Monroe County, Wisconsin - The Country Schools, 1912

The Country Schools

No history of the county would be complete that did not include at least a few references to the only source of education that most boys and girls have access to, namely, the common schools. No attempt will be made to go into an exhaustive record of the schools since the establishment of the county, but rather to give the reader an idea of the first schools in the county and the progress that has been made through legislation and methods, etc., up to the present time.

School Houses

As soon as a few settlements were formed the people began to make preparations for schools. The settlements were far apart at first and pupils were obliged to travel long distances, three, and even four, miles. The first school buildings were usually crude, temporary concerns, designed to meet the immediate needs of the people until the settlements became more numerous and financially stronger.

The following were among the early buildings which were more or less typical of the buildings throughout the county. District No. 2, town of LaGrange - School house, 12x16 feet ; shed roof. District No. 2, town of Sheldon - Small building made of unhewn logs of uneven length, some extending two or three feet beyond the end of building. This building was roofed with slabs to match the logs, that is, some of them terminated at the edge of the roof and others projecting downward three or four feet, and some even projected upward above the ridge of the roof. This building was banked with clay about two feet high all around, except at the door, to keep out the cold. In order to save labor the banking was allowed to remain during the summer months so that it would be on hand for the next winter. The door was home-made and so low that full-grown boys and girls were obliged to stoop to get in and out. It is not known why the door was made this size unless it was to teach the pupils to stoop so tht'V iniglit not forget to bow to tlic master on entering the building, or perhaps it was to teaeli them that tliey must stoop in order to avoid many liard knocks in life's journey. No doubt some of the first school buildings Avere better than those above described and some worse in some respects. Generally the first school buildings were small, cheap, poorly lighted, with no ventilation and little or no regard for appearances.

The desks were made of Avhite pine and long enough to seat from twelve to sixteen pupils. In one school that the writjer has in mind there were only two long desks in the school house. They were about sixteen feet long, extending lengthwise of the building, one on each side, with a seat in front of each desk for the little folks. The larger pupils occupied the seat behind the desks. Usually, hoAvever, the desks Avould seat from six to eight pupils, and extended crosswise of the room. Arranged in two rows, with one end of each desk against the wall, leaving only one aisle in tlie middle of the room. This arrangement made it very unhandy to get and out of seats, as the pupils frequently were obliged to pass four or five others in order to get out of their seat to go to the recitation and, of course, go through the same process to get back to their places. The desks Avere all of the same size, no alloAvance being made for different sizes of pupils.

Later the desks Avere made to accommodate the various sizes of pupils. A fcAv samples of those desks may still be found in the schools, but most of llicni are factory made double desks, and eA'en those are giving Avay to the single desk.

Subjects And Methods

Reading. Avriting, aritlmicti.' and spelling Aveie carried l)y all of the pupils, and grammai-, geography and history by some of the larger ones. In teaching reading the A, B, C method Avas used, that is, the pupils had to go through the long, tedious process of learning the alphabet before they began to read. Spelling Avas mostly oral and at least two trials Avere given on a Avord. Since the pupils did not carry many studies they made up for this to some extent by reciting in reading and spelling four times a day. Some schools had reading of the Bible and prayer CA'ery morning. History Avas sometimes used as a reader, the teacher asking a few questions after the lesson Avas read. Pupils that read in the history Avere looked upon by the other pupils as being good scholars. There was no classification of the school by forms or grades, and as a rule no record was kept of the work done by the pupils, and of course no record left for the guidance of the new teacher. Not unfrequently the pupils were started in at the beginning of the books they brought with them the first day, regardless of what they covered the year before. This seems like a great waste of time, and it was, but there was one redeeming feature, namely, that some subjects were reviewed so often that they were firmly fixed in the pupils' minds. Perhaps manual training should have been added to the branches taught in those early days.

This was pursued by the larger boys who happened to possess good pocket knives, without the aid or consent of the teacher. The white pine desks being excellent material to carve in, pupils would sometimes cut the forms of horses and other objects in the desk and carve their names also. This, of course, was not sanctioned bj^ the teacher, yet it was common to find desks bearing such marks.

