Country School Association of America

McGuffey Family Papers and Reader Collection

Betsy Butler of the King Library at Miami University has offered the text of her CSAA presentation on The William Holmes McGuffey Collection with the following link. 

Download McGuffeyCollectionsatMiamiUniversity.pdf

Betsy spoke about the Walter Havighurst Special Collection, which includes McGuffey Readers and family papers, especially letters written to and from McGuffey between 1826 and 1873. During the CSAA's recent national conference, The King Library graciously displayed priceless copies of McGuffey readers in various versions, while Betsy offered suggestions to enhance our exploration of the McGuffey home.

Feel free to add her presentation text to your treasure of schoolhouse information. We offer our sincere thanks to: Betsy Butler, Special Collections Librarian, 350 King Library, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio!

And, while we're on the subject of William Holmes McGuffey, you may want to access another free document issued by the National Park Service, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, entitled: William Holmes McGuffey and His Readers. The link is: Download NPSmcguffey.pdf  It's an excellent synopsis of his life and contributions.

Photos: Top: Interior of McGuffey Home and Museum; Left: Portraits of William H. McGuffey and Harriet McGuffey, his wife.

"...everything old is new again!"

How Much Has Education REALLY Changed?

by Nancy Law Anderson

It was 1916 when six-year old, blonde haired, blue eyed Florine Luckel headed off with her big sister, Mildred, and her father in the family horse and buggy to her first day of school. She would swell the student body population to ten at Washington School, the one-room schoolhouse everyone called "Corner School," located just east of Camp Point, IL. She would finally find out first-hand what went on in a real classroom--an experience she eagerly anticipated. (Photo: Florine is the 1st girl, left)

The moment she walked through the school's big double doors, her teacher, Miss Knoblock, gave her a welcoming hug and introduced her to the nine other students. Instantly Florine knew her goal of becoming a teacher was not a mistake. She loved the routine of entering the classroom each morning, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, and settling in to share textbooks with the other first grader, Kenneth Hunsaker. At a time when telephones were a relatively recent technological development and the Model T Ford was still an amazing new-fangled invention, the ten students at the Corner School worked hard to master a myriad of facts deemed important by Adams County educators.

According to Florine, each school day began at 9 a.m. and was filled with lessons including: reading, penmanship, arithmetic, geography, history and civics. As if that weren't enough, upper grade students had additional classes in orthography (language rules), agriculture, Illinois history, and physiology. With a twinkle in her eye, Florine pointed out that penmanship lessons never immediately followed recess because Miss Knoblock said each scholar's hands might be heated up from the excitement of play--thereby, not producing the best penmanship possible.

At Corner School, students looked forward to helping each other; this was both fun and efficient, according to Florine, because each student got to use her/his expertise to help other students. Of course it helped Miss Knoblock deal with lesson plans for as many as eight differemt grade levels and eleven subjects. Florine smiled at the fact that this form of "cooperative learning" was happening long before such techniques were advocated in teaching methods classes in college.

It was sixteen years later after her first day as a student at Corner School that Florine began appreciating her childhood country school experiences for a different reason. After graduating from a  two-year teaching program at Western Illinois State Teachers College in 1932, Florine was hired to be the official schoolmarm at Brushy School--another Adams County country school located a few miles north of Coatsburg. (Photo Right: Florine-High School)

She soon found out that being a student was much easier than being a teacher; writing lesson plans for the multiple subjects covered in grades one through eight was only part of the challenge. Florine borrowed her father's car to drive the eight miles from Camp Point to Brushy each day, arriving early enough to carry in the coal and get the fire started in the pot bellied stove before classes began. At times even getting to work proved to be a feat! She vividly remembers that driving on dirt roads on snowy days proved to be so hazardous, that sometimes she had to stay overnight with a family who lived close to the Brushy School. She points out that her 16 students didn't mind the snowy weather, since they could ride their sleds to school instead of having to walk. It would be many years before buses became a routine part of school life for students living in the country.

Florine managed to make her work a bit easier when she figured out that she could pay a student who lived nearby a dollar a week to start the fire each morning. Even though she was paid only $75 a month, she says the dollar a week was money well spent, because she got to sleep a few minutes longer each morning.

Brushy School, unlike Corner School, had a belltower, so each week a different student had the honor of ringing the bell to signify the beginning of the school day. Florine warmly remembers that during these years, education was thought of as a privilege and her students wanted very much to succeed.

Since the school had been endowed with a piano, after reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, the first activity of the day was singing. As Florine played the piano, students sang popular tunes like "I've Ben Working on the Railroad" and "America the Beautiful." Next, one responsible student was assigned the task of passing out the appropriate books to students. As students listened intently, Florine would then present information for the specific subject and grade level. Inspired by her teacher, Miss Knoblock, she used the method of having her students help each other master the knowledge at hand. Brushy was also equipped with a recitation bench--a long church pew kind of seat--which she used when working with five or six students at a time. This was undoubtedly a forerunner to today's classroom areas designated as specialized learning centers. (Photo Left: Florine with her 3rd & 4th graders in 1936-37 at Maplewood School, Camp Point, IL)

When country school students in the early 20th century had breaks from classroom activities, they weren't playing computer games or rushing out to the basketball court. Instead, the most popular Brushy School recess diversion was a game called "handy over," in which a student would throw a ball over the bell tower and then run around to try to catch it on the other side of the tower. Students actually gained several benefits from playing this seemingly simple game. Eye-hand coordination improved, it was a great cardio workout, and students learned to share the ball.

The ultimate educational goal, as Florine saw it, was to have each student pass the 8th Grade Final Exam--a standardized proficiency test administered each spring by the Adams County Superintendent of Schools. After much preparation for the exam, Florine had to take all of the 8th graders attending Brushy to another schol to be tested, since a teacher could not give the exam to her own students. Just as today's standardized exams are carefully guarded and students vigilantly monitored, the same was true in the 1930's.

If an 8th grader failed after three attempts to pass this 60-question exam, he/she had to repeat the 8th grade until they did pass the exam. It is not surprising that some students had trouble passing, with questions like: "How, when and from whom was the following territory acquired: Louisiana, Florida, Alaska, Philippine Islands, Gadsden Purchase?" or "Write the five rules for pronunciation." Students who succeeded were rewarded with a district-wide graduation/picnic celebration held in August at Bailey Park in Camp Point. As Florine talked about this exam mandated in the 1930's, she commented that it sounds much like the accountablility part of the federal government's current "No Child Left Behind" law.

Florine had indeed chosen the right goal back in 1916. She loved teaching and went on to teach all eight grades at Brushy School through 1935. She then taught an additional  27 years--most of those at Maplewood School in Camp Point. Even though she has been retired for 30 years and is 97, she still keeps abreast of current educational trends. Many times she chuckles when she hears or reads about a "new" approach to teaching math or spelling or English, because it turns out to be a method she used in a country school long ago. With her mischievous smile, she wisely states, "If you wait long enough, everything old is new again!" (Photo Above Left: Florine Luckel Law celebrating her 96th birthday. She is now 97!)

