School Then and Now
Background for Teachers
How Did One-Room Schools Work?
One-room schools were built approximately every four miles in Johnson County. Each was run by a three-man school board elected by the community. Once a year, the entire community would meet to decide how long the school year would be, how much to pay the teacher, and what supplies to buy for the school. Even though the school board reported to the County Superintendent, each school was independent to run its own affairs.
Recitations
Recitations were the primary teaching method of the early 1900s. Teachers emphasized correct answers rather than the method students used to solve problems. Memorization was considered to be important, and mental exercises in which students analyzed sentences or worked complicated arithmetic problems in their head were stressed.
Recitations took many forms:
- The teacher asked a student a question about the assignment, and the student answered. The student answering the most questions correctly received a mark.
- The students stood in line, and as a student answered a question correctly, he moved in front of those students who had not answered correctly. The student at the head of the line at the end of the lesson received a mark for that day’s lesson. This was known as “head marks.”
- Students were often asked to memorize a poem, a famous speech, or a quotation and they were called to the recitation bench to recite that.
- Students were called to the board and the teacher read the students’ arithmetic problems. The student who worked the problem the fastest and correctly received a mark. Primary students worked simple problems on their slates, which they held up for the teacher to see.
- Mental arithmetic was considered an all important skill. Often a class was asked to do long multiplication and division in their heads. Then the teacher asked for the answer. The student with a correct answer for the day received a mark.
- For geography lessons, students were called to the board and asked to draw detailed maps of the countries or continents they were studying.
- Students were also expected to memorize the names of states, countries, and continents, as well as oceans, rivers and capitals. Geography bees were held to quiz the students on this information.
At the end of each recitation, the teacher gave the students a new lesson to study for the next recitation. While one group of students was with the teacher, the other children worked at their desks on assignments. Older children helped younger children with their lessons, and the younger children learned from hearing the older children recite. Since recitations took about ten to fifteen minutes each, students had plenty of time to complete their lessons. Homework was not assigned; the children were expected to finish their work in class.
There was one thing that all did together and that was penmanship. Young children were taught cursive writing from their first day, and they could participate with the older children. The primary grades practiced on their slates, while the older children used pens, nibs, and ink. The children had copy books in which they practiced their writing.
Discipline in a One-Room School
In the early 1900s, Americans lived by the rule “Spare the rod, spoil the child.” Teachers kept leather straps, paddles, or switches with which to spank children. Often, if a child received a spanking in school, he would receive another when he got home. Being kept in, either during the noon hour or after school, was the punishment most hated by children. Being kept after school could result in a spanking at home because a child would be late for his chores.
Although children spent more time with adults than children do today, they were always expected to be quiet and respectful. A slap across the face often corrected a sassy child.
