This book describes the teaching experiences of Helen Hussman Morris, who taught in a one-room school in rural Oklahoma during the early 1930s. Her story calls attention to some of the educational issues that were present in the 1930s and that are still being addressed at the local, state, and national levels, including curriculum, facilities,…

At the turn of the century, over 200,000 one-room schools existed in the United States. These simple, vernacular buildings represented the nation's commitment to education and were also the center of community life. The country school continues to be a powerful cultural symbol. This book consists of three parts. The first section describes country…

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 biography chronicles the life and career of Annie Webb Blanton (1870-1945), who was the first woman state superintendent of public instruction in Texas. She was elected to this post in 1918, 2 years before women were allowed to vote in general elections. Like many other young women during the 19th century, Blanton began her teaching career as…

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 explores the country schoolhouses of Texas' rural past. Sources include interviews with dozens of former country schoolteachers and students and first-person narratives collected from written works. Chapters cover the following topics: (1) history of public education and country schools in Texas; (2) distance travelled by teachers and…

This book presents edited versions of the personal narratives of 24 Mormon women who taught school in frontier Utah. Drawn primarily from the archives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the accounts detail the women's lives as Mormons, as pioneers, and as teachers and have been edited to focus on the education of women,…

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…

As late as 1913, half of U.S. schoolchildren were enrolled in the country's 212,000 one-room schools--the heart of American education. Although only about 428 of these schools remain in use as of 1994, the country school continues to be a powerful cultural symbol. The first section of this book examines country schools' educational and cultural…

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 presents the oral histories of one male and seven female retired teachers who began their careers during the 1920s and 1930s in one-room schools in the Texas hill country. These teachers continued to teach until after the desegregation of public schools in the 1960s. The married black couple included began teaching in rural Texas in 1931…

A series of chapter essays delves into the author's experiences as a high school teacher in Vermont's rural "Northeast Kingdom." In essays on such subjects as the Future Farmers of America, sex, courtesy, parents, college, and lovers' quarrels, anecdotal narratives are woven together with reflections on the challenges of teaching,…

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 book focuses on the lives and work of women teachers in two rural California counties between 1850 and 1950. It explores the social context of teaching and what teaching meant and provided to women teachers. Chapter 1 explores the shifts between 1840 and 1930 in representations of the woman teacher in the United States. Chapter 2 discusses…

This book portrays two personal journeys--the author's and that of the Sahtuot'ine of Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories (Canada). The author's journey began when, as a young teacher in 1965, she accepted a teaching position in the small isolated community of Fort Franklin in the Northwest Territories. The first part of the book…