The author reminisces about rural life and attending a one-room school in Maine during the 1920s. She recalls walking to school on cold winter days with her older siblings, the games they played, and a typical school day in which one teacher taught 30 children in 8 different grades. (LP)

A 15-year study found that Amish schools have increased, numbering 1,139 in 2000. Where public school funding is on a per-pupil basis, these schools may have a negative effect on rural school district financing. However, an Amish community may increase local farm-related trade and tourism, thereby increasing taxable property and public school…

Within the last 4 years, four one-room school houses have been restored for use as educational museum facilities. These include the Pleasant Valley School in Stillwater, Oklahoma; the Rose Hill School at Perry, Oklahoma; the old school located on the grounds of the Harn Homestead Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and the Old Roll School, located…

Suggested methods for improving school organization, curriculum development, and educational planning are provided relative to the problems and constraints of rural one- and two-teacher schools. Particularly emphasized are procedures for scheduling and organizing classroom activities, developing curricula to meet the needs of rural students, and…

Article points out the advantages of a modern two room school with 27 students. The teacher relates books, exercises, and techniques that have been the most helpful in this K-3 situation. (GB)

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)

This article is a first person's account of working in a rural district affected by drought, economic recession and poor levels of services. It is a facto-fictional narrative describing a typical working day in the life of Peggy, the acting CEO of quality teaching, in what is locally referred to as an NIDA district (where everyone is acting).…

This booklet contains a pictorial history of one-room schoolhouses in Hopkinton, New Hampshire. Following a brief description of the typical one-room schoolhouse, the history of Hopkinton's one-room schoolhouses is traced from 1768, when a town meeting voted to construct two schoolhouses, to 1936, when the last one-room schoolhouses were closed.…

The author reminisces about her early schooling experiences in rural Limestone, Maine, and the experiences of family members in local one-room schools back to the 1870s. Reveals her enthusiasm for education in spite of obstacles such as wading through snow to get to school. (LP)

A visit to Ketchikan, Alaska, reveals a floating, one-teacher logging-camp school that uses multiage grouping and interdisciplinary teaching. There are 10 students. The school gym and playground, bunkhouse, fuel tanks, mess hall, and students' homes bob up and down and are often moved to other sites. (MLH)

A visit to a Montana one-room school reveals the characteristics and advantages of one-room schools. Small schools are crucial to student success in early grades and students from small schools tend to outperform their peers. Large schools are borrowing features such as multiage classrooms, peer tutoring, and interdisciplinary projects as they…

This book compiles black and white photographs of 49 one-room (and occasionally two-room) schoolhouses in Arkansas. The book aims to share the vision of these special buildings that were so important in shaping the educational system, communities, and lives. An introduction describes the pinhole cameras that were used and how the different effects…

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…

Traces decline of one-room schools from 24,000 in 1959 to about 840 today. Reports findings from 1984 survey of 643 surviving one-room schools in Nebraska, Montana, South Dakota, California, and Wyoming. Includes data on enrollments, teacher qualifications and responsibilities, student achievement, and school facilities/equipment. (NEC)

Describes results of a 1981 survey of 162 small rural schools in Montana. Notes that teachers cited educational finance as the main rural education problem and that Montana's rural teachers receive few incentives. Reports results pertaining to preparing teachers for rural settings, curriculum development, school-community relationships, and…