After thoughts: One of Florine's favorite possessions is a quilt given to her for Christmas by her 1934 Brushy students. Each square in the quilt contains a student's name, hand embroidered by either her student or her/his mother. 74 years later she occasionally hears from her Brushy students!

Though in bad repair, Brushy School still stands three miles north of Coatsburg. The road is now paved. Washington (Corner) School was demolished many years ago.

The author, a retired high school teacher, is the daughter of Florine Luckel Law and may be contacted at nlanderson2@cox.net.

This article was submitted by Paul and Jane Moody, One-Room School Co-Chairmen for the Adams County Retired Teachers Association. Permission to print this article was given by the author Nancy Law Anderson. We thank you all for sharing this story!!

8th Annual CSAA Conference Another Success!

McGuffey, Museums, and Schoolhouse Memories

The 8th Annual CSAA Conference, held this year at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, is not far behind us, but we're still processing the 25 presentations that covered new and thought-provoking ground. We're poring over our photos of the Williams Holmes McGuffey Museum and the Wednesday bus trip to area country schools. Attendees spanned the map, arriving from as far away as Texas, Alabama, New Hampshire, New York, and NORWAY!

We owe our thanks this year to Suzanne Daniel of Michigan and Nancy Hughes of Indiana for coordinating another informative national event on behalf of the CSAA. These conferences are planned a year in advance to ensure a successful program, and Suzanne and Nancy certainly did their homework! It is gratifying to note that continued participation of our members in the annual conference confirms the importance of our work to preserve our one-room schoolhouses. (Photo Left: W.H. McGuffey)

During the three-day event, Dr. Leidulf Mydland of the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage in Oslo gave us our biggest boost when he presented a comparison of schoolhouse preservation in the Midwest and Norway. He praised our spirit and showed enthusiasm for the American effort to save the most humble icons of our educational history. He admires our tenacity in restoration even though our schoolhouses are not designed by famous architects, representative of any particular style, "important" architecture, of monumental value, or boasting decorative details..." all prerequisites for the Norwegian national list of historic buildings. He explained that no one-room schools in Norway are on the national list because they simply don't fit these basic requirements. Dr. Mydland encourages historic preservationists in Norway to save their one-room schools before it's too late, but finds this a hard sell. His presentation was entitled:"Country Schools in the Midwest and Norway as Cultural Heritage, A Different Approach." (Photo Right: Dr. Leidulf Mydland)

A wide range of topics were presented in the two-day program. Dr. Kate Rousmaniere of Miami University presented "A History of the Normal School at Oxford, OH," a fitting prelude to our three-day adventure at Miami University. Nancy Huges of Avon, IN portraying schoolmarm "Miss Ellie" at the Pittsboro One-Room Schoolhouse, offered "Naturally McGuffey/Feathers in My Books." She pointed out McGuffeys wide use of animal stories and distributed a list of every chapter relating to animals and nature found in the McGuffey Eclectic Readers. Susan Webb of Brimingham, AL, The Traveling Schoolmarm, shared sample lessons from the McGuffey series explaining how she introduces them into her living history program. Susan's handouts and booklets are always treasures to schoolhouse re-enactors. She titled her presentation:"From the Pages of Country School Readers."

Eleanor Ent of New Alexandria, PA presented "Pump Up the Volume: Antique Reed Organs in the One-Rooom School." She entertained us with the history of pump organs and even brought along two that she has restored. She played songs that were common to music programs across the country. Dr. Pamela Stover of Southern Illinois University presented "Victrolas, Phonographs and School Recordings." She explained the difference between the machines and how they were used in country schools. Sarah Uthoff shared the results of her year-long and on-going survey entitled "What's for Lunch," highlighting memories of just what was inside that basket or lunch box, what students drank, whether and how they washed up, and how they set up their desks for the noon meal. (Photo Left: Eleanor Ent)

Betsy Butler of the King Library Special Collections Division at MU introduced us to "The William Holmes McGuffey Family Papers and The McGuffey Reader Collection: Two Bright Ornaments in the Walter Havighurst Special Collections at Miami University." She also told us what to look for in the museum, McGuffey's former home in Oxford. On display for our visit were countless volumes from the McGuffey Readers collection spanning decades of publication.

Leigh Ann Randak of "The Coralville Schoolhouse Museum" in Coralville, IA spoke of the history of her schoolhouse and offered ideas for fundraising and programming. We were relieved to learn that her schoolhouse was spared the ravages of the Iowa floods despite devastation throughout her city.

Two colorful and graphic presentations involved schoolhouse restoration: "Renovating a One-Room School on a Shoestring Budget" was the topic of Mary Fulton, Peebles,OH and Carol Motza, Winchester,OH. They told how the project was initially funded by the Adams County Retired Teachers Association and illustrated the story of the restoration of The Page School in West Union, OH, Adams County. Following this, Mary Sue Divine of Livingston, WI told the story of the "Hazel Dell One-Room Schoolhouse Restoration" in Livingston between 2003 and 2006 culiminating in its re-opening to an admiring public. She discussed history, fundraising, repair, and community involvement leading to the school's rebirth. (Photos: Hazel Dell 2006 and 2003)                                              

"What's In It For Us?" was the question answered by Susan Fineman of Nashua, NH  as she highlighted the reasons why we are resolute in preserving our humble little schools. Her presentation was a pictorial trek through schoolhouse history noting building styles, school names, famous one-room schools and attendees, restoration success, and current living history programs in restored schoolhouses across America.

Caroline Bradekamp of Spragueville, IA left no stone unturned in "Awakening the Memories Within: The Rebirth of the North Bend Schoolhouse and Community." Her detailed program listed countless ideas for getting your restoration job done, marshalling the community, fundraising, record-keeping, grant-writing, muscling your way through red tape, etc. She redoubled her efforts in her second presentation entitled, "Collecting, Recording & Sharing Memories & Artifacts of a Schoolhouse and Its Community." Whew! You won't have to reinvent the wheel if you contact Caroline!

In "Celebrations-Honoring Educators," Dr. Lucy Townsend of Northern Illinois University explored how to use country schools in creative ways, particularly as places to honor teachers and hold public exhibitions of children's art and musical talents. She also suggested reenacting the Christmas play, a staple of the holiday progams staged in one-room schools. (Photo:from Student Art Exhibit, Blackwell History of Education Museum, NIU)

A survey of one-room schools on college campuses was conducted by Jessica Conley of Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC. during the past year and half. In "The One-Room School Goes to College," Jessica reported her findings and her methods, and included photos and notable facts about the 41 schoolhouses residing on American campuses. Many of the schoolhouses were saved by the colleges and universities in honor of their historical beginnings as normal schools.

