The Country School
The one-room country school was once a very common sight. A hundred years ago a great many American families live on farms. The homes in a community were scattered over an area of several square miles. The number of school-age children might be as few as 15 or as many as 25. A one-room building large enough for all first-through eighth-grade students was all that was needed.
The wooden building was topped with a small belfry for the school bell. Nearly all students walked to school; a few rode horses. The ringing bell reminded them to hurry and not be late.
There was no playground or playground equipment. Nearby was a wall which provided drinking water from a bucket carefully drawn up by a rope.
Inside, the teacher’s desk was the front of the room on a raised platform facing several rows of desks. From there everything that went on I the room could be seen. In front of the teacher was a recitation bench.
The schoolroom was always full of activity as classes took turns coming to the front to recite. They did this while the other student went on with their studying. Reading, writing and arithmetic were taught as well as English and geography.
The one-room country school was very plain and basic, but it was a place where young people could learn. Many men and women who became leaders in American received their first education in these schools.