This essay discusses singing as a method of learning cultural values and the types of songs sung in a midwestern one-room country school in the 1930s. Singing and memorized poetry were major mediums for education in values. School children learned many songs with themes of patriotism and citizenship, such as "The Star Spangled Banner,""America the…

This report documents the archaeological investigations conducted at the former site of the Altaville Schoolhouse in Calaveras County, California. These investigations were carried out through the cooperative efforts of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Calaveras County Historical Society, and the local community. The…

An average of 1,000 school consolidations were formed yearly; public money spent for pupil transportation increased about three and one-half million dollars annually; and the number of one-room schools in the United States decreased about 4,500 a year, during the period from 1918 to 1922. These are the rates at which three important movements in…

Describes conditions typically facing teachers in the United States's 835 one-teacher schools, reviews drawbacks and advantages of educating children in one-room schools, discusses the dependency of such schools on community support, and assesses briefly the impact on such schools of recent trends in demographics and technology. (PGD)

This presentation examines the history of women teachers in the rural United States. The earliest classrooms in America were a male environment modeled after European schools. But in the mid-19th century, the Civil War and westward expansion depleted the number of male teachers and brought rural women teachers to the helm of American education.…

A former teacher reminisces about her teaching experiences during the 1920s in a rural school along the Aroostook River in Wade, Maine. Each year, when the boat carrying the cook for loggers upriver arrived, she and her students went aboard and received a special treat of warm molasses cake. (LP)

A former student at a one-room school in rural Monongalia County, West Virginia, in the 1920s describes educational practices, social life, discipline, extracurricular activities, subject matter, teacher responsibilities, and the importance of the school to the community. (TD)

Schoolhouse planning is becoming specialized. In a few of the larger centers of population there are architects who desire no other work except the planning of school buildings. This is bringing about in the larger cities schoolhouses that are peculiarly adapted to the educational program. They are sanitary, well lighted, and properly ventilated.…

Educators have kept up a continual bombardment against one-room schools. It has been pointed out that one teacher working alone with all grades and with pupils of all ages can not be expected to accomplish results equal to the results made possible by the specialization of the well-graded school. The present-day practice of attempting to evaluate…

The building that once housed the only primary school for blacks in Lee County, Virginia, is now the Appalachian African-American Cultural Center. Besides preserving Appalachian black history, it hosts an annual Race Unity Day; houses a library of black literature; and sponsors workshops on racism, where blacks and whites can discuss racial issues…

Oak Hill School served elementary students in the 10th district of Washington County, Tennessee, from 1886 to 1952. After extensive restoration and a move to Historic Jonesborough, the one-room school now functions as a living history museum. Fourth-grade students spend a day following the 1892 curriculum for grade 4. A teacher's resource and…

A questionnaire sent to organizations and programs in rural education was designed to identify institutions displaying early school artifacts. Responses were received from 19 of the 30 states surveyed. The study found 11 university or college museums that have a one-room school as part of their collection. In addition, state parks and county…

The author reflects on a cross-country trip in which he discovered one-room schools, some abandoned many years ago due to consolidation, others still in operation. In addition to the valuable role that one-room schools played in educating rural youth, these schools offer a rich reflection of local history, language, and cultural practices.…

Action research can promote cultural literacy by increasing teachers' awareness of their own values and perspectives and encouraging them to entertain perspectives different from their own. The paper describes how one prospective teacher, through classroom observation in a one-room Amish school, developed positive, culturally sensitive images and…

The author reminisces about her childhood on a farm in rural northern Maine, her family history that included 19th-century settlers from New Brunswick (Canada) and her education in a one-room school. After living in Washington, D.C., for 30 years, she retired and returned to live in the area where she grew up. (LP)