school permits organization, and the district school does not. Wherever
it has been tried the testimony in favor of consolidation is
overwhelming.

"Comparison," cried one county superintendent in consternation.
"Comparison! There is no comparison. The old one-room school, like the
one-horse plough, has seen its day. The farmers in this country, after
figuring it out, have reached the conclusion that the one-room school is
in the same class with a lot of other old-fashioned machinery--good in
its day, but not good enough for them. That is why over eighty per cent
of our schools have been consolidated. You see it's this way: The
farmers need labor badly, and rather than see their sons go to a school
where they are called on once or twice a day by a sadly overworked
teacher they would put them to work on the farm. The consolidated school
wins them with its good course of study and the boys stay in school."

That is the first, and perhaps the most vital, advantage of the
consolidated school--it permits the enlargement of the course of study.
Sewing, cooking, agriculture, manual training, drawing and music, have
all been introduced, because the teachers have time for them. High
school work has been added, too. The consolidated school, in so far as
the course of study is concerned, is very nearly on a par with the
graded school of the city.

Have you ever attended a one-room country school? If you have not you
can form but the faintest idea of what it means to the teacher. Her day
is so split up with little periods of class work that she can never do
anything thoroughly. Here, for example, is an average schedule of work
for a one-room class in Indiana:

DAILY PROGRAM

FORENOON

Time Class Grade

8:30 Opening Exercises All
8:40 Reading Primary
8:45 Reading First
8:50 Reading Second
8:55 Reading Third
9:00 Reading Sixth
9:10 Grammar Fourth
9:20 Grammar Fifth
9:30 Grammar Sixth
9:40 Grammar Seventh
9:50 Grammar Eighth
10:00 Reading Fourth
10:10 Reading Seventh
10:20 Recess All
10:30 Reading Primary
10:40 Reading First
10:50 Numbers Second
11:00 Numbers Third
11:05 Arithmet