Apparatus

The inside of the school buildings as a rule were in keeping with the outside appearance. There was no library or reference books of any kind. Webster's unabridged dictionary was the only book outside of texts, and that was furnished free by the state. There was usually a partial supply of maps, and occasionally a reading chart. The blackboard was composed of boards nailed together and painted. This was as a rule poor in quality and very insufficient in quantity. A piece 3x4 feet was all that some schools had. Ciphering and sometimes writing exercises were performed with slate and pencil. It was a rare thing to see a pupil using pencil and paper.

Teachers Boarding Around

During the first ten or fifteen years after the county was organized, the teachers boarded around, that is, the teacher boarded free of charge with the various families in the district that sent children to school. The teacher stayed with each family in proportion to the number of pupils that attended school, usually one M^eek for each pupil. Boarding around had some advantage over the present system, as it afforded the teacher an opportunity to get acquainted with the parents and home life of the children, thus enabling the various parties to understand each other better. The parents and pupils looked forward to the teaelier coming as an important event, and you may be sure the teacher got the best the family att'orded. But there was another side to the boarding ai'oiiiid lliat was not so pleasant for the teacher, namely, the accommodations were not always what was desirable and the teacher was expected to entertain or be entertained to such an extent that she had little time that she could call her own or devise plans for presenting the various subjects. The teacher was looked upon as the most important personage in the district, and no Avedding or other social event was considered complete unless the teacher was present. The teacher was supposed to be tiie best informed person in the whole district. The following lines from the "Desertetl Village'' portrays the opinion of his knowledge held by the country folks:

" 'Twas certain he could write and cipher, too; Lands he could measure, terms and tides presage, And e'en, the story ran, that he could gauge; In arguing, too, the parson owned his skill. For e'en though vanquished, he could argue still; AYhile words of learned strength and thundering sound, Amazed the gaping rustics ranged around ; And still they gazed and still the wonder grew, That one small head could carry all he knew."

The schools of each town were in charge of a man known as township superintendent. The duties of the town superintendent were to supervise the schools and grant licenses to teachers. Those ofificers were usually paid $1.50 a day Avhen in service of the town. The teacher's examination comprised much fewer subjects than at the present time. The examination Avas mostly oral with enough writing to give the applicant an opportunity to show her writing. This .system was abolished in 18G2 and the county superintendenc}^ established.

Teachers And Wages

In those early days there were a much larger proportion of male teachers than at the present. The male teachers, as a rule, taught only the winter term and did not make teaching a business. The spring terms were usually taught by ladies. As a rule the teachers of this early period were not up in professional and academic knowledge with the t(>achers of the present tinu\ but from the standpoint of maturity they were ahead. They were men and women, as a rule, out of their teens. The frequent change of teachers and poor attendance were among the main obstacles to progress. "Wages varied very much as at the present time. They ranged from $1.50 a Aveek to $16 or $20 a month, and the teachers boarded around and taught every other Saturday. In some instances the wages were as high, or higher, then as at the present time, but those were exceptions.

Modes Of Punishment

In the early history of the county school government was a much bigger proposition than it is today. This was due to several things, namely, to size of pupils, lack of sufficient employment, and to the general attitude of the people regarding punishment. In those days boys and girls attended school, especially during the winter months, until they were grown up, eighteen and twenty years of age. Many of them carried only a few branches, and of course were not busy all of the time, and therefore were harder to control. Then, too, many of the parents seemed to think that punishment was a necessary part of the child's education, and in some way a knowledge of the "three R's" should be seasoned and worked into the individual by a liberal use of the rod. The words: were based on the methods and beliefs of those days. The schoolmaster that did not do considerable punishing was not thought to be doing his full duty. However, many of them measured up to the expectations of the district. As a rule there was plenty of timber near the schoolhouses and the teacher usually knew enough about foresting to be able to select the toughest switches, and he knew also that by laying them on the heated stove for a while it would add to their elasticity. Several of these w^ell-seasoned switches were generally on hand and placed in a conspicuous position, usually over the blackboard. Sometimes those switches would mysteriously disappear and no one could account for their whereabouts. However, a new supply was easily secured, seasoned and put up. Should the master's supply of switches become exhausted during the session periods

