A review of the poet's teaching experience from 1836-1841 on Long Island, New York, includes Whitman's preparation for teaching, teaching conditions, references to teaching in a Whitman short story, comments by one of his students, a description of his teaching and disciplinary methods, and his own reflections on the experience. (MM)

Examines evidence on the effects of school and school district size in light of the educational reform movement and increasingly sophisticated telecommunications. Discusses an emerging technology of individualization that could alter conceptions of optimal school size. Focuses on New York studies. Contains 35 references. (SV)

In 1985-86 several small school districts in rural New York State began cooperating to offer advanced high school courses via audio-graphic telecommunications. Evaluation of the Tele-Learning project's second year used a case study approach to examine four diverse programs: advanced placement English, advanced placement calculus, Spanish III, and…

A survey of rural school administrators and college education faculty assessed attitudes toward educating the disabled and opinions about characteristics of effective rural education. Results documented a knowledge and attitude gap between rural and college educators. Both groups were unaware of issues identified in the research literature on…

Motivated by the widespread assumption that voluntary, independent inter-district resource sharing is a strategy for improving educational opportunities in rural areas (with little or no cost to the operation of the school district), this paper critically examines resource sharing in New York State. A review of the literature between 1960 and the…

Minicourses in astronomy and advanced calculus were offered to students in small rural high schools in New York via IBM PC microcomputers using the graphics tablet and associated software. New York state and local educational agencies, federal agencies, school districts, and two private sector telecommunications companies cooperated to demonstrate…

SMALL HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED POOR SCHOOLS, AND MOST EFFORTS TOWARD IMPROVEMENT HAVE BEEN TO ELIMINATE THE SCHOOL BY REORGANIZATION. THE STRUGGLE FOR COMPREHENSIVENESS IS SEEN IN THIS PAPER AS THE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM FACING SMALL HIGH SCHOOLS. IMPROVEMENT DEPENDS ON A RETURN TO COMMUNITY SCHOOL EMPHASIS, CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT IN…

This report examines how the curricular offerings of large secondary schools compare with the curricular offerings of small secondary schools. The study is motivated by theories of production which hold that economies are available in large compared to small schools; it is pointed out, however, that larger schools may not take advantage of…

The paper examines the potential which various educational technologies hold for improving educational offerings of small, rural New York schools. Separate sections focus on computer use in education, a review of literature on computer-assisted instruction, interactive videodiscs (IVD), and the role of telecommunications in small/rural districts.…

The use of communications technology as an influential educational tool to meet such pressing concerns as increased academic requirements and shrinking financial resources will be tested in one of the most geographically remote areas of rural New York State. The pilot laboratory will consist of an 18-member school district consortium that is…

The problems of Knowville, a small school district (K-12 enrollment: 408) in the central farming region of New York State were examined by a research team from Cornell University. Interviews were conducted with residents of the community, school board members, teachers, administrators, and students in the school. This Knowville case study report…

This case study examines a small school district (called Hamlet) in New York State which appears to be a perfect candidate for school reorganization because of low (and decreasing) enrollment (187 pupils in grades K-12), very high per pupil expenditures, two larger (520-610 pupils) neighboring districts to which pupils could be transported with…

A study of two neighboring rural school districts in New York State was undertaken to determine if differences in educational quality existed between the two communities--Applegate and Bakerville--and to identify factors affecting educational quality. Comparison of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics included racial and ethnic…

The circumstances preceding and following the 1984 merger of two small school districts in North Central New York State contained cooperation, controversy, and disharmony. The school districts had enough similarities--in their rural, agricultural base, in the pride and loyalty with which many residents viewed their schools, in the central role…

This report provides an overview of a two-year study which analyzed reorganization/consolidation of small rural school districts, studied alternatives of inter-district resource sharing and new instructional technologies, and developed recommendations for changes in state laws/procedures. Researchers studied 11 small rural school districts in New…