Describes early schooling of Sam Houston. Brief description of structure and curriculum of one room school in Maryville, Tennessee, where Houston taught in 1812. Notes Houston's later reflections on his teaching experience. (CS)

This article describes the teaching practices at Upper Rill School, a 1-teacher school in rural Nebraska. With its 8 students, grades 1 through 8, the teacher considers the school?s size and continuity of student enrollment flexible and generative. Subject matter and grade levels are regularly integrated though common curricula. Instruction is…

The second article in a series of three written about teaching strategies in primary schools in England and America, this article reviews strategies used in American one-room rural schoolhouses from the late 1800s to the 1940s. Examines historical perspective, curriculum, school life, punishment, special events, and games. (SD)

Questionnaires were sent to the Ministries of Education in 69 countries to obtain information about one-teacher school systems in each respective country. The questionnaire was constructed to provide information about administration, length of schooling in one-teacher schools, organization of school work, curricula and methods, teaching staff,…

This paper reports a study of curriculum and teaching methods in 10 Old Order Mennonite one-room schools in Pennsylvania. It provides a review of the historical background and cultural characteristics of the Old Order Mennonites. The one-room schools examined in the study are similar in structure and instruction to U.S. public one-room schools of…

The book takes a nostalgic look at one-room schools in the United States Midwest, especially in Illinois, and traces their history from about 1825 to the present. Three chapters present the development of the one-room school from 1825 to the Civil War, from after the Civil War to around 1920, and from 1920 through the Depression and the Second…

The Old Order Amish, or Mennonites, are a religious sect that represents both a traditional and changing culture. Their conservatism is evidenced in their rural way of life, large families of 8 to 12 children, use of horse drawn farm machinery and transportation, nonuse of electricity, and uniformity of dress. The Old Order Amish also present a…

Recalls highlights on student days in a one-room country school. Describes school maintenance routines, individualized instruction, school programs, and holiday celebrations. Concludes that alumni of one-room schools are proud of their heritage and feel that the education they received reflects the nation's finest values. (JHZ)

Discusses the origins, lifestyle, and education of the Amish and introduces three papers concerning Amish educational practices. The first article presents observations of a newly appointed Amish teacher. The two remaining articles discuss educationally relevant insights involving the challenges that health-care personnel face in relating to the…

A comparative study is presented from the results of a questionnaire on rural education submitted to 71 countries. Information is given on administrative organization, criteria used to determine rurality, rural-urban differences, special courses for rural areas, curricula for rural education, staff distribution and preparation, and centralization…

The document presents organizational details of the 18-month Country School Legacy Project (June 1980-December 1981) to begin an on-going inquiry into the history of rural education and current public policies which affect country schools and which will result in greater public use of library facilities and historical collections in public,…

As revealed in personal interviews, periodicals, published and unpublished manuscripts, and school records, the teachers were the key factor in bringing education and culture to the frontier that was western South Dakota. Many teachers were girls of 16 or 17, inexperienced, hired from states to the east (Minnesota and Iowa), sight unseen.…

Describes one-room country schools in South Dakota--importance of patrons; self-sufficiency and varied skills of teachers; administrators who deal with each school individually; advantages of the students (having several grades taught in one room, small teacher-student ratios, student interdependency, opportunity for creativity, close parental…

Country schools in eastern and central Kansas are explored from six different aspects: country schools as historic sites; teachers (their roles, rules, and restrictions); reading, writing, arithmetic, and recitation (a day in a rural school); country schools and the Americanization of ethnic groups; country schools as community centers; and…

Critiques views of the one-room country school experience in the Midwest states. Describes advances an alternative interpretation grounded in the social, political, and economic circumstances that impinged on local institutions, arguing that these schools may not have been the "laboratories of democracy" that conventional wisdom calls…