Historical researcher Bob Frenz of McHenry County, IL has published a book entitled "Historic Country Schools of McHenry County, IL". He distributed tax records of 1857-1859 to illustrate expenditures on local schools and the fine detail involved in researching local records.(Information on how to purchase this book will appear elsewhere on this site.)

"Building an Archive of Country School Records" followed. Dr. Sue Grosboll of the University of Northern Iowa reported on their windfall acquisition of all Iowa rural school records that had been housed in Area Education Agencies since 1972 (collected from County Superintendents Offices throughout the state). The records cover the period roughly from 1850 to 1965, which gives an idea of the scope of storage, preservation, and cataloguing ahead for the UNI Museum where this collection now awaits processing. The red tapeto acquire the records was long and bright.

This year's $300 CSAA Prize for Artistry went to Jeannette Kottke of Fredericksburg, IA who produced the film, "One-Room Rural School House Days," a moving tribute to one-room schools and those who attended. The film focuses on the Chickasaw County Country School with interviews from attendees and teachers of the now restored schoolhouse.

Dr. Kouider Mokhtari of Miami University spoke of how "Modern Reading" must be undertaken differently and more critically than in the past, considering the global nature of the Internet and it's influence in our lives.

Dr. Mark Dewalt of Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC offered his assessment of "Summer Meetings: Critical Component of the Amish Country School System?". Mark, a noted expert on Amish school culture, told how the school is the center of community life with the responsibility for its success shared by all. Teacher and community members, he explained, attend their summer meetings together to "energize."

A novel topic, "A Peek at Calisthenics of the Late 1800's" was presented by Lindsay McLean of Cincinnati, OH. She offered vintage photos from physical education texts of the day explaining the benefits of such unique exercise and conditioning programs for schoolchildren. Few were familiar with this widespread and supposedly healthful practice.

A "Depiction of the Country School by American Artists" was presented by Bill Sherman of Des Moines, IA. Displaying works from Winslow Homer to Grant Wood and P. Buckley Moss, Bill shared numerous renditions of schoolhouses in paintings. Interesting to note: Bill was instrumental in Iowa's choice of the Grant Wood 1932 schoolhouse painting Arbor Day as the artwork for the Iowa quarter!!!

Dr. Mary Outlaw of Berry College, Mount Berry, GA recounted a brief history of "Noble Hill School:The First Rosenwald School in Northwest Georgia" and the steps taken toward its restoration and rededication in 1989. It remains open today as a museum dedicated to the black culture of Bartow County,GA.

Finally, a detailed presentation for those who want to get the word out about their museums was offered by Richard Lewis of League City, Texas in "Getting Noticed in a Noisy World." Richard covered areas including the public arena, the print media, direct appeal to the customer, the web, TV, and video and film. These tips will be shared in an entire newsletter article in themselves...keep watch.

                                                                                           

Conference Report On It's Way...

2009 Conference Slated for Latrobe, PA

Be sure to plan for next year's CSAA Conference, June 15-17, 2009 at St. Vincent's College, Latrobe, PA. Details will follow. We also hope to publish links to some of our 2008 presenters' Powerpoint presentations if we can obtain permission. They get better every year!

Keeping Order in the Schoolhouse

Early School Discipline

by Michael Day

Young visitors to a restored one room schoolhouse are always interested in the punishments that were used. Everyone has heard of the "hickory stick" and many wonder if it is true that children were routinely beaten with sticks. Were teachers that harsh? Didn't parents complain? Corporal punishments were quite common in nineteenth century schools and the punishments took many forms. The most common means of punishing students was with the ferule, a long thin piece of wood used for beating students. Because it had a straight edge, it was also useful for drawing straight lines on paper. This is the origin of the school ruler. But there were many other ways of punishing unruly students, and there were also many teachers who relied solely on their own moral authority to control their classes. Many nineteenth century writers have included is their works remembrances of their school experiences, and from these we can gain a picture of the range of approaches to school discipline.

Warren Burton, author of The District School As It Was, tells us of one particularly harsh teacher and the punishments he enployed. "Almost every method was tried that was ever suggested to the brain of pedagogue. Some were feruled on the hand; some were whipped with a rod on the back; some were compelled to hold out, at arm’s length, the largest book which could be found, or a great leaden inkstand, till muscle and nerve, bone and marrow, were tortured with the continued exertion. If the arm bent or inclined from the horizontal level, it was forced back again by a knock of the feruler on the elbow.

"He had recourse to another method, almost as barbarous. It was standing in a stooping posture, with a finger on the head of a nail in the floor. It was a position not particularly favorable to health of body or soundness of mind; the head being brought about as low as the knees, the blood rushing to it, and pressing unnaturally on the veins, often caused a dull pain, and a staggering dizziness.

"These punishments were sometimes rendered doubly painful by their taking place directly in front of the enormous fire, so that the pitiable culprit was roasted as well as racked. Another mode of punishment — an anti-whispering process — was setting the jaws at a painful distance apart, by inserting a chip perpendicularly between the teeth. Then we occasionally had our hair pulled, our noses tweaked, our ears pinched and boxed, or snapped. There were minor penalties, moreover, for minor faults. The uneasy urchins were clapped into the closet, thrust under the desk, or perched on its top. Boys were made to sit in the girls’ seats, amusing the school with their grinning awkwardness; and girls were obliged to sit on the masculine side of the aisle, with crimsoned necks, and faces buried in their aprons.

"I would not have it understood that this master was singular in his punishments; for such methods of correcting offenders have been in use time out of mind. He was distinguished only for resorting to them more frequently than any other instructor within my own observation. The truth is that it seemed to be the prevailing opinion both among teachers and parents, that boys and girls would play and be mischievous, and that consequently masters must punish in some way or other. It was a matter of course; nothing better was expected."

The thinking that Burton reported - "that masters must punish in some way or other" - undoubtedly led many teachers to inflict on their students the same punishments that had been inflicted upon them. But some people questioned the old ways and sought better ways to control their classes. Eliphalet Nott, whose teaching career would ultimately take him to a college presidency, had like many other children, suffered under harsh masters, but he determined not to follow in their footsteps. Of his childhood experiences he remembered that, "if I was not whipped more than three times a week, I considered  myself for the time peculiarly fortunate. This discipline of the rod became peculiarly irksome to me, and I thought, unjustified; and I formed a resolution, if I lived to be a man, I would not be like other men   in  regard to their treatment of children. Through the mercy of God I did live to be a man, and when at the age of eighteen I became installed as master of a district school in the eastern part of Franklin, Connecticut, I made up my mind to substitute in my school moral motives in the place of the rod; and I frankly told my assembled pupils so. The school responded to my appeal, and thereafter, though we played and gamboled together as equals in play-hours, the moment we entered the school-house, a subordination and application to study was observable, that became a matter of remark and admiration among the inhabitants of the district."

