The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1915-07-08
THE THREE-TEACHEE SCHOOL.
Will Take Place of inefficient One
Teacher School.

The intelligent and progressive
farmer is asking himself today as
never before this live question:
What can our community do 70
make ours a better school?" And
this is an important question he Is
putting to himself.
1t is important in the first place
because about eight out of ten chill
dren now growing up in his commu-
nifty are going to remain there and
become workers and citizens; are go
ing to become not only subjects OF
law but voters and makers OF law;
are in all probability, going to be-
come parents and train the next gen.
Grafton in and for his community;
are going to become farmers and
home-builderS, home-makers ana
home-keepers. In word, eight out
of ten children who are today grow
ing up in his community are going to
determine, in a very large measure,
his communities future worth in ma
terial wealth and progress, in intel
lectual and moral efficiency.
This question is important IN the
second place because about nine out
of ten children now growing up in his
community will get all the training
and all the education they will ever
receive from the school built in and
supported by his own community;
and while he is trying to answer his
question it is probably occurring to
him time and again that his own
child may be among that nine who
will never have the opportunity OF
going higher than their community
school.
AS the intelligent farmer wrestles
with this question, it is becoming
clearer to him all the time that the
little one-teacher school at his front
gate is not now meeting, and cannot
be made to meet, the educational
needs of his children for successful
working and living in his rapidly
progressive age. He is becoming
more firmly convinced that his one
teacher school with it's five to seven
grades, twenty-five to thirty daily
classes Qeaving the teacher about
eleven minutes for each class); with
its lack of high school instruction
and vocational training; with its fire.
uuent change of teachers and COM
paratively short term, is about as
we'll suited to meet the educational
needs of his children as is the little
old one-horse, as" turning plow
suited to meet his own. needs for the
most successful farming. And just
as he has thrown into the shade
his little old As" for larger and a
more serviceable plow, just so is
he throwing aside his little one
teacher school wherever possible for
a larger and more serviceable
.seaool
Actual experience throughout the
South is making it plain that the
smallest type of school that can
guarantee anything like sufficient
preparation for the most successful
life and work is school having at
least three competent and we'll train
ed teachers.
The Efficient Three-Teacher School.
This school includes the following
important points:
(D Larger school districts. The
average size of the one-teacher school
district in my State is about two and
three-quarter miles wide by three
and one-half miles long, or about
nine square miles. 1t is plain that
this is too small a unit of taxation.
and too small unit of population, to
develop a school of much efficiency.
This small district should be increas-
ed as much as possible not to put
any children beyond a reasonable
walking distance, Of two and a half
miles. BY observing this two and
half miles as the limit of walking
distance, especially for the small
children, in forming the school dis
trict, and by locating the school
building near the centre of the dis
trict, it is entirely practicable in var
ious parts of nearly every county in
the State to increase the size of the
teacher school district to four
or FIVE miles long and four or five
miles wide or to twenty or twenty
five square miles. A school district
of 20 or % square miles will in an
average rural community insure
enough taxable wealth (when rea-
sonable local tax is added to the
county and State apportionments) to
make a school fund large enough to