The prevailing method of punishment Avas striking witii the rod on the palm of the hand and on the finger tips. This was rather severe and much dreaded by the small and middle-sized boys, for the boys got most of the punishment. But to the lullgrown boys it was considered a game in which it was the teacher's part to strike, and the boy's part to catch the rod before the teacher pulled it back. If the rod was caught it was broken and then the stub was used, and the game went on till the rod became too short. It is only fair to say that the above methods of bringing the refractory pupils to time was practiced chiefiy by the male teachers, but w^as by no means unknown to the gentler sex. About the most dreaded punishment meted out to the boys was to have a boy sit between two girls for an hour or so. This would cause the bashful country boy to blush profusely, and usually it was not necessary to repeat the punishment very soon. The following lines illustrate this fairly well :

"Some playful wight perchance was doomed to sit Between two girls, as retribution fit For his crimes; and so he learned e'en then The truth that comes in time to all young men : 'Tis more than twice as hard for Adam's son

Other methods of punishment which were more or less general, were pulling the ears, slapping the face, and taking by the collar and given a shaking, etc. Corporal punishment seemed to be more freely used at home and at school than at the present time. Those having the training of children in charge have found out that it is possible to train children properly with little or no corporal punishment. Perhaps it should not be dispensed with all together, but should be rai'cly used.

It is possible in most cases to keep a pupil under control through fear, hut that is not the proper way, for it destroys the confidence and affection the pupil should have for the teacher, without which it' is impossible to get the best results. The good teacher who possesses sufficient knowledge and ability to teach and whose heart is in the work will generally have no difficulty witli government. On the other hand the teacher who is una])le. on account of academic or professional knowledge, to interest her school will find government (juitc a problem.

One feature of the eountrV school that has about gone out of practice is the old-fashioned spelling school. These spellingschools were held frequently during the winter term, and were participated in by old and young alike. Sometimes one school Avould spell against another, but occasionally two persons were appointed to choose sides, regardless of schools, and everyone in the room was given an opportunity to spell, but only those that considered themselves good spellers accepted. Those in the contest would take a position by the side of the leader and two lines were formed that would reach around the room.

Those that missed took their seats and of course the one that stood last won. Usually the winner was expected to spell three M'ords after the others were down. After the spelling contest there were reading and speaking. The spelling school was looked upon as quite a social event and was attended by people for miles around. Another means of enjoyment and intellectual improvement were the debates which were usually held during the winter terms also. The questions were usually practical and simple.

The men and large boys took part in the discussions. The interest taken in those discussions may be shown by stating t!iat it was common for people to walk three or four miles to hear and take part in the discussion. ]\Iany a farmer and town official will own today that the foundation for expressing his thoughts clearly, to think logically when standing before people, was laid in the old-fashioned debating society. A literary society in which debates receive a prominent part should be a part of every country school where there are a sufficient number to carry it on successfully.

During the early history, as has been stated before. a])out the only book found in the school house outside of the text books, was Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. In 1887 there was enacted a township library law. This law provided that 10 cents should be reserved from the school fund for each pupil between four and twenty years in the district, the money to be used in purchasing books. But for the first eight years of this law it Avas optional with the town treasurer whether or not the money was set aside for this purpose.

Many of the treasurers did not see fit to do tliis and for a while the growth of the district lil)raries Avas slow. In 189.5 tlie law was made mandatory and since then there has been a rapid additiun to the JiuiiihiT oL' l)ooks in llic libraries. I'nlil about seveu years ago the town elei-ks bad the i)Ower to select the books and since that official usually did not know just what books to select. Ju' did not alwaj's make the best selections and there were nuuiy duplications.

The county or district superintendent noAV makes the selecr tion I'oi- ail the schools under his jurisdiction. He usually asks the teachers to recommend the books they desire and 1)y this method suitable books are generally ])rocured. At first the law provided that the books pass from one district to another so that all the pupils might get the benefit of the books. This was nice in theory but did not work out so well in practice for no one felt or could be held responsible for the books and the card catalogue would be ineflt'ective.

