News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1922-12-06
How Mys District School Could Be
Improved
(Second Prize Essay

tDCIOILu lLS LoohyJ
On the morning of March %,
visited the rural schoolhouse in Dis,
trict No. 2, Quarry road, Williams
town, VT, and this is what saw:
A good sized room with five win
dows on three sides, without curtains
II double desks, one chair at the desk
of the teacher, good jacketed stove
two maps, one entirely dilapidated
flag half off the staff, the entire
room presenting dingy and unat-
tractive appearance. The floor was
in fair condition, but extremely dirty.
| entered through hall of gOodly
size and with possibilities, a wood
shed opened off it, which also was so
generously dimensioned that a play
room suggested itself. There were
two toilets at the rear of the build
ing, reached by a divided passage
way, well rooted, lighted; good floor
and opening out of the schoolroom.
Carrying an official rating card for
Vermont's rural schools and remem-
boring that our town voted to raise
1920 town tax, $1.90 of it being
school tax, at her last town meet
ing, l still had the courage to believe
that this type of school building
could be put on the list of standard
schools two or three years hence.
To make this more realistic and
vivid, imagined myself entering the
building as teacher, September, 1922.
What would | do? l would try to do
this: During the first two weeks l
would procure some good interior
views of that building, then l would
ask the children if they would like
to see pictures of their schoolroom.
am sure of their answer. After
they had looked at them / would
show them views of attractive rural
schoolrooms previously obtained
from Miss Rose Lucia) and suggest
some minor improvements we could
make. Having aroused their inter-
est and secured their cooperation we
commence cleaning. They would
clean their desks, | would wash the
windows. Saturday, reinforced by
older pupils if had them) or better
still, by some of the mothers of the
neighborhood, we would clean the
room. Then we would buy paint Tor
rather the school board would) and
the following Saturdays we would
paint the entire interior, including
the hall. The ceiling would require
a mans labor, but we hope to secure
that in the local vicinity. In the
the school board has been
asked to furnish adjustable window
shades, for we feel that the town
owes curtains to every school build
ing in which it maintains a school.
The floor will be scrubbed by paid
labor and oiled by the teacher. A
few chairs will be solicited, painted
and made ready for guests or for
recitation periods. We hope to devise
some plan for warming the hall from
the schoolroom, thus making it more
comfortable for a cloak room, and
enabling US to screen off a lavatory.
The screen might be made in the
shop of the senior high school. Pos
sibly, too, this room-the hall
might be used for a playroom.
Thanksgiving vacation arrives and
we stop and look around Ito view the
land" Our little room is quite
in its treatment of buff
and brown, light tan shades, with
window boxes (which had been fur
nished by two boys) filled with tiny
spruces for the winter. These were
gathered on a Saturday excursion to
the woods by the teacher and pupils.
A new flag graced the walls and two
or three pictures, suitably framed,
had been donated by interested
friends
Our next move will be to invite
the school directors TO visit us, stat
ing a definite time. We will tell
them the exact cost to the town,
point out the results and ask them