done, but Of
doing 1.-THE problem Of dissemina-
ting the knowledge that is already
available.
The realization Of the significance
Of rural education marks turning
point in American history. For the
better part Of q century American
education developed one-sided by
as city and town matter. To live
in the country was to be isolated
from the better things of civilization
including education. That the
population Of the Uuited States was
and is predominantly rural did not
seem to enter the question. There
was a feeling that the country could
take care of itself. that the "little
red school house" could accomplish
everything with nothing; thatthere
was inexhaustible supply ofcountry
school teachers willing to to handle
an assortment Of youngsters Of vary
ing ages and abilities. do ianitor
chores and perform the numerous
other duties Of the old-time school
master. all for few dollars per
week, with utter disregard Of the inv
creased cost Of living,
The awakening from this state Of
blissful indifference toward country
life and country education did not
come until the drift from country to
city had become one of startling
phenomena Of the age. Then ece-
nomists exherted boys to stay on i
the farm What boy was going to
stay on the farm when opportunity
seemed to be everywhere else?
Theretwere no adequate educational
facilities for him in the country;
to guide him in his desire
to get along in the world 50 he
went to join the city throng and
help diminish the producing power
of the fundamental class Of society
the agriculturists.
Rural education cannot immedi-
ately and entirely reverse this pro-
cess, butt is the first essential step.
Better rural schools viii not only
tend to equalize the advantages of
city and country In the educational |