Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1913-08-02
RURAL SCHOOLS
TO BE HONORED
TO Have First Place at Next
International Congress.
PROBLEMS ARE COMPLEX.


to 60 TO Discuss School Hygiene.
Little Red sehooihogse' and How to
improve II VII Be chief Theme Of
Discussion at Session.
The little red srlioolhouse" is 20 oc-
cupy plre Of honor on the pro
gram af lhr Fourth international con
gr,s,s on s..lioo hygiene. which viii
meet IN Buffalo from Aug - to Aug
80. according 10 ii statement issued by
the bfogEul committee which Is rom
posed o. hrs Robert W Lovett aud
David g. I.dsaIl or Harvard. Dr In
ther II Gulick of Sew York ana Dr
Thomas A storey Of the College 81
the city OF Sew York secretary gen
eral of the congress
Tile problems Of the city schools
have received ii erent deal OF much
deserved attention" say Tie members
Of the committee in their announce
meut or the program The very Sc
fious 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
vioHs tompiexity aud Importance. The
conlHiittce II therefore anxious 10 Sc
cure tapcrs renting to rural school
hygiene aud village school hygiene as
well rs to the city school hygiene"
Or. claNton's report.
Ia IL report issued at Washington
United States Commissioner Of Edu-
cation liilander T. ClaSton calls at
tentiun to the subject of the little red
school la the following terms:
Until very recently few careful
studies Of the rural schools have been
made. ana 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 II general way that their
terms are short. their support made
qunte, their teachers poorly prepared.
ther attendance irregular their man
ugenent ullstientllic and wasteful Of
money, time ana energy: their courses
of stndy III 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 Al
rural schools goes without saying, but
It is unfortunately true IN large
measure of most Of them"
In all there ARE some 2i2.000 one
teacher little red schuolhouses In the
United stntes alone. according to the
Washington report prepared by A. G.
Monahun In this report there is Il
picture Of "A one teacher rural schools
house which Is characterized MS IA
fair type Of about one half OF the OIL
600 one teacher rural schools" Most
of the original red paint seems to have
been washed off those schools.
An Erroneous impression.
~ 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 inn
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 aud
lighting: without adequate provisions
for guarding the health and morals of
the children ind with comparatively
little equipment for teaching"
Dr. Fletcher T.. Dresslar. school hy-
giene specialist in the bureau of educa-
ton. 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 10
be published in a special bulletin, will
be called to- the attention Of the dele
gates ut Buffalo. DR. Dresslar found
that although there is great need FOR
reform. nevertheless the indications ut
the present time point toward mark
ed improvement in the rural school
building ground and equipment