Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1914-12-18
Local Educational Survey.

Mr.. Editor I'm connection with the
educational survey of Montgomery county
in 1912 (see Bulletin No. 80, series 1918,
of the U. S. Bureau of Education) the fol-
lowing list of questions was distributed to
about 1000 county school patrons;
II. What. in your opinion. are the prin-
cipal weaknesses of the country schoolS
2. Do the schools need different course
of studyY
8. How may they serve the community
other than as an ordinary day school for
childrenH
4, Do you think consolidation of schools
and the transportation of pupils in school
wagons feasible
S. Are the schools as they are now OPP
Grated satisfactorily proeressiveH
6. What would you suggest to improve
them?"
About 700 replies were received. Of
these the report says: They came from
all classes and conditions of people, and
represented all degrees of education and
general enlightenment. Moreover, though
differing widely from each other in many
particulars and including many shades and
varieties of opinion, there are yet certain
general lines of cleavage running through
them ALL" Approximately rs
per cent of the answers received are COW
cred in effect by the following criticisms
|. There are too few teachers for the
amount of work to be covered Each teach
er is compelled to teach many grades.
2. The common branches are not taught
with sufficient thoroughness, and yet the
special branches of particular value to
country pupils can not be undertaken at all.
g. There is no room in the curriculum
for specialization, nor would the teachers
be able to prepare themselves for it if
there were.
4. The salaries are too low. and in con-
sequence there are too many relatively
inefiiciently, poorly trained teachers.
5. There is no proper inducement for
highly trained men and women. DESTROYS
of making teaching life-work rather than
a temporary means of gaining livelihood,
to devote themselves to the work of edu-
cation in the country
6. The buildings and equipment are not
always up to the standard. and the rooms
are frequently overcrowded.
Z. The work is not carried far enough in
those schools upon which the majority Of
pupils are dependent. In many sections
pupils desiring work beyond the seven or
eight grades offered in the one room schools |
must travel away from home to obtain it. |
The children of poorer families are not able |
to 90 away from home to school, conse-
quently their education is brought to |
premature close.
AS the report says, Implicitly and ex-
plicitly the one-rOom, one teacher school |
was attacked" and yet the only logical
remedy, consolidation of small schools, with |
public transportation for the pupils, was
opposed by two-thirds of the 700 school |
patrons who answered the questions. OBJ |
viously one-rOom. one-teacher school, |
devoted to seven grades. cannot furnish the |
instruction the majority of parents nova |
days wish their children to have, but until |
practical plan of consolidation is worked |
out and approved by the parents of one
teacher schools, no progress can be made
in that quarter One-teacher schools de- |
voted to only the first three or four grades.
might well be retained in some instances
and this would avoid the necessity of the |
small children going far from home to |
school,
Consolidation in northern Ohio, within |
the writer's personal observation, was be-
gun by the bodily removal of two of the
old district" frame buildings to the school
lot of third. Later, pupils of several Of
these groups were merged in modern
two-story brick structure at convenient
crossroads location with seven large wag-
ons to carry the children to and fro morn
ing and night.
SCHOOL PATRON.