Now the books are selected for the needs and conditions of a particular district and are not changed. It is really a district system now, but the name township is still retained. "When the library books were first introduced in the schools, as a rule there were no book cases and the books were kept at the district clerk's home, a part or all of the time, which, of course, Avas not satisfactory.

Now every district has a book case and the books are left in the school house. There is a card catalogue made of the books so that the material they contain is available. These libraries, besides being available for reference work in connection with various subjects, contain interesting and instructive stories for all grades of pupils and also for the adult population of the district. Under the township library law, ^Monroe county spends about $1,000 a year for library books.

These books are distributed among the Ho districts of the county in proportion to the number of children between four and twenty years in each district. Each district has a library ranging from seventy-five to 200 books. The thing needed now is to make better use of these books, both for reference and general reading and develop in llie boys and girls a desire for good reading.

School Board Convention

In 1005 there was a law enacted requiring each county superintendent to call a convention of the school board members of county annually. About every district in the county was represented in those conventions, and in addition to the local pro-

Those conventions have proven to be a very important factor in improving the rural schools. They have been the means of acquainting the board members more fully with their duties, powers and responsibilities, have increased their interest in the schools and emphasized the importance of sufficient apparatus, and the necessity of obtaining good teachers. These meetings were held in school buildings that were models with respect to seating, black boards, light and general apparatus, thus giving a good idea of suitable building and equipment. These meetings also helped standardize the schools of the county. At first some objected to the law on the ground that it was a useless expense without producing any good results, but time has proven that the objections were unfounded. There is no question whatever regarding the benefit of this law and the trifling cost of the districts is insignificant when compared with the benefits.

Compulsory Attendance Law

For a great many years there has been a compulsory school law, but until recently it has been practically a dead letter, for the reason that the school board was to enter complaints against parents or guardians that were not sending their children. The board was not compelled to report and there was no penalty for not reporting, and for the further reason that the board did not like to make enemies of their neighbors l)y informing on them, they did not report. About five years ago the Compulsory Attendance Law was changed and made it the duty of the teacher to enter the complaint instead of the school board. It is mandatory on the part of the teacher to enter the complaint, with a penalty if it is not done. At present pupils between seven and fourteen years and not more than two miles from the school house by the traveled road are required to attend school at least six months.

Pupils between fourteen and sixteen years must attend the same time unless they are regularly employed. The law, as it now stands, is quite effective and has been the means of giving many neglected children the opportunity of attending school.

Yet the law is not enforced as rigidly as it should be, and many live over the two-mile limit and can not be reached. During the time this new law has been in force many parents have been notified by the truant officer, the county sheriff, to send their children, but there have been no prosecutions. It is not clear to school people why any parent could be so indiflfereut to the future welfare of his children as to deny them tiie opportunity of a fair chance in life by neglecting to give the benefits of the free common schools.

Improvements In Methods Of Teaching

There is quite a contrast between the old methods and those of the present time. For instance, the child was obliged to go through the slow and tedious process of learning the alphabet, A, B, C's, before beginning to read. These letters were to be learned in order, backward, and in a promiscuous arrangement. Then the pupil was taught to pronounce short words of one. two and three letters.

This lacked interest also because the words were usually abstract and meant nothing to the child. Yet boys and girls learned to read by this unpedagogical system. Now the cliild begins to read by being introduced to a familiar word representing an object as - apple, ball, etc., or perhaps the Avord is used in a sentence, as "Roll the ball," and the child acts it out by actually rolling the ball on the floor or on the teacher's desk; thus making the reading interesting and instructive from the start. The books for primary children, especially the readers, have been greatly improved and made more interesting for little folks. The old text books were written mostly on the question and answer plan, and if the pupils gave the answers, they were not usually asked to go into an explanation as to the meaning. There has been quite an improvement in text books as Avell as in the methods of teaching.

Classification By Grades

Years ago the pupils' scholarsliip was dctci-niincd largely l)y the number of the "Reader" that he read in, and if a boy was asked how far he was in school he would answer, "Third Reader" or "Fourth Reader," as the case might be. Later there was a course of study gotlcii oul by ttie state which divided the work of the schools into three parts, called forms, and were known as the primary, middle and upper form.

