The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1921-11-24

|v1xFl lNCG reaulng my 1dLnerS AZ
t3AN ticle In the issue Of the Ban
E ner of the 10th, cannot re-
I lGgJ sist the opportunity of stat
/ ing some of the inside facts
| of the rural schools that had to con-
tend with in order to obtain the small
amount of education which I now
| possess.
As some of the readers of the Banner
know, my early home was about half
way between the town of Bellevue and
where Ivan now is (the latter place not
| being named until several years later)
| and on what is now known as the J. F..
Adair Stock Farm. At the time was
old enough to enter school there were
| very few schools in the parish, none
| within less than eight or ten miles OF
my home, SO it was finally decided that
/ should be placed at the home Of my
grandfather, the late Rev. A. r. Banks,
and attend the Rocky Mount School,
which, was then one-roOm rural
school, situated near the Graham old
place, and was taught by Miss Kate
Stroud, who became Mrs. Park Bird
| well.
My first impression on entering
school was there must surely be more
McKinneys in. the world than any
other people, for there were represent
atives of four different families of that
name in attendance. Every other
name on the roll was Mckinney,
thought, but neverless, there were
quite a few others I recall, namely,
Martins, Demosses, Grubbes and VIII
sons. | did not remain in this school
very long, for my father realized he
was in pretty much the situation of
Mohamet and the mountain-we would
either have to move to school
or have one brought to us, for there
were younger children to be educated,
and he couldn't afford to send us all
away to school, SO the neighbors began
to agitate the question OF school but
as there were SO few children in the
community. think our maiden school
must have been a private one, as am
quite sure there were not enough chill
dren at that time to make the required
average.
The school was taught by an old
Frenchman named Chalfant and did
not last more than FIVE weeks, but the
next year we managed to get a public
school that lasted three months, and
was taught by Miss Willie Head, of
Bellevue, now. Mrs. w. T. Young, of
Bossier City. She began the session in
a cabin located in the centre Of a cot
ton patch belonging to my father, and,
upon his request, tried very hard to
keep us from destroying the cotton, as
it was then opening nicely, and dis
tinctly remember receiving punishment
for running down the rows Of cotton,
scattering it as went Now, the aver
age child of to-day will not understand
that their parents were handicapped in
SO many different ways in obtaining
their education, as am sure my expe-
riences were about like those Of many
others who were attending school at
that time-say nearly thirty five years
ago. Our school room had no glass
windows-just sliding shutters and
on cold days when both doors and win
dows had to be closed, the cracks in the
wall admitted the only light by which
we could see to study our lessons
Some of the seats were Of split logs,
with legs pegged in at each end, and
| others were Of rough planks. The only
things we had in abundance were
plenty of fresh air and creek full Of
water nearby.
New, as to the books we studied, you
may think I am exagerating when
| tell you the various books we first took
to school, for there were no regular
text books ordered by the state at that
time, or, If such was the case. it did
| not help us any, for we were glad in
deed to get a school book Of any kind.
I considered myself lucky, for think
| I had few of my uncle Fitzhugh
Banks books that he had used possibly
twenty years before they descended to
me. Now, the teacher would have. to
hear about three different classes Of
one particular grade, each child having
| a different book, thought we were not
graded at all during my first school
days, and If a child was particularly
! fond of one certain study, they usually
would progress to suit their inclination.
When was very well advanced in his
tory and geography and grammar long
! division was as hard to me as Greek
would be to a six-grader now, and I
thought the multiplication table should
| be left out Of every arithmetic. We
did not use tablets and pencils for sew
eral years after my entering school.
| We used states altogether. Now, don't
understand me to put any blame on the
teachers, for l was always fortunate
to have had the influence of fine set
Of teachers, many of them being Nor
NAL graduates. These conditions were
harder on them than it was on us, be-
cause we ourselves did not realize it
and they did; but gradually things i'm
| proved each session.
| For one thing in particular I must
/ thank my first teachers, and that was
in the way they drilled the old Blue
back" speller into us, and just for that
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