Macon beacon., 1917-06-01
Better School Opportunities for &acon
To Parsnts in One -Teochsrs Districts Near Macon:
AND SURROUNDING COUNTRY.

all ulTcCLl1S LIllS lcIIcI W
you from two motives. First, be-
cause l believe the future growth
of our city school is dependent
largely on the patronage of the
country people who live within a
reasonable distance of Macon.
Second, because believe that
your school problem cannot be
solved apart from consolidation
with Macon. Especially is this
true for those of you who live in
tninly settled sections. 1t is in
the interest of your children and
the children of Macon, then, that
write this letter.
The one teacher school has
served its day in Mississippi.
The consolidation of rural schools
has gone on with marked growth
from year to year. This is said
in no disparagement of any teach
er who is teaching in one
teacher school, for | know that
some of the best teachers in our
county taught this past year in
these schools. But these teach
ers themselves will tell you how
they were handicapped and how
much better for your child it
would have been hal he been in
a school where there are only
two sections to the teacher and
each teacher can become a spe-
cialist and get the kind of equip
ment needed for her particular
work. In this county we have
some of these consolidated schools
where several schools are brought
together and each teacher has no
more than two or three grades.
This works splendidiy where you
have the necessary population.
but you who live in the prairies
do not have the right kind of con-
ditions for this kind of consolida-
ton. If you brought the schools
within fifty square miles into one
district the chances are you would
not have enough children to give
you over one teacher. and where
consolidation brings only one
teacher it is clear that the only
benefit is a better building and
equipment and that the worst
problem has not been solved at
all.
Now, in the above paragraph
I have briefly stated your prob
lem. In the following | wish to
state the school problem that con-
fronts the Macon school.
This pastsessionwe enrolled only
about one hundred and seventy
white children from Macon. AS
you know our population is large
ly colored and therefore the
taxes fall heavily on few. The
people in Macon have taxed
themselves generously for their
school. They have invested about
forty thousand dollars in a school
plant. The school mas now thor
oughly modern equipment; desks,
boards, and furniture. 1t has a
fifteen hundred-dollar sanitary
waterworks equipment, a six
hundred-dollar library, a four
hundred-dollar home economics
equipment, a splendid hot air
heating system, and a modern
playground. But right at a time
when our city and county is in
the midst of the hardest hard
times" our future growth and
our duty to the children who at
tend this school demand that we
90 on and make more improve
ments. This past year we add
ed the home economics depart
ment and employed another
teacher. Next year we must add
typewriters to the high school
equipment and refurnish our lab
oratory with scientific equipment
and we must make a beginning
in manual training work. Now
our population is not increasing.
1t is decreasing, moving to the
country rapidly, and so we are at
a loss to know how to meet these
modern demands for a broader
and richer course of study, the
lack of which will work a handi-
cap on the children whose educa-
ton weare responsible for. This
is our problem.
| believe that the solution of
your problem and our problem is
the same. ! believe that you
without US will never solve your
school problem and that we with
out your assistance and co-opera-
ton can never solve ours. For
tunately the good roads move
ment and the development OF
those industries that require you
to come to Macon more otter
A