The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1922-02-07
MR.. PERCY WRITES ON
CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS
Interesting Communication From
Hon. William A. Percy, Advocat-
ing The Consolidation Of The
Salem And Big Mill Schools With
The Vienna High School

What is the matter with the lttIe
old one room school house?
Why are the forces OF education
and OF progress in every state array
ed against it?
What is the Indictment against tue
one room school?
Let President Harding state it
we quote from a recent speech:- =
We have Just awakened to the fact
that the education of the American
child has fallen below the standard
necessary for the protection OF our
future. We have to fac ethe fact
that our teachers are under paid:
that in physical training, in the
teaching of American civil govern
ment and American history, IN the
principles of Americanism and Amer
icanization we have been deplorabiy
delinquent.
But no where is there more cause
for alarm than in the fact that the
rural school term is far too short;
and that four-fifths Of the rural
schools are one teacher schools. re
sulting in hasty and careless teach
ing; and that the opportunity for
county boys and girls to have high
school education is all too slight. we
owe it to the childhood of the ma
ton, and to the childhood of the ag-
ricultural districts of our land to
place at its disposal the utmost III
educational facilities. Community
school means a high school education
brought TO the door of nearly every
farm boy and girl and gives them
great many advantages over their
city cousins. Many a farmer and his
wife have almost denied themselves
the necessities of life to send their
boys and girls to some town or city
school, and spent many sleepless
night worrying over what they were
doing, knowing that the movies were
the DEVILS workshop for boys and
girls of tender age. Consolidated
schools have taken this strain from
the mind and the purse. The Vienna
High School has two nice vacant
rooms l would suggest beginning
March 1st, to close the Salem school
and let the teachers and pupils be
transferred to the Vienna High
School and if enough pupils of the
Big Mills climb into the bus to close
that school, transfer the teacher 10
the other room.
Give the community school a fair
trial, and if it does not prove TO be
entirely satisfactory, then go back to
the old one school plan.
Ny idea in transferring teachers
as well as pupils is to give them a
square deal The Salem teacher
would have entire control of the
Salem scholars from the time they
left Salem until they returned. This
would give the plan tryout and
would only cost the transportation
more than at present. The expense
of the two teachers would be cut off
at the end of the present school
term which will almost pay the
transportation.
Massachusetts claims that the first
school consolidation in this county
was made in that State in 1875. when
three districts were formed into one;
three small school houses were
abandoned and a new high school
was built at a central point and
pupils were transported in wagons.
There are 1855 schools in Massa-
chussetts and only 1877 are one room
school buildings. Maine, Connect
cut, Vermont and Rhode Island fol-
lowed with similar laws. But they
were small consultations and little
was done anywhere until after 1896, |
when a committee appointed to inves- |
tigate consolidated schools reported |
tavorably to the National Education |
al Association. The great progress
in rural school consolidation has I
been made in the past ten years, es-
pecially in the South and West
where consolidation has reached its |
highest development. 1t is estimat- |
ed that at the close of 1921 over
100000 children living in $4,000 |
old rural school districts were trans |
ported to 1000 consolidated schools |
in different communities in every |
state in the Union. Iowa in 1913 |
had seventeen consolidated schools; |
in 1918 there were 238 consolidated |
schools. Ohio has 500 consolidated |
schools, Indiana has 1000, Okla
homa 230, Alabama 297, Georia 325 |
Mississippi 625, Tennessee 300.
The legislature of South Carolina |
In 1921 authorized the issuance Of !
five million dollars in State Bonds to
provide money to loan to districts
with which to build consolidated