The Daily Telegram

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1912.

One Room School Houses In Illinois.

Labelling country school houses so that every citizen may know whether his school is up to standard is the device of the Illinois state school authorities, according to information received at the United States Bureau of Education.

The schools are inspected as to ground, building, furnishings, heating ventilation, library, water supply, sanitation, and qualifications of the teacher. If the essentials of a good school are found present a diploma is granted, the district and a plate is placed above the door of the school-house designating it as a "Standard School". Upon fulfillment of certain further requirements a higher diploma will be issued and the plate will read "Superior School".

Already 657 of the 10,532 one room school houses in Illinois have earned the right to be called standard schools and to display the plate accordingly.

This interesting device is part of a vigorous campaign waged by the state of Illinois in behalf of rural schools. Two experts on rural education, U. J. Hoffman and W. S. Booth, under the direction of Hon. F. G. Blair, state superintendent of public instruction, are devoting their entire time to the country and village schools.

Illinois does not merely ask that the schools be brought up to standard, the state tells how it can be done. In a bulletin sent to every teacher in the state the requirements for a standard school are set forth. Among the specifications are: An ample playground; good approaches to the school; convenient fuel houses; the building, sound, in good repair, and painted; improved heating arrangements a jacketed stove in the corner of the room instead of an unprotected stove in the center; floor and interior of the building clean and tidy; suitable desks for children of all ages properly placed; a good collection of juvenile books, maps, and dictionaries; a sanitary water supply; the school well organized with regular attendance and at least seven months' schooling every year; the teacher must have not less than a high-school education, receive a salary of at least $360 per annum, and be ranked by the county superintendent as a good or superior teacher.

The more ambitious districts, aspiring to the "superior" diplomas, will have to meet the following additional requirements: A playground of at least one-half acre, level, covered with good grass, and provided with trees and shrubs; a sanitary drinking appliance; separate cloak rooms for boys and girls; room lighted from one side or from one side and rear; adjustable windows fitted with good shades; heat provided by basement or room furnace, with proper arrangements for removal of bad air and admission of pure air; at least eighty library books, ten suitable for each grade; two good pictures on the wall; provision for instruction in agriculture, manual training, and domestic arts; the teacher to be a high school graduate with normal training and to receive at least $480 per annum; the work outlined in the state course of study to be well done.

The Illinois authorities do not expect to see this movement for betterment of the one room schools interfere in any way with the natural development of consolidated schools; but believing, as they do, that because of the scattered farming population of Illinois one room schools will be necessary for many years, they seek to make this type so efficient for the community that a desire will be created among the citizens in rural communities for greater educational advantages for their children.