George Hoar, a prominent Massachusetts political leader, who attended school in the 1830’s remembered that, “In the infant schools, which were kept by women, of course, the discipline was not expected to be so severe. The schoolmistress in those days wore a busk – a flat piece of lancewood, hornbeam, or some other like tough and elastic wood, thrust into a sort of pocket or sheath in her dress, which came up almost to the chin and came down below the waist. This was intended to preserve the straightness and grace of her figure. When the small boy misbehaved, the schoolma’am would unsheathe this weapon, and for some time thereafter, the culprit found sitting down exceedingly uncomfortable. Sometimes the sole of the schoolmistress’s slipper answered the same purpose, and sometimes a stick from some neighboring birch-tree. It all came to pretty much the same thing in the end. The schoolmistress knew well how to accomplish her purpose. There was a diversity of gifts but the same spirit.” Writing some fifty later, Wilbur Cross, (later a Governor of Connecticut) also found that women were less severe than men: “Women teachers confined their discipline to the ferule which, as it hit the palm of the hand, hurt worse than head bumping, but all in all, corporal punishment was more or less a farce. As it was expected, it did not disturb us much. And it was sheer amusement when the other boy got the licking.” Cross also remembered the unique way one of his early teachers had of dealing with whisperers. “One master carried a pair of horse’s bits in his pocket, which he used to toss on our desk when we got too noisy, where they struck with a rattle that silenced all other sounds. After a recitation was over he would put the bits into the mouth of one of us. Not a bad way to stop whispering throughout the entire school for that day.”

Lucy Lane Allen was well respected during her short teaching career and prided herself on never using corporal punishments: "Before I was seventeen years old I was requested to teach the summer school in the center of the town of Medford, Mass. This I accepted, and was examined by Thomas Prentiss, D.D., in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and sewing. Geography and arithmetic were not taught at that time in the summer schools. Between fifty and sixth pupils attended, some nearly as old as myself. Many of the boys and girls brought work - straw-braiding, sewing and knitting. I taught in that town four summers - until I married - never taking a stick into school or inflicting corporal punishment, as many of my pupils now living can attest. I was invited home with the children very often, and my success in discipline, I think, was owing in a great measure to my intimate acquaintance with the parents, and also to the fact that all of the pupils were busy at some work when not at their books."

An amusing approach to school-house management was reported by Salem Town. He remembered one teacher as, “an Englishman, and said to be well-educated, but half crazy. Folks said he was love-cracked, and I wondered what that meant. His mode of government was unique. When the scholars became noisy, he would stamp his foot upon the floor with tremendous power, and commence pounding his own head with his fist, exclaiming, ‘Children, if you do not behave better, I will go right off and leave you.’ This for the time being would frighten the children into silence".

James Garfield, who would later become the twentieth President of the United States, taught school in his early years as a way of earning money for college. In 1856, he apparently had some unruly students, and seemed to anticipate that words alone would not control them. In his diary he noted that “some of the boys” were “greatly disposed to quarrel with each other and I fear that the rod alone will subdue that pugnacious spirit. When nothing else will, I believe that the effect of it is very salutary. I hate to use it at all”. A few days later he again wrote that “They are inclined to fight and quarrel.” To deal with this, he, “Brought three whips into the schoolhouse, the first that I have had”, and a few days later, (May 6) he had occasion to use them: “Today I was, for the first time in this school, under the very disagreeable necessity of flogging two boys 12 or 14 years old. I had repeatedly warned them against fighting, and told them that if they fought I should castigate them. Today Wm Perdew and Edwin Boyce came to an open rupture and I flogged them thoroughly. I hope I shall have to do so no more. I am not totally averse to corporal punishment, yet I think there is ten times as much done as is necessary. As love is the stronger passion than fear it is better to govern by love as far as we can – but there are exceptions.” Several days later he noted in his dairy that, “I find that the flogging has had a good effect on the school.”

In time the more violent approaches were discontinued by masters or banned by school boards, but it was not until late in the twentieth century that physical punishment was effectively eliminated from the public schools.

Michael Day has been a regular contributor to our e-newsletter and publisher of Books for A One-Room Schoolhouse. We appreciate every submission from Mike! Visit his website at www.clippership-publications.com for resources for your one-room school museum. You can also write for a catalog at Clippership Publications, 13 Laurel Lane, Barkhamsted, CT 06063.

Group Offers Grants to Public Schools

Non-Profit Looks for Country Schools in Need

While the focus of the CSAA is primarily on the preservation of country schools still in existence, some of us may know of country schools still in operation who are in need of funds for special projects. This site may be the answer. Rachel Gurshman of DonorsChoose contacted the CSAA newsletter as a way of reaching out to country schools in particular. Feel free to pass this information on.

DonorsChoose.org is a simple way to fulfill needs and foster innovation in our public schools.  At this nonprofit web site, teachers submit ideas for experiences and materials that their students need to learn. The process is quick and easy and offers teachers the opportunity to bring their most creative ideas to life in the classroom.  These ideas become classroom reality when concerned individuals, whom we call Citizen Philanthropists, choose projects to fund.  In the past seven years, using this simple plan, DonorsChoose.org has raised and directed more than $14 million to public school classrooms.  In September 2007, DonorsChoose.org expanded nationally and is now available to every public school teacher in the U.S.  If you are a teacher, please submit a proposal today!

If you are not a teacher, but know one (and really, everyone knows a teacher) please direct them to DonorsChoose.org to request the resources their students need to learn.

Rachel J. Gurshman
National Teacher Engagement Manager, DonorsChoose.org
109-F New Street | Decatur, GA 30030
404-370-9004 | rachel@donorschoose.org

Pennsylvanians Proud of Their Schoolhouses

York Daily Record Promotes New ORS Book

Remember when classes took place "all in one room?" The York Daily Record/Sunday News' new photo book takes you on a stroll down the winding roads of Pennsylvania's York and Adams counties and beyond with memories of small rural schools. This hardcover book showcases a collection of readers' photos from the area's one-room schools, with a foreward by editor and historian James McClure. "All in One Room" is available for order now at http://www.inyork.com/schoolhouses.

You may want to visit the link below to read some interesting and nostalgic schoolhouse memories. Thanks again to Joan Concilio of the York Daily Record for submitting this resource and for posting the CSAA link on the paper's web site! Joan wrote to us : "Just as an update we have added even more schoolhouse memories." The new link is http://ydr.inyork.com/ydr/schoolhouses

York Daily Record, 1891 Loucks Road, York, PA 17408, (717)771-2000

Conference Deadline May 20, 2008

Send in Your Conference Registation!

