Talk:One-room school
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[edit] blurb for Did You Know
...that one-room schools were commonplace throughout rural portions of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries? All of the students met in a single room, and a single teacher taught reading, writing and arithmetic to seven grade levels of boys and girls. (Image:Williamson School one-room school in Blanch Caswell County North Carolina.jpg) Vaoverland 06:46, Apr 25, 2005 (UTC)
on April 26, 2005, while on main page, revised to:
...that one-room schools were commonplace throughout rural portions of the United States, Canada and Australia until the early 20th century, and that they continue in some parts of Ireland today?
[edit] More pics
I'll try and remember to upload some more photos, from historic sites. -- user:zanimum
[edit] timeline
The article states that most one room schools were gone by WWII. That may be true, but there were still plenty operating up through the 1950s west of the Mississippi river. As recently as the late 1990's I met a young woman who was a teacher at a one room school in western Nebraska.
They still exist in France ! Ericd 21:15, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Should this be at One-room schools in the United States ?
It seems odd that there could be a reasonable globally-defined article about one-room schools, just as it would be odd to have an article about one-room houses of worship throughout the world. This article was clearly originally written from a US perspective, and there has really been only one small addition about one-room schools in Ireland, which itself only shows that the idea of the "one-room school" is far from a coherent global phenomenon, and the roles and function of a "one-room school" is totally different in different countries. As One-room schools in the United States is 90+% of the article's content, and the article was probably written just because the one-room schoolhouse is such a US cultural icon, idealized in Little House on the Prairie etc., I suggest the article be moved, at least for the time being. If someone can demonstrate that a reasonable globally-defined article can be written (which I think is soomewhat doubtful), covering not just the US, but also other countries including the many one-room schools in the third world in an integrated way such that it makes a meaningful whole, then of course I would support a move back.--Pharos 23:24, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)
- No; The article should not be moved. The universality of the article can be preserved by the addition of material from other places, and this also supports NPOV. Of course, the article could be 'forked' and the material specific to the U.S.A. used to create the article you suggest. However, why not just expand this article with further examples, and pull the specific material under one section / sub-heading? Peter Ellis 23:54, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)
- One-room, one-teacher schools are not only a cultural phenomenon of America. My mother and her siblings attended a one-room school in a farming area about 30km from Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, during the 1930s. Several of the children rode on a horse from the farm, until she as the youngest got a hand-me-down bicycle. Her parents had attended one-room schools. Peter Ellis 00:03, 27 Apr 2005 (UTC)
I certainly did not mean that one-room schools are only a phenomenon in the United States, but on the contrary that while this article is basically about the United States, the whole global cultural experience of one-room schools is much broader, perhaps too broad to even have a coherent article on "one-room schools" generally. I imagine that there may be some similarities in the pedagogical tradition of English-speaking countries (even these would be rather broad), but it strains the mind to think of the few really general things that could be said about one-room schools around the world (that they tend to be rural and have only one teacher, is the most I can come up with). I, for one, am rather surprised at the Chinese version of this article, which seems like a pretty direct translation; surely there is something to be said about one-room schools in China! Do you see my point?--Pharos 00:43, 27 Apr 2005 (UTC)
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- I concur with Peter Ellis that the article has universality and should not be moved at this time. The challenge to teach children of a variety of ages in a single room (and for those children to learn effectively) is not confined to the US. The original author attempted to put in more perspectives by referring as an example to the Australian Robert Menzies. There are very strong pedagocical similarities in English-speaking countries. Other features associated with one-room schools apply to more than the US - the statement about the availability of school buses leading to the decline in numbers of these schools applies in Australia too. Traditions elsewhere in the world including China need to be captured by more knowledgeable Wikipedians - as the article is only new (less than 2 days old as it was created 25 April) it should be given a chance to develop - it has obviously gained a high profile from being featured on the Wikipedia front page. --AYArktos 00:53, 27 Apr 2005 (UTC)
I originally started the article, and yes, the focus was U.S. I knew little on the subject as far as other countries, etc. However, in the few days of the article's existence so far, I have learned more and more about the similar schooling arrangements in rural locations of other countries. That is exactly what Wikipedia does very well, for me and a lot of others.
Obviously, one-room schools are a subject of interest to people from all over the world (literally, perhaps?). It seems to me that we can build on the diversity with sections for areas within this article, at least until added content leads us to a need for separate articles. Thats my vote for now, keep adding content folks, and we'll sort it out, OK? Mark in Richmond. Vaoverland 03:05, Apr 27, 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Eureka School house photo - VT
I'm not sure if you need more photos for this page, but I just uploaded my photo of the first one-room in Vermont so please add it if you want some northeast representation. It was in continuous use until 1900 and has been restored H0n0r 02:13, 28 May 2006 (UTC)
