This autobiography relates the early teaching experiences of Kentucky teacher and author Jesse Stuart (1906-1984). Barely 17 years old, he first taught in a one-room, isolated rural school in eastern Kentucky for $60 a month. His 35 barefoot students in the eight grades ranged in age from 5 to 20 years. The students' passion for learning…

This book presents letters, a personal narrative, and a diary relating the experiences of nine women teachers who traveled from the East to teach on western frontiers before the Civil War. During 1846-56, the National Popular Education Board recruited 600 experienced teachers from New England and New York State; trained them in Hartford,…

This book describes the experience of a young and inexperienced teacher during 1926 in rural Marengo County, Alabama. Susie Powers Tompkins accepted her first teaching assignment to earn money to continue college after her freshman year at Alabama College. However, for Tompkins the rewards of teaching went far beyond just earning money. She found…

This book examines Gallia County (Ohio) one-room schools through the oral life histories of 14 retired female teachers. Interviews with the teachers focused on conditions and practices in one-room schoolhouses in the early to mid-20th century in rural southeastern Ohio, and on the common characteristics of one-room school teachers who became rural…

This book documents the history of one-room schools in Wisconsin and presents the author's experiences in a one-room school during the 1940s, as well as the experiences of former teachers and students throughout the state. The first chapter reminisces about the 8 years that the author spent in a one-room school near West Rose, Wisconsin, recalling…

This textbook was written in 1938 to acquaint beginning teachers with practices related to teaching in one-room schools and with the values and expectations of rural communities. The book points out the differences between the work of rural teachers and that of teachers in a town school. For example, teachers in one-room schools are required to…

This book relates the experiences of students and teachers who spent their days in one- and two-room schoolhouses in West Texas during the first half of the 20th century. The book is based on interviews with 77 people and is divided into two sections: student recollections and teachers' memories. Former students reflect on school facilities, the…

This book describes the experiences of 26 retired rural school teachers from western Wisconsin. The book was inspired by the community solidarity of the Cloverdale Community Club (Wisconsin) in maintaining the old Cloverdale School building. Cloverdale School was a typical one-room rural school, built in 1857 and closed by the consolidation…

This book examines the educational history of the Midwest during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Specifically, the book overviews the development of rural education in Wisconsin, Ohio, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Minnesota. Data sources include the reports of state superintendents; Annual Reports of the…

Written in 1910, this book was intended to enlighten rural school teachers, superintendents, and school board members as to the changing role of schools in meeting the needs of rural society and the demands of modern life. The contention was that rural schools should not prepare students for life in town, but rather prepare students for rural…

This book depicts the lives of women who taught school in the late 19th and early 20th centuries on the prairies and plains of Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska. The book is based on the narratives, letters, and diaries of 96 schoolwomen and on interviews with living pioneers, memoirs, school reports, photographs, and other documents. Part 1 includes…