The 8th Annual CSAA Conference on Country Schools will be held June 16-18, 2008 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Take part in the quality programming offered by dedicated country school researchers and re-enactors. As a highlight of the conference, visit the William Holmes McGuffey Museum and visit six area country schools on the optional Wednesday bus tour of Butler County. Now you can access the information packet with the link below or visit the CSAA website at www.countryschoolassociation.org for more information. It helps in the planning if you register early.

Registration deadline for the conference is May 20, 2008.

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION MATERIALS: Download 2008_csaa_info_packet.pdf

Photo: McGuffey home, Oxford, OH.

CSAA Member Honored

Texas "Schoolmarm" Wins Community Service Award

Catharin Lewis, a former CSAA Board member, was recently recognized by the "Men and Women of  Heart" program which was created to honor outstanding community volunteers. It congratulates honorees for their substantial contribution and exemplary service to the community benefiting a variety of philanthropic and non-profit activities. Catharin's write-up for the Men and Women of Heart award follows:

Catharin Lewis, Founding Director of the West Bay Common School Children’s Museum in League City, Texas has created a retreat where children can step back in time and experience reading, writing and arithmetic as they did in the 1890s. The Museum includes an authentic 1898 one-room schoolhouse and is truly a testament to Catharin’s dedication. Since the Museum opened in 1993, over 60,000 children from 1200 schools and organizations throughout the state of Texas have visited this experiential school as part of their elementary Texas History curriculum.

The Galveston Daily News presented Catharin with their Unsung Hero Award, and her work at the one-room schoolhouse has also been recognized at the state and national level by the Texas Historical Commission and the American Association of State and Local History. Catharin serves as Director, Curator, Archivist, Docent, Fundraiser, Marketing Manager, Accountant, and Janitor for the museum. She volunteers many hours at these jobs, as well as the hours of her husband, Richard, who helps in restoration and maintenance. This Home Economics graduate, with a major in Family and Child Development, who arrived in the Houston Bay Area in 1983 from Maryland, also finds time to devote to other community activities. 

Catharin, a former Director of Youth Ministry at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Frederick, Maryland, currently serves on the Boards of the League City Historical Society, the Clear Creek Republican Women, and the Fairview Cemetery Association, as well as a past volunteer of the Lunar Rendezvous Festival. She was most recently chairman of the 2007 League City Historical Society’s, “Living History Dinner.”

Catharin is a proud mother of three children and 10 grandchildren. She is also very proud of giving birth, fourteen years ago, to the West Bay Common School Children’s Museum, which holds a very special place in her heart.

Photos: West Bay Common School, League City Texas, Catharin with students, interior of West Bay, Catharin and Richard at the Men and Women of Heart Gala.

INfo on the OUThouse

Proud of Our Schoolhouse Privies

It is interesting to note how proud one-room school preservationists are when they say their schoolhouse still has the "original privies." Recently one of the One-Room Schoolhouse Yahoo!Group readers asked if we had any information on how to build a "two-holer." Our country schoolhouse buffs didn't bat an eyelash at the question and came up with some very interesting answers. Here are the responses from three of our CSAA members who offered some particular knowledge about the "necessaries."

Richard Lewis of West Bay Common School Museum wrote: "Please check the Yahoo Group (Oneroom) for 5 sets of plans. The link can be found at the end of this article. Three of the plans are from the Library of Congress and are historical, and two are modern day plans from state agricultural extension services. You can look at them in the "Photos"  section, but print them from the "Files" section. They are not the greatest quality in the world; after all some of them are between 200 and 300 years old. If you want better quality and better choices of plans, you may want a book entitled - The Vanishing American Outhouse: Privy Plans, Photographs, Poems, and Folklore, by Ronald Barlow. See the link at right under Books Suggestions.

Mike Day, owner of Clippership Publications, Books for a One-room Schoolhouse wrote: "There is a delightful little book that I would recommend to anyone thinking about privies; it's called "The Specialist" by Charles (Chic) Sale, copyright 1929, renewed 1956. It appears to be a speech by a man  who is quite proud of the special skills he has developed in his particular line of work, the design and construction of outhouses. I'm not sure just how seriously to take it, but it does cover many of the fine points that us modern types would not know to consider when building an outhouse. It's a cute little book - 27 pages - and a number of copies are available from Amazon. Not really a schoolhouse book, but fun anyway.

Fay Stone of the Pioneer Sholes Schoolhouse wrote: "Privies were usually a simple tall box with no windows but a design (often a new moon) cut high in the door for light. The roof was slanted to allow snow and rain to run off. The important thing was the two holes. A considerate builder would make one side lower than the other, for smaller people, and the hole smaller for obvious reasons. Sometimes they had a lid, but rarely. I doubt there was ever a written plan. If I were making one for use today, I'd include a simple hinged lid, as it cuts down on odor. We dug in a large metal barrel split into half under the holes, and they were pumped out often by the caretaker or garbage crew. We built a fence between boys and girls and planted a vine along it."

We took Richard and Mike up on suggestions and found the plans Richard included at the following link: Outhouse Plans  They are terrific!

We found the books on both Amazon and Alibris. You may also be interested in: Passing of the Outhouse, by Tom G. Murray; The All-American Outhouse:Stories, Design & Construction, by Bob Cary; Nature Calls:The History, Lore and Charm of Outhouses, by Dottie Booth; Ouhouses by Any Other Name, by Tom Harding.

In researching the books, we found that outhouses have many other supporters out there, as evidenced by a calendar, a shower curtain, and hand towels with the outhouse motif. Good luck in your research!

The School Calendar

CSAA May Need Your Schoolhouse Photo

The CSAA has submitted a proposal to Tide-Mark Press in Connecticut to be considered for a 2010 Schoolhouse Calendar! Board member Bill Sherman suggested the idea at last year's annual conference and researched possible publishers. You may be interested to know how we're promoting the idea with Tide-Mark, so we have included the actual proposal below. We are also asking that you begin sifting through your favorite photographs. Your schoolhouse could be one of the lucky twelve chosen! Tide-Mark requires 30-40 images that fit the concept. We'll let you know as soon as Tide-Mark makes their decision, and following that we'll solicit entires. Below is a portion of the proposal submitted this week:

Photo above: only a sample

Calendar Proposal: The One-Room Schoolhouse

.........The Country School Association of America’s focus is on the preservation of One-Room (Country) Schools in America, a vanishing icon, but one that has gained steadfast supporters in recent years. The remaining schoolhouses are symbols of the vital role education played in our national heritage and evoke powerful images of the hopes of the American people. Currently, these one-room schools dot our landscape in varying stages of rehabilitation and restoration, and many are used as museum schools for the continued enjoyment of schoolchildren across the country. They are cherished and beloved and boast thousands of caretakers nationwide.

