The Ronan pioneer. [volume] (Ronan, Mont.) 1910-1970, 1915-11-19

pense distance from little to six o
seven miles.
Some few children have to ride
distance of seven Or seven and a hal
miles. But in practically every CASE
the parents are appreciative of the
fact that they reach real school, an(
prefer the arrangement to dinky ex
cuse for a school. These are the few
extreme cases. A fair proportion OF
these children are neither absent MOI
tardy during the entire nine months
On Mr.. Christians route, the little
sisters of the high school boy who
drives the wagon just for the fun of
it, make the long ride two miles out
to where the route begins then all the
six miles back to the school. If this
were considered much of a hardship
they would certainly walk the two
miles and quarter to school or catch
the wagon on it's return.
Mr.. Christian alleges that many
families are leaving the district be-
cause of consolidation. | think this
is a wild guess, like nearly all of his
other statements. | do not know a
single family who have left for this
reason; but | can name you compar
atively large number who are staying
because of it. | am confident that We
are losing fewer people from this
district at the present time because
Of school conditions than the average
rural district in any state in the
Union.
With all self-assuranc the gentle
man says: "While consolidation may
give satisfaction in old settled dis
tricts, so far as it has been tried here,
it is not satisfactory here. How
could he reach a conclusion Of this
sort without at least looking up the
tabulated records kept by the schools?
The very success of the system has
been the cause of it's rapid extension.
Certainly it is not yet perfect. But
it is giving wonderful value as COM
pared to the one-room system, with
which can be easily demonstrated to
any man of intelligence. So far as
it's being generally injurious to health
the sickness reports and attendance
records of the school indicate the op-
posite. Strange as it may seem, the
attendance of children on the wagon
routes, even those living toward the
extreme ends, is considerably better
than the attendance of those who live
close to the schools and walk. So far
as we have investigated their scholar
ship records we find no apparent rela
ton between scholarship and distance
from school; but we do note close
relation between scholarship and at
tendance.
Mr.. Christian quotes the trustees as
saying that reasonable drivers can
not be secured. This is wholly untrue.
In nearly every case excellent drivers
have been secured and tits increasingly
easy to get the best. These drivers
are competent to care for the children
and do so. Perhaps he
would prefer to have his children
home afoot under no su-
pervision, subject to influences pre-
judicial to health and most danger
Gus from the standpoint of morals.
If children are to go to school SO
young as six, it is better that they be
to school of specialized
teachers and departments where
their mental and physical welfare
may be looked after properly than
that they should walk to oneroom
school, which is so handicapped that
it may in many cases do very much
more harm than good. The Ma
,ional Brueau of Education has deter
mined by careful investigation that
primary pupils in one-room schools
10 not more than thirty minutes
If work during the six hours they are
1t school; the rest of the time being
spent developing bad mental habits
md developing generally under more
" less unfavorable conditions. am
lappy that fit school, consolidated
school, will be within driving distance
# my farm when my little children
re old enough to go.
This larger school is considerably
arther from my place than the small
r schol at Elliott, but owing to the
act that it is centerally located for a
arge area and so may be an eff
lent school in every sense, my child
en- will go there, even if they have to
rive seven miles. l should be willing
o pay bonus if necessary for the
lrivi1ouo of their hainU in the WAGON