The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-03-15
IA PLEA FOR SCHOOL UNITY
By CHARLES N. HALL, Agent, Division of Attendance an
 FunnIOyrgssnt

 tory tof civilized man has there ob- tained such wide recognition of the power of concerted action as at the present time. The outward signs of this are visible on every hand: The tremendous expansion of trade union ism, the great combinations of capital. the insistent demand for church unity, the increasing tendency to- form societies for the promotion of specific ends, and, most significant of all, the demand for a federation of nations; all these demonstrate grow ing conviction of the fact that in con- certed action, and there only, lies the power of mankind to achieve great ends. While this fact is so fully recog. nized in nearly all departments of human inactivity 1t is somewhat re- markable that in public education, potentially the worlds greatest agency of progress, this principle of unifica- tion of effort does not greatly prevail. To such an extent is concerted effort lacking that we find varying degrees and differing methods of public ed ucation in the several states. in the different towns of the same state and even in the separate schools of the same town. In other words, public education, while in theory offering equal opportunity to all in reality has those opportunities greatly varied by D liiticaS and geographical boundaries.
 To fully demonstrate this truth let us consider the case of our own state
 
 child in the small rural school with the opportunity of the child in the large central school. The small rural school lacks the numbers and classes school spirit and thereby hold the constant interest of its pupils. The best teachers will not take such schools and 1t is increasingly difficult schools. The small rural school pupil misses entirely the meital stimulus, the wider horizon of the large school and it's varied associations. The small nished and equipped as the large school and is corre espondingly less efficient. The rural school, the little red school house. served a noble pur- Is magnified as viewed through the haze of tradition and memory, but it's work was indispensable to it's Nme.
 It is often said that the product of the old district school was one hum dred per cent. American, but we must remember that the raw material upon Which it worked was native stock! Today the public scho'od must make good American citizens out of 8 score of widely differing races and a thou sand differing types.
 The old district school imparted textbook facts to its pupils under var ious textbook titles which in reality were all reading, writing, and arith- metic. To the public school of today, with its supreme task of creating and perpetuating good citizenship, the mettc is of value only just so far as a knowledgs of these Is essential to good citizenship. The work which could be done and was done with the utmost efficiency in the old district school is now entirely altered in scope and character and cannot be done in the small rural school with any de- gree of efficiency whatsoever. n
 yxt1 old tr1ct school house were the sons and daughters of nation builders, full of the fine traditions of service. of citi- zenshtp. of patriotism. Today the few pupils of the rural school are largely of foreign4born percentage, un- acquainted with the old traditions. not inspired by that inheritance and upon our system of public education falls the tremendous task of inspiring these with new ideals and, making of them potential nation builders. For these children and t1aousands upon thousands like them will. in a few years, be managing our schools, our towns, our state, our nation. Can we make them fit throuhg the limited association, the narrow horizon, the meager opportunity of the little rural school? Yet this task must be accom- Fplished If the nation is to live on, if Representative government is to con tinue. if the highest type of human liberty is to be preserved, and the task is more imperative now than ever before in the worlds history.
 Only in the larger school, with mod ern equipment, With the super-teach- CTS attainabl'e only in the large school, under supervision of the very high lest degree of intellectual ability can this task be accomplished.
 In the minds of thinking people new conception of the public school is forming and within a half century the public school will be judged solely by its results in citizenship by the through it's influence. Glasses and grades and textbook requirements will be put minor incidents in the great work of character building.
 When the small rural school is merged in tho large central school not only will the best equipment, the best teachers and the best supervision be available to every child fin the possibility of absolutely perfect att tendance for each child, for the dis turbtng factors of weather, distance, and bad roads are eliminated in the properly managed transportation sys- tenn. There is no town in Connecticut whose topography is such as to render imp ossible the installation and main tenance of g. workable transportation system, taking each child to a fully graded school in a safe and confor- able vehicle.
 If 1t be protested that a transporta- tibn system sending it's conyeyances t,c,
 
 cesively expensive, let those who pro: test consider first the tremendous problem of citizenship building and second the agricultural situation. the drift from the farm to the town
 The rural districts show a constant decrease in population and this is very largely due to a desire for better school facilities. The very people who object to the closing of their dis trtct school and transportation to a central school find their own grown up children moving into town in order to be nearer a good school.
 It is not possible to bring the best school to every little disFrict, but it is entirely possible to take every child to the best school and no sacrifice, no expense, is too great if this result be accomplished.
 The ideal school system Is that in which the very best school is fostered and maintained by the state and town working in complete harmon and mutual understanding.
 The perfect school system can never be attained until we eliminate the