These schoolhouses are unique to their locales, are situated in some very interesting surroundings, come in a variety of styles and colors, and survive today due to sturdy construction. They have picturesque names, come with and without bell towers, rest in fields, in woods, aside graveyards, and on busy streets, but all have one thing in common. They symbolize EDUCATION, a shared experience of America’s population. One-room schools are easily recognizable, they possess a historical “charm” that other monuments may not, and they transport us back to a simpler time and simpler values.

The curators of these schoolhouses would love to share their photos and images with educators, students, former attendees of one-room schools, historical societies and one-room school enthusiasts. A calendar would be a perfect vehicle to remind us daily of the contributions made within the walls of our country’s one-room schools.

We have formed a national association, the Country School Association of America, dedicated to the promotion and survival of country schools. You will find a description of the CSAA attached. We are in contact with over 3,500 country schoolhouse preservation groups and sponsoring historical societies throughout the Unites States, and our numbers/contacts grow daily. We maintain a website and an electronic newsletter, and we mass e-mail important information on a regular basis. Most of our contacts and readers are in a continuous drive to raise funds for the maintenance of their schools. The sale of a schoolhouse calendar would greatly help their cause. Schoolhouse calendars would also be popular with teachers and children across the country.

The CSAA will solicit all the photos and follow all guidelines as listed on your website. We will operate in a timely and cooperative manner. Many of our CSAA members photograph schoolhouses on a regular basis and already possess colorful and nostalgic images. All we need do is ask, and we are sure our members and readers will submit a fabulous cross-section of photos. Our board members are skilled organizers and are dedicated to their cause to preserve schoolhouses. This calendar project is an effort we would relish.

MOVING DAY

Two-Room Schoolhouse on the Move

CSAA board member Nancy Hughes wrote to us about an uplifting schoolhouse story out of Fort Wayne Indiana. The two-room schoolhouse was saved from the wrecking ball and moved to a new location just this week! The 1892 District #2 Schoolhouse was moved to make way for a new Target store. The move and new site were funded by Pine Tree Commercial Realty and Indland Real Estate Corporation, the firms that bought the land! Now, that's public service!

News Channel 15 in Fort Wayne reported that the little schoolhouse has served many roles, including a home, a church, a needle-work shop and a hair salon. While it doesn't sound as if the building will revert to a school, it has been saved for the time being. Speculation is that the schoolhouse will be used for retail once again. We could certainly envision a museum with living history programs....couldn't we?

Dan Turkette photographed the move and has given permission for CSAA to post these photos. Thanks, Dan!

Wish to Present? Deadline Extended to April 1st

BECOME A PRESENTER!!!!                         

8th Annual Country School Association of America Conference

for Museum Staff, Preservationists, Students, Teachers, Professors, and Country School "Buffs”

June 16-18, 2008 at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio

If you are interested you are cordially invited to participate in and/or lead panel discussions, individual papers, symposia, workshops, and demonstrations on country schooling. Decide which of the following subjects most interests you and submit a brief proposal. The deadline for proposals has been extended to April 1, 2008.

Preservation of Country Schoolhouse: For all those who have experience in restoring or reconstructing a one-room or multi-room country school or are interested in doing so. Sample topics: Envisioning the project, raising money, recruiting and managing volunteers, promoting the project, collecting artifacts. Programs for Country Schools: For museum curators, classroom teachers, reenactors, and others interested in sharing program activities. Presenters may want to tell stories, sing, play an instrument, or engage the audience in a dramatic reenactment. Videotapes and other resources are welcome. Scholarship: For professors, graduate students, and independent scholars inquiring into the history, material culture, and current practices of country schools in the U.S. and Canada. Sample topics: Amish parochial one-room schools, technology in one-room schools, relationships of teachers with rural communities, the architectural significance of one room schools; African-American one-room schooling, supervising one-room schools, teacher training for one-room schoolteachers. Memories and Artifacts from Country Schools: For all those who attended, taught in, or collected artifacts/histories of country schools and the communities in which they are or were located. Come and share your memories, photographs, artifacts, books, and historical knowledge.

Proposal Formats

Proposals are due April 1, 2008 They should not exceed three double-spaced, printed pages. In addition, add a cover sheet with title of the proposal, type of proposal (demonstration, symposium, panel, or paper), name(s) and affiliation(s) of participant(s), and the address(es), email address(es), and phone number(s) of participant(s).

Demonstration. Prepare a proposal indicating the title of the activity you plan to do or lead, how many presenters are involved, how long a session lasts, and how large an audience you can accommodate. Include the name(s) of presenters, full address(es), telephone number(s), and email address(es). A demonstration should be 30 minutes.

Panel Discussion. A panel discusses a topic as a group. Panel proposals should indicate the topic, its significance, the panelists’ backgrounds (no names, please) and the way in which the material will be discussed. Keep in mind time constraints (60 minutes) in planning the session. Time for audience participation should be included.

Symposium. A symposium is composed of participants who deliver brief presentations, based on prepared papers or essays, on a common theme. Proposals for symposia should discuss the topic of the symposium, its significance, backgrounds of the presenters (no names, please), and the perspectives employed by presenters in their presentations. Keep in mind time constraints (90 minutes). Time should be allowed for audience participation.

Paper. This kind of proposal is for those wishing to submit individual or joint scholarship. Briefly indicate the topic and the way it will be treated, address the significance of the topic and discuss the background of the presenter (no name, please). Papers accepted for presentation will have to "fit" with other papers into a cohesive session at the conference. Keep in mind time constraints (30 minutes). This means that, if the paper is read, it should be no longer than 10-12 pp. Power Point and other visuals are encouraged.

We encourage single or group presentations. E-mail your cover sheet and proposal to CSAA Conference Committee at blackwell@niu.edu by April 1, 2008

Or send 3 copies of proposals and two self-addressed, stamped envelopes to: CSAA Conference Committee, Blackwell History of Education Museum, Learning Center, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115. Phone: 815-753-1236;

8th Annual CSAA Conference Forms Now Available

Will We See You at the CSAA Conference?

The 8th Annual CSAA Conference on Country Schools will be held June 16-18, 2008 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Take part in the quality programming offered by dedicated country school researchers and re-enactors. As a highlight of the conference, visit the William Holmes McGuffey Museum and visit six area country schools on the optional Wednesday bus tour of Butler County. Now you can access the information packet with the link below.

Registration deadline for the conference is May 20, 2008. Conference coordinators Suzanne Daniel and Nancy Hughes are still seeking presenters for the program with a March 1st, deadline approaching.

We encourage single or group presentations. E-mail your cover sheet and proposal to CSAA Conference Committee at blackwell@niu.edu by March 1, 2008.

