Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1920-03-25
CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL
FINDS FAVOR
Some Arguments Presented
In Favor of Movement.
Badly Needed Here

The one room school like the
One Hoss Shay has had it's day.
There was time when the one
room school had very significant
place in the life of the community.
There was time when that type
of education was predominant type
of education in the world, in fact
the education of the one room school
was the only available education to
many of our nations leaders few
years ago.
Today we find things changed
and the education is not for the
classes but for the masses, not for
the fortunate few but for everyone
regardless of wealth or social posi-
tion. Today education is recog-
nized as one of the necessary ele-
ments in democracy, as necessary
af this old government of ours is to
stand the rigid test of time. One
of the first questions asked of the
boy today when he applies for
position is What education have
you, what are your qualifications"
In this day and age of high priced
land and changing conditions of
farming it is just as necessary that
the country boy be given the advan-
tages of education as the city or
town boy. He has the right to de-
mand the advantages and is de-
nanding them.
Our high schools today are being
crowded with boys and girls from
the rural districts, nearly 60 percent
of some of our high schools coming
from country homes. Our grades,
too, are slowly being filled up by
the same class of pupils, and we are
very willing that it should be so.
Why should the farmer not feel
that ne has definite interest in
the school to which he sends his
children? Why should he not turn
part of his taxes directly to the
support of that school, rather than
indirectly? Why should he help to
support two schools? The consoli-
dated school will solve these ques-
tions for him. He will feel defin-
lite interest in the school if he is
actually in the district.
After all, in this world we get out
OF a thing just about what we put
into it. How many farmers drive
to town today behind old Dobbin,
or plow with an old walking pillow,
or milk their cows in an old rickety
straw shed, orscut their grain with
a sickle as they did years ago. Are
the cows, the hogs, the crops more
important than The children. No,
you say, we'll then why are they
content in SO many instances to
send their children to a rickety,
drafty, poorly ventilated, poorly
heated, poorly lighted germ laden
school building, to a poorly paid,
poorly prepared teacher, expecting
the-same results they could obtain
for very little more money in a
sp'ssndid modern, we'll lighted, we'll
ventilated we'll heated building,
with its we'll paid, excellently pre-
pared teachers in a consolidated
district. Is it sane conclusion
that the result will be the same.
Decidedly no, everyone will agree.
(, The matter of transportation
which has to the present time been
one of the drawbacks to the consol-
-idated school is no longer big
problem with the agitation for hard
surfaced roads. The farmer and
the road supervisor have for years,
kept the road open for the mailman
and they will keep them open for
the school, as tits to their best in
terest to do so.
Consider the other side OF the
question for a minute, personally,
which would you rather do ride six
miles in covered, heated ventila-
ted bus to and from school or walk
Two miles in all kinds of weather?
Departmental teaching in the
graded school insures better teach
ing than can be obtained in the
rural school, for no teacher, no mat
ter what her preparation may be,
can teach all grades and all subjects
equally we'll no more than a man in
a factory can do all the various jobs
equally we'll
Granting that the rural teacher
could teach all classes equally we'll,
the rural schools are not equipped
in the same manner as the town Or
consolidated school so she does not
have the materials to work with
and her teaching loses some of the