This was quite an improvement on the old way and led to a more definite classification of pupils and better records of the work done by the individual popils and was also the means of having the pupils take up more of the branches in the course. Li 1906 the graded system was introduced. This system divides the course into eight parts called grades, and it is supposed that an ordinary pupil, that is, a pupil of average ability, good health, that attends regularly and studies well, will be able to complete a grade in a year and finish the course in eight or nine years.

This is more definite than the three-form system, because it marks off the course into years instead of bunching it into threeyear parts. This system is the same as is used in state graded schools and in the grades below the high school, and is nothing new. The graded system works nicely in the country schools of the county. It is especially helpful to the young and inexperienced teacher, and makes the work more definite for all, besides pupils moving from one district to another can readily find their place in the new school. The graded system is not yet generally adopted by the counties of the state. In fact, it is not known that any of them outside of Monroe county uses it. However, it is believed that it will be generally adopted before many years as the manual of the course of study outlines some of the work by years which is about the same thing. A year's work corresponding to a grade.

Free Tuition For The Common School Graduate

Some twenty years ago a law was passed which permits pupils holding common school diplomas to attend any high school in the state free of tuition. That is, the pupil did not have to pay it, but the town in which the pupil resides pays the tuition, which is $2 a month. This free tuition law stimulated many country people that would not have done so if they had to pay the tuition directly, to send their children to high school. Thus it may be seen that many a boy and girl get a high school education through the merits of this law.

Heating And Ventilating System

About four years ago a law was passed off'ering each school $50 each year for three years on condition that the district would make certain improvements in apparatus, chief among them was to put in an approved heating and ventilating plant. It was claimed for this system that it would heat the room uniformly and keep the air fresh.

Whether those plants will heat as quickly and as cheaply as the injacketed stove is a question that there is a difference of opinion on. However, it is certain that the ventilation is much improved and the room more healthful and conditions for study much better. Nearly every district in the county took advantage of the law which shows that board members were ready to make use of opportunities for llie betterment of the physical and nuMital development of the ehildren. While tliese plants are not doing all that was elaimed for them and the usual unfair means and misrepresentations were practiced in jnany cases in order to make sales, the law has proven very helpful for it lias been tlie means of supplying necessities to the school.

Writing

One of tiie most important subjects and the one that has received the least attention or no attention at all is penmanship. Neither the time nor the attention has been given to this subject that it inerits. There are several reasons for this but the chief one is that the teacher has received no special training in this subject and, of course, could not impart knowledge that she did not possess. Usually ten or fifteen miiuites was devoted to writing each day but as there was no system to follow, it was turned into a go as you please exercise. Yet in spite of lack of method of system, many developed into fairly good writers. For a couple of years this subject has received its share of attention at teachers meetings and institutes which has paved the way for the free arm movement whidi is being introduced, and it is hoped that the school will turn out easy legible writers. To be a good writer is quite an accomplishment and any one tliat has proper control of his muscles, can by careful practice under proper instruction come into possession of this art.

The teachers on the whole are better prepared academically and professionally, although many of our teachers are too young to shoulder the great responsibility that they undertake; in fact some of them do not reali/A' the enormity of the undertaking. Years ago it was common to find young men and young women attending school especially in the winter months.

Now if you would travel the county over, you would not find any full grown boys and gii'ls in attendance. The average pupil of 12 and 13 years of age today is as far advanced as the 18 and 20 year old pupil was 20 years ago. But where are those boys and girls 14 years of age and upwards.' They are not in the country school; some of them are in the high school but most of them are out of school altogether. It is to be regretted that the boys and girls leave the country school so early. Our Avhole school 'system has been severely criticized lately and the common schools came in for their share and no doubt it Avas coming to them. Yet the country teacher with her multiplicity of duties has more to do than any one person can do well. She must be janitor, nurse, disciplinarian, and mediator, besides teaching all the branches.

The teacher that can do this fairly well is the best of teachers, and it may be said without successful contradiction that the country school gets better returns for the amount of money invested in education tlian any other school in the state.