Or send 3 copies of proposals and two self-addressed, stamped envelopes to: CSAA Conference Committee, Blackwell History of Education Museum, Learning Center, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115. Phone: 815-753-1236

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION MATERIALS: Download 2008_csaa_info_packet.pdf

Member Book Review

A Resource for Costuming 1900-1950

by Sarah Uthoff

Are you trying to portray a particular time in your school between 1900 and
1950? Then this book should be on your shelf.

Children’s Fashions 1900-1950: As Pictured in Sears Catalogs, edited by JoAnne Olian
Dover Publications, 2003, ISBN 0486423255, $14.95

A recurring problem for people who bring students in to their museum is that the students want to dress up, but have no idea how people dressed during your time period. Here in the Midwest the problem is often students who seem to think some warped version of the prairie era, when little girls wore long skirts and boys wore rope belts, lasted all through the 20th century. This summer I learned that east coast school museums have a similar problem with colonial misses in mob caps,so teaching about what children were actually
wearing is important not only because it’s something children are curious about, but also is a subject about which they know next to nothing. This book can be a help for school museums set in the first half of the 20th century.

The book is full of pages taken from various Sears Catalogs by editor JoAnne Olian of the Costume Collection of the Museum of the City of New York. After a three page introduction about the Sears catalog and popular clothing trends in general, Olian contents herself with showing full pages from the catalog, modified only by new page number and year it appeared. Each year is not represented, but almost all those that are feature four or so pages. For instance the first few years represented are 1901, 1902, 1906, 1908, 1909, and 1912. Allowing that most fashions for everyday people would be worn a few years after they were ordered or made, I think most schools could find a close match to peek into the students closets. Olian strikes a good balance showing boys and girls, summer clothing and winter clothing, even shoes, sweaters, and coats. I can think of several activities that could be created for students using the information in this book. I’d prefer to see whole copies of the catalogs reproduced, but until someone wises up and decides that would make a dandy paid database, that’s unlikely to happen any time soon. This volume can serve as a useful tool until then.

I should also mention that the while the cover is in full color, all 120 pages inside are in black and white. Also, while the pages are ample at 12 inches by 9, the number of pages make it a skinny book.

You may also wish to explore a companion edition: Children's Fashions 1860-1912, edited by JoAnne Olian

CSAA Members Share Schoolhouse Activities

Visit the Indian Rock School Blog

To get an idea of one way our association (Webutuck Country Schoolhouse Association) in Amenia, New York keeps the school going and celebrates the holidays, go to our blog at www.indianrockschool.blogspot.com. Our little Indian Rock Schoolhouse restoration is complete and we have a number of programs in the 1858 building, but in the winter, we do other things...trunk shows, our blog, and press releases.

Submitted by CSAA Members Ann Linden and Bill Burke of Indian Rock Schoolhouse

Save the Date for 2008!!

2008 CSAA Conference Heads to Ohio

The 2008 Country School Association of America Conference will take place on the campus of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio on June 16th and 17th with an optional tour on June 18 to several one-room schools in the Oxford area. A trip to the William Holmes McGuffey Museum will be a highlight of the three-day conference that draws participants from across the United States. 

CSAA boardmembers Suzanne Daniel of Michigan and Nancy Hughes of Indiana have already laid the groundwork and are currently working to finalize details of the logistics and lodging, as well as the ever-popular bus tour of the area one-room schools. They have visited a number of potential stops for the tour and have found a number of ORS that have become fire stations, restaurants, homes and museums. Now to narrow the choices.....This is a conference you will NOT want to miss!

William Homles McGuffey, you will recall, was the author of McGuffey's Eclectic Readers, estimated to have sold over 120 million copies between 1836 and 1960.

Revisit this e-newsletter for detailed information about the conference as it becomes available.

You will also want to access applications for two CSAA grant programs available to our members. They are attached to postings in this newsletter.

For more information on the conference please contact Nancy at schoolhouse1892@aol.com.

Monumental ORS Project Needs Your Input!

Subject: Marshall University One Room School Oral History Collection

Hello... my name is Keith Brown. I am a graduate student at Marshall University in Huntington, WV working with a collection of One Room School materials, including: oral histories, state records, a one room school museum and its records, school books and readers, and pictures. Roughly four hundred and fifty former one room school teachers and students were interviewed between 1989 and 1992, of which two hundred and fifty tapes survive. Unfortunately, none of these interviewers were ever transcribed; however, I am currently in the process of applying for grant money from the WV Humanities Council to have this accomplished. I

would like to find out if there are similar collections of a similar size or larger in other parts of the United States and Canada; particularly in Appalachia and the South. Also, if anyone else who has done a similar project, I would love to know how you went about obtaining funding. If anyone has any other information they think might be helpful please also feel free to contact me.

Thank you! Keith M. Brown Graduate Assistant Special Collections Department, Marshall University Huntington, WV 25755  brown358@marshall.edu

A Request from Michigan

Macomb County, MI Seeks Schoolhouse Memorabilia

The Macomb County Historic Commission is looking for photos, stories, and information regarding one room schoolhouses in Macomb County, Michigan, for our annual historic activities book. Our publication is geared towards 4th grade students and residents interested in our local history.

Photos can be e-mailed to cindysue1111@aol.com or addressed to: Cynthia Donahue C/o Macomb County Building, 13th Floor 10 N. Main Mt. Clemens, MI. 48043. If you have any further questions, I can be reached at 586-469-5915 between 8:00 A.M. and 4:30 P.M.

Thank You! Cynthia S. Donahue Macomb County Historian

One of the Three R's

ARITHMETIC IN THE EARLY SCHOOLHOUSE

by Michael Day

We often talk about the "the 3 R's" as being "reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic", but for the young scholars in the 18th and early 19th centuries, the "3 R's" were "reading, 'riting and religion". While Bible readings and religious exercises were basic elements of school life, arithmetic (generally referred to as "ciphering") was scarcely dealt with at all.

Prior to the beginning of the 19th century, arithmetic was considered more of an occupational skill than an appropriate subject for general education, and was largely relegated to private evening schools. If instruction in arithmetic was offered in the public schools at all, it was reserved until the later years. Children below the age of twelve or so were generally considered intellectually incapable of leaning arithmetic. Warren Burton in his District School As It Was By One Who Went To It (1833), reported that, "At the age of twelve, I commenced the study of Arithmetic, that chiefest science in Yankee estimation. The entering on arithmetic was quite an era in my schoolboy life. This was placing me decidedly among the great boys, and within hailing distance of manhood." Those who did have occasion to study arithmetic did not get far, at least not by modern standards. The upper limit even for good students was "the rule of three" as proportion was then known. As one writer put it, "To cipher beyond the rule of three was deemed a notable achievement and mere surplusage among the average of country scholars".

