A total of thirty-two lessons, ranging from A B C's to Physical Geography and Civil Government.

Another one-teacher school program in daily operation:

Here is a teacher actually attempting to teach each day: three different history classes; nine reading classes; four arithmetic and two algebra classes; two grammar, one language, one rhetoric, and two spelling classes; two classes in geography, and one in physical geography; two classes in physiology and one in civil government; making a total of thirty-one classes, covering almost a complete primary and grammar school curriculum with a few high school subjects added. The task is manifestly an impossible one. It is from three to five times what is expected of good teachers in our best city common schools, where usually only one grade is taught by one teacher, or in the high schools, where one teacher usually teaches only one, two or three subjects.

The above daily program gives no exaggerated impression of the difficulties usually present in the one-teacher schools.

III. THE CONSOLIDATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS

The movement for the consolidation of rural schools has been of much more fundamental importance as a means of solving the rural-school problem, and rather remarkable results have been achieved in a few states within the past twenty-five years. While more or less attempted in almost all of our American states, it is only in the township-unit or the county-unit states that the plan has met with any marked success. The movement, west of the Alleghanies, began in Ohio in 1892, and the following report of an investigating committee, sent out by the Michigan State Grange in 1900 to visit and report on the Ohio schools, describes the usual conditions and results. The report of the committee is quite long, and is given in full in the Report of the State Superintendent of Michigan for 1901, pp. 26-30, but the following extracts from the report illustrate both the methods of work and the findings of the committee.

Report of the Michigan State Grange

1. Madison Township, Ohio

The superintendent of the schools of Madison township assured us that "the experiment of centralization was no longer an experiment, but had come to stay, and that as soon as suitable buildings could be secured large enough to accommodate the pupils, all of the districts would be brought into central schools." The people

of the individual districts are demanding to be centralized, the opposition to the plan has long since died out; yet in the beginning the people were quite evenly divided, and a bitter controversy ensued. This fact your committee found to be the general condition, that wherever the plan was proposed it met at first with determined opposition but, once started, the objection melted away, and the population affected were equally averse to going back to the original districts. This was the testimony at every place visited by your committee.

In this township we visited each school, and met and talked with the drivers of the wagons. We took pains to meet at their homes a large number of the farmers, and from that source gathered a mass of information, which can best be compiled in a few true

statements.

No one was found who for any reason desired to go back to the subdistricts. There were many who acknowledged having originally opposed centralization, but were now among its strongest advocates. The enrollment of pupils is increased upwards of 20 per cent, while the average enrollment for last year was 96 per cent of enrollment; this is a result of transportation. The people usually are agreed that especially with younger children there is less sickness because of less exposure. No accidents have ever occurred with their wagons. Very much depends upon the driver.

As much care should be exercised in the selection of drivers as of teachers.

The wagons were usually covered and made comfortable with robes, soap-stones, and in some instances, oil stoves. In this township not a single instance of complaint against the plan of conveyance could be found. The distances ranged from two to four miles, and at an average cost per wagon of $1.30 per day, with an average load of fifteen pupils. The drivers say that the children seem to enjoy the ride, very seldom give any trouble, are never tardy, have no wet feet or clothing, and are very regular in attendance.

Mr. Corlett, a member of the board of education, who at first was a very strong opponent of centralization and transportation but who is now equally as enthusiastic, says that the township shows a lessened cost as compared with the old system.

Mr. DeForest, one of the heaviest tax-payers of the township, says he does not notice any particular difference in his school taxes, but thinks that much of the success of the plan is due to the good management of the township board of education, and to the energy, ability, and enthusiasm of the township school superintendent.

In one of the centralized districts, originally three districts, the roads are very bad-heavy hills and sticky clay: still the driver reports but one day missed during the year, and that because of heavy snow drifts. The teacher reports the average attendance very good; quite a number of the pupils have been neither absent nor tardy during the year. The three sub-districts had previous to consolidation an enrollment of 21 pupils, or an average of 7 per school, and a per-capita cost of $45; there is now in the one school an enrollment of 35 pupils, and a per-capita cost of $15.50.

2. District Jealousies

The next place visited, Kingsville, is a small village two miles from the railroad, has a township high school, and to this school are conveyed all of the children of the township, except those of a special district at North Kingsville. The school has about 200 pupils, with six teachers and six wagons for the conveyance of about 100 pupils. There were originally nine district schools with twelve teachers, now the one school with six teachers, besides the special district at North Kingsville. Careful inquiry elicited the fact that were it not for the jealousy between the two small villages there would have been but one school, and it was generally conceded that the work done at the central school was very much the best. The school year is nine months. From the township clerk we learned that there was a saving to the township during the first four years of nearly $1000, but since 1896 there has been an increase in the taxation of about 20 per cent over that of the former period. The salaries of teachers are higher, the teamsters receive from $1.00 to $1.50 per day, according to the length of routes. Talking with the drivers we ascertained that they also act as daily mail-carriers. Here, too, we failed to find any people who desired to return to the old conditions. Quite a number asserted that, were they obliged to return to the district plan, they would move elsewhere.

While in Ohio we learned that there was some difficulty with the schools of Starke county, and on returning home letters were sent to New Baltimore inquiring the facts. The replies received were all of the same tenor. Mr. J. B. Bryan writes: "We had for three years a centralized school under control of township board, three subdistricts being abandoned and conveyed to the village of New Baltimore. This was just half of the township. The cost including conveyance was less than under the district system. We had a van for each district abandoned. Drivers were paid from $1.35 to $1.50 per day. Our roads were very bad a portion of the

spring, otherwise quite good during the season. No days were missed, not were the wagons ever late. Generally speaking the patrons of the school were well satisfied. The attendance averaged 120, with no truancy and no tardiness. But the other four districts, seeing that we had some advantages that they were not participating in, were jealous and voted us out. The principal objections were that the children had to leave home a little earlier and got home a little later."

IV. CONSOLIDATION IN DISTRICT-SYSTEM STATES

The usual method followed in attempting to form consolidated districts, in district-system states, is to look over the map of the county and find a group of districts, properly located and with sufficient taxable property, and probably favorably inclined, and then to try to induce such to vote to abolish their district schools, and to create instead a central consolidated school. The following studies are illustrative of this plan :

Rural School Consolidation in Missouri

[From Kunkel, O. L., and Charters, W. W., Rural School Consolidation in Missouri, Bul. Univ. Mo., Educ. Series, Vol. I, No. 2, 1911, pp. 3; 22-28.]

CASE I

The following is a study of a group of districts showing one method of handling the facts. The plan on the opposite page shows:

(1) Boundaries of school districts

(2) Roads

(3) Number of children in each house on each road

(4) Proposed transportation routes.

I. ASSESSED VALUATION. — In this group there are five districts