The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-12-19
Campaign for Improvement
of STATES Rural Schools

heat and ventilation; decent out build
lngs; sanitary drinking arrangements;
enough up-JO-date text books to go
around; plain, comfortable seating ar
engagements tor teacher and pupils; a
clock, some soap, basin Tor washing
hands and faces. decently paid
teacher who Is trained for her work,
cares about 1t, and stays on her Job;
community which sees TO 1t that the
teacher has a fairly comfortable place to
when not sick; an American flag out
SIDE and one inside the building; inter
est taken in the school by the parents
OF the children, etc.
I'm order that tine matter may be clear
and easily Analysed, these requirements
are set down on the Official rating card.
Ihus school that would meet all of
them would be counted loo per cent ac-
c0rding to the standard. This rating is
divided into five parts; CD building and
grounds count for 70 out OF the hundred;
% equipment counts for -; 81 the
quality of the teacher counts for Is: (4)
the attendance and conduct of the pu
pal, y: and ~ the attitude OF the COM
munity and Il miscellaneous item for II.
That is, school which had salts
factory building and neat grounds would
get 20 on that count, but if it lacked
text books, good black boards. and other
essential equipment, it would lose p
credits; If The teacher was 1aUhIut and
competent, IL would wing Is points; but
if the community showed no helpful in
terest in the school, it would lose II
points.
As lar as that goes, if the community
did show an interest in the school, the
school would soon be up to standard.
Is the requirement set up by the state
board one hundred points? That is, do
/ they expect to find Vermont rural
schools with a complete equipment and
I perfect comfort, cleanliness and de
Cency? No, indeed, not SO much as that.
If a school can show that ii comes up
three fOUTths of the way, and merits IS
per cent of the points given on cleanli-
ue5s, comfort, decency and efficiency,
such school Is prize, IS to be marked
Standard by a special name plate,
has a right to be proud of itself, and may
be eligible for state aid, provided for in
a ten-thousand dollar fund
/ Now do YOU see the sltuatiOn:-a
! plain standard of ordinary American
country ideals set up, and Vermont ru-
raj schools rated in accordance with it.
VI hat is the result? How many rural
schools in NermQnt are feallv what they
ought In be? How many out of the ! 100
rural school in Vermont are three-qUar-
! tiers of what plain, useful country
school ought to be- How many are even
/ haifz 1t is the first time Vermont has
| conducted such a definite, minute invcs-
! tigation into the actual present condi-
| tons of rural schools the first time we
! NpTmOuteTs have had any picture of our
| schools we can visualize And now we
! have it there to look at, the picture is
/ not all we desire. But it IS good for us
| to examine it intently.
How They Measure Up.
| The reports are not all in vet, the de
! tails of the picture are not complete
! but enough statistics have been collected
| to show plainly this: the great majority
If the l.lG0 one room schools in Yer
! mont score from 80 to 90 points. 4
! small proportion. probably not over ten
J per cent, have neat, attractive, web kept
buildings, with adequate light, ventila
! tion, grounds, toilets and equipment
! where the teachers are competent, pu.
! pills studlou@ and well-disposed. the com.
! snunlty helpfully interested. and the
/ whole condition satisfactory to the eN.
/ tent that viii eutitle them to be ranked
| as standard schools. This is the type oi
! school we ought To have everywhere i'm
| the state. and many of our school direct
| UTS and suDerintendents are working &c
! increase the number, which is at pres
! emf much too small.
! Many schools are lacking in the thing.
/ a school should have, where the teacher
! struggles vali2ntlY against circum
/ stances, and some fine Vermont children
| are doing their level best under the dis
| advantages we have allowed to accumu
late to hinder their education
Look at this report from one school
! which can be given only p counts out
! Of standard of a hundred, and note
! that under the beading, building and
! grounds II receives no credits; there
| is nothing that can he called satisfac
tory, not an item Under the headin.
c-'Iipmeut' text books. black boards
| ctc.l it has nothing, not an item. But
when YOU come to the headn.
. teacher - YOU draw a breath of relief
for she is counted II out of a possible
bic -, and the community counts foT
,,E ~