Evening star., 1959-12-06
By BENJAMIN FINE

Only a Comparative few re-
main throughout the Nation.
These have lost much Of their
early influence and educational
leadership. The school bus,
hard : surfaced roads, consoli-
dated districts and modern ed
ucational theories have COM
bined to put a quiet end to the
one-teacher school houses that
formerly dotted the. country
side.
Forty years ago. the little
red schoolhouse" fiourished in
this country. Some 200, 900 were
scattered everywhere, attended
by 100000 boys and girls. The
shingled, weather-beaten wood
en- building, usually painted
red, could be seen in rural
areas from New York to Cali
fornia.
Today fewer than $4,000 one
teacher schools remain in the
United States. Fewer than 300,-
900 youngsters receive instruc-
ton in them, out of a total of
43 million young Americans at
tending classes this fall.
The approaching end of this
famous American institution
was reported to this writer last
week by DR.. Walter H. Gaum-
nitz, head of the Rural Research
and Statistics Unit of the United
States Office of Education.
Served Purpose
DR.. Gaumnitz, himself a
product of the little red school
house-he attended one in st.
Cloud, Mimi, go years ago
hes been with the United States
Education Office for 33 years.
He is probably the leading au-
thority on rural education in
TIE country today He views
the passing of the one-teacher
school with mixed feelings.
These schools served their
purpose" DR.. Gaumnitz said
in an exclusive interview.
"They rendered yeoman serv-
ice to the American people in
our pioneer days. 1t was the
only way many boys and girls
could get an education"
Millions Of Americans can
still remember the black, pot
bellied stove in the center of
the rural school room, often
Spouting heavy smoke. causing
the eyes to smart and the lungs
to cough in protest. Invariably
a small stool stood in the cor
ner, ready for the Ounce"
And, of course, a newly cut
birch switch stood omniously
near the teachers wooden desk,
waiting to be used. The chill
dren sat upright two or three
to a hard-bottomed bench.
Most Of the remaining one
teacher schools are found in
10 Mid-Western States-Ne-
braska, North Dakota, South
Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Min
nesota, Kansas. Missouri, Ken
lucky and Michigan. However.
every State in the union still
retains at least one. The tre-
mendous drop can be seen in
the case of New York State
fairly typical of the others. In
1918 New York had $500 one
room school houses. Today l40
remain.
Start of Consolidation
Consolidation began Just
about the time World War i
started. The cry for larger
school units, and for modern
buildings, led by educational
experts, proved too strong for
the one-teacher schools. The
increasing number of students
going to high school and COL
lege, similarly, proved the
death knell Of these schools.
For the most part, one teach
er had from IS to 30 young boys
and girls, ranging from 6 to
16 years of age. A teacher had
to be on her toes in those days,
teaching eight grades stimuli
taneously in one small class
room.
THE marvel is that the
teachers. many ill-trained,
many without any knowledge of
educational philosophy, did such
a good job" DR.. Gaumnitz said.
They treated the youngsters as
individuals, and knew each one
by first name. Maybe the kids
didn't get much more than the
three RS, but what they got re-
mained with them"
Some Will Remain
Actually. small schools every
where in the Nation are Begin
ming to disappear. A campaign
is under way to eliminate all
schools that enroll fewer than
100 children. DR.. James B.
Conant, head of the American
high school study sponsored by
the Carnegie Corp, recommends
that no high school be per-
mitted to exist unless it grad
yates 100 students a year. That
would eliminate 1900 of the
$1,000 secondary schools in this
country.
It is only a matter of time
perhaps another decade-before
NEBRASKA LEADS |
IN SCHOOLS WITH