Last week we were talking a little about the resurgence of homeschooling and how that was the original education method. In America today we have schools across the country ranging in sizes 10 students (according to a 2015 article on The 74) to 8015 students in Acero School in Chicago (per Largest.org in 2019) with the average being 526 students.

Now I don’t know how they are setup in Wyoming with only 10 students, but the earliest schools in the US – and in fact, many schools in Rural America up until the 1940’s, had only a few students and only 1 teacher. These one room schools are still fondly remembered by their last surviving pupils and they did a fine job educating them.

Back in 2015 I shared an article here about the various little schools spread across Fentress County. While some of them grew before finally being consolidated by the county, all began in a single classroom.

I’ve heard a few stories about days spent in these one room schools. Being the teacher of 2 elementary children now, I can hardly imagine 10 or more! I’ve heard about the teacher putting the youngest children on the front row, about spelling bees for the whole school and younger siblings visiting for a day. My grandparents and even my Daddy remembered their days in these little schools with great fondness.

Books were scarce and most kids did their work on a slate instead of paper. I wonder how much homework they took home in a day when everyone had to work to keep a little farm going. Yet those schools taught the fundamentals of education better than some of our fully-furnished schools do today. A 2003 study found 19% of high school graduates to be functionally illiterate. Perhaps the reading level to function in the 21st century is higher than what was required in the 20’s or 30’s but I’m pretty confident those little one-room schools were turning out students that could keep a ledger of their bills (I have little notebooks by Grandparents and Great Grandparents where they did just that, recording people who did work for them, bills owed to a doctor or the local merchant), read The Bible and write a decent letter. Both of my grandfathers stayed in school only until the 3rd grade and my paternal grandfather had most of the book of Revelation memorized – that’s some pretty functional reading in my mind. I certainly hope my two students will come away from our homeschooling experience in as good of shape as those men were after three years in a one room school.

I would dearly love for you to share in the comments below any stories you’ve heard about them.

Most all of the old buildings are long gone now. They were often log, and often located in areas that are now off the beaten path. The old people on the mountain don’t often get sentimental, especially about buildings. My Grandpa said they would throw up a house (or school house) in a day; then whenever they could do a little better, they were always replacing those old buildings.

I’ve realized that I failed to follow up on that 2015 article and I want to revisit this History of Education, Fentress County, Tennessee booklet next week. It has pictures of about 40 schools want to share more of them with you!