In the years before the Revolution, the arithmetic book most widely used was Thomas Dilworth's Schoolmaster's Assistant. Despite a title that would suggest a broader range of focus, this was exclusively a math book, and like many other books of this period, it covered all the math concepts that the average person would need to know in a lifetime. In addition to the four basic operations, the student was introduced to weights and measures, proportion, factions and decimals, pensions and annuities, extraction of cube roots and the exchange of foreign currencies. No one expected the student to learn much of this in class, but the information was there if he cared to pursue the study on his own. The book was first published in 1761 and went through dozens of editions before its final American edition in 1827. From the modern perspective (and particularly from the perspective of a museum interpreter) the only part of Dilworth worth sharing with a visiting class today is a small section at the back of the book called "A Short Collection of Pleasant and Diverting Questions". Here we find nine "brain teasers" such as the classic problem of the farmer who has to get a fox, a goose and some corn across the river in a small boat. You may want to consider challenging your visitors with the same "brain teasers" that perplexed students six generations ago.

But Dilworth was an Englishman, and his book contained many references to places and units of measure that had little relevance in America. The Revolution led to a general distaste for all things English and Dilworth's book rapidly began to lose favor. Clearly there was a need for a book that more closely reflected the conditions and ideals of the new Republic. Nicholas Pike was one who saw this as an opportunity, and in 1788 published The New and Complete System of Arithmetic which, according to its full title, was "composed for the use of the CITIZENS of the UNITED STATES". It offered very few pages of introductory arithmetic, and large sections on commission, extraction of square roots, annuities, and other more advanced topics. In 1793 he issued a simpler, abridged version, "Adapted to the Commerce of the Citizens of the United States for Use of Schools." Pike's book was the first commercially successful arithmetic book written and published in the United States. It was one of the few schoolbooks studied by Abraham Lincoln.

An alternate text vying for the same market was Nathan Daboll's Schoolmaster's Assistant. Like Dilworth's earlier book of the same title, this was comprehensive text that covered everything from simple addition to compound interest. Daboll's book achieved great popularly, in large part due to the fact that it introduced "Federal Money" and showed how to calculate the value of goods using this new means of exchange. Noah Webster highly recommended it.

Often there was no textbook at all, either for the teacher or for the students, and much of the instruction relied on the "ciphering book" approach. The master would dictate a "rule" which would be written down by the student in his ciphering book, (i.e. a set of folded papers sewed together into a "book"). A "sum" (i.e. math problem) would then be written into the ciphering book by the master and the student would solve the sum using the rule. A number of writers reported using birch bark instead of paper for their preliminary work. The learning was mostly rote memorization with little effort made to understand the logic and reasoning behind the process. A lot of class time was spent just waiting for the master to "set the sum" or to check the work, and this time was often used by the student to elaborately decorate his ciphering book. Many of these have come down to us as treasured family heirlooms. A teacher who did not possess an arithmetic book of his own (and there were many who didn't) would use as a teaching text the ciphering book that he had created as a student.

With the opening of the nineteenth century there was a growing recognition that arithmetic was an appropriate study for all children, and that an understanding of why things were so would lead to better education. Not everyone agreed. One teacher, writing in the 1830's noted that, "Until within a few years, no studies have been permitted in the day school, but spelling, reading and writing. Arithmetic was taught by a few instructors one or two evenings a week. But in spite of a most determined opposition, arithmetic is now permitted in the day school". Another innovation taking place at about this same time involved how large numbers were written. European mathematicians recognized that it was easier to read very large numbers if the digits were separated into smaller groups. English mathematicians began separating large numbers into groups of six digits; the French divided large numbers into groups of three digits. American intellectuals, still harboring ill-feelings left over from the Revolution, tended to prefer French ideas, rather than English. While it was common up to the time of the Civil War for arithmetic books to show large numbers with no separation, the French innovation gradually took hold, and to this day we divide our large numbers (such as 1,000,000) into groups of three digits.

A major reform in the teaching of arithmetic occurred in 1821 with the publication of Warren Colburn's First Lessons: Intellectual Arithmetic Upon The Inductive Method. Colburn was the first to provide what today we would call "developmentally appropriate" instruction. Where Dilworth (and others) gave rules to be memorized, Colburn gave simple word problems that allowed the student to develop their own understanding of the process. Dilworth introduced his lessons with the didactic: "Arithmetic is the art or science of computing numbers, either whole or in fractions"; Colburn began with the simple questions: "How many thumbs have you on your right hand? How many on your left? How many on both together?" Most of the 170 or so pages were devoted to such simple word problems that explored the four basic functions plus "vulgar fractions"; higher mathematics was eliminated entirely. Colburn encouraged oral recitations and his word problems reflected common childhood experiences. In this and in other books, there were also a number of word problems that referenced English money (pounds, shillings and pence). This reflected the fact that England was the most powerful nation on earth and the English economy was the standard by which all others were judged. The success of this little book was extraordinary. It is estimated that over three and a half million copies were produced in the fifty years that it was in common use, and it forever changed the way in which arithmetic was taught.

The word problems used in Colburn's First Lessons can readily be extracted and used today with a visiting class. They will give modern students an opportunity to experience authentic early American education, and will give insight into the daily experiences of early 19th century children. For additional examples of arithmetic that can be shared with a visiting group, see "Sharing 19th Century Arithmetic with your Schoolhouse Visitors" in the October 17, 2006 issue of this CSAA Newsletter.

Artwork: Homework by Winslow Homer; Copybook: Huguenot Historical Society,NY

Newsletter Catches On

CSAA Blog Draws Attention to One-Room Schools

It's nice to know people care about our nation's schoolhouses, but even more gratifying to know people continue to look for information about them. The proof lies in the fact that our blog has experienced 11,275 hits since we first posted an article in September of 2006. That's an average of 25 visits per day.

We want our readers to know that we welcome articles from volunteer writers across America, schoolhouse museum operators, and people who simply enjoy schoolhouses. We extend particular thanks to Mike Day for his continued scholarly submissions about New England's earliest schoolhouses. Please send your news items and photos to scfineman@aol.com. She'll contact you immediately when we use your material for this newsletter.

Send information about your preservation efforts, photos of your schoolhouse, programs in your schoolhouse, or links to articles about schoolhouses in local papers.

Be sure to scroll down to find information on two CSAA Grant Programs now in progress.

Become a Member of the CSAA

You Can Join the CSAA Today!

We encourage our readers to become a member of the Country School Association of America. Here is an organization dedicated to the preservation of existing country schoolhouses, fostering their legacy, and promoting scholarly research into their role in history. Information on the CSAA and the membership form can be found in the brochure listed below.

Download CSAABrochure07.pdf

Are You Preserving a Schoolhouse?

$500 Country School Preservation Grant

The Country School Association of America provides $500 per year for the preservation of one-room and two-room buildings once used as country schools. If you or members of your organization are interested in applying for this grant, simply access the guidelines and application form through the links below. All contacts and requirements a