Another grammer school memory

Richard G. · Feb 14, 2014

Back in the 50's, we went to school in the summer and when cotton was ready to pick, school let out because so many kids had to help on the farm. It could get very hot in the classrooms and we had one old loud fan in the front to move some air. Many of us went to school barefooted and in shorts to try to stay cool. When they changed the school year to start in late summer and go through the fall and winter, quite a few kids had to miss school to stay home and pick cotton.
The newer part of the school that was built in the early 50's had tile over concrete and on humid days would sweat. You could sure bust your butt on those floors.
Richard in NW SC

Tom in TN · Feb 14, 2014

Richard,

I grew up in Northeastern Ohio. The high school that I attended opened in 1958. Tile floors. Painted cement block walls. No air conditioners.

That school is exactly the same today as it was back then except a couple of small wings have been added for band and special education. The building has been well maintained over the years and should last for another 50 years.

There's a lot of waste in the public school system. If it isn't new and doesn't have the latest "look" to it, many people want to tear it down and build new.

I like the good, functional stuff regardless of its age.

Tom in TN

Goose · Feb 14, 2014

My father and I both went to the same one room country grade school, although obviously quite a few years apart.

I can't really think of anything notable that happened while I was a student there, but my father told a story of when he went there.

The school have a coal/wood stove in one corner, and one winter my father mixed a handful of .22 short rifle shells in a wad of gum and sat at his desk chomping on it. As he expected, the teacher told him to throw his gum in the stove. He did. It blew the stove pipe down.

He also told of the first day of school one year when they had a new young man for a teacher. The first day of school, the kids ran rampant with no effort at discipline from the teacher. The kids thought they were going to have an easy and fun year.

The second morning, the teacher sat at his desk, whacked the desk several times with a heavy ruler, and said, "OK, yesterday you kids did things your way. For the rest of the school year, things are going to go MY way".

And they did.

Richard G. · Feb 14, 2014

Tom, the school I attended. Oakway school had the 'newer' buildings for grades 1-6 and the old brick 2 story building that had 8 rooms for the higher grades. There was an older brick 4 room building also for the higher grades. We had a superintendent and no secretary. I was so mad when they tore down the brick buildings. They had the tall windows and high ceilings and were very stout structures. The 2 story was built in 1924. The older one had burned at one time and was rebuilt inside the walls. There is a high school that is being built in our county right now that is costing over 55 million. We have 4 high schools in the county.
I believe the states should come up with 2 or 3 school designs and tell the counties, if they want state funds, they pick one of the designs. Could save a ton of money.
Richard

greenmech · Feb 14, 2014

I went to a country school for six years with the same teacher the whole time. I think she did a fine job with us. Ron Mn

Anonymous-0 · Feb 14, 2014

I went to a one room country school through the 4th grade. Same teacher, potbelly stove, just got electricity the year before I started 1st grade. I learned more those first four year's than I did the next eight. They taught the everyday basics of life which I still use today, which the kid's now days don't have a clue about. Local city district wants to spend 75 million on new school and renovations. They're older buildings are in great shape as I have been in some of them recently. I guess I am just old fashioned, but it just seems a waste. They say they are doing it for the kids, but I have to disagree. Let the people that want the new buildings pay for them, and it would be a different story.

LAA · Feb 14, 2014

We used to get out for cotton harvest, they would also let you do your work ahead of time and take school work with you if you were showing livestock at the State Fair.

Dick2 · Feb 14, 2014

I went to rural school the first 8 grades. When I went to high school, I was able to start and keep going, but some kids came the first day for registration and then didn't come back to school for 2-4 weeks later after they finished grain harvest.

In the rural school that I went to, the furnace was in the basement. One kid threw a couple shotgun shells into the firebox and ran up the stairs. When those shells went off, all of the pipes and heating ducts came apart.

All the kid,s Dads had to work on the school the next day to repair everything and put it back together. The big coal furnace firebox had to be taken apart and re-sealed also before we could go back to school.

EricInSEI · Feb 14, 2014

But when school sizes vary from 300 to 3,000 students 3 designs wouldn't work. And in some states they have consolidated high schools with only 50 student in 4 grades.

Richard G. · Feb 14, 2014

Schools could be built in sections and add more sections for more students. Could also be built side by side in sections.
Richard

Prawn Farmer · Feb 14, 2014

We had 4 grades per teacher/classroom. We got out of school at 2pm as our 5-6-7-8th grade teacher/principal had to be at his "real job" as a butcher in a grocery store by 3 pm. We had about 8 kids per grade and had baseball only as there was no gym.

Another grammer school memory

Richard G.

Well-known Member

Tom in TN

Well-known Member

Goose

Well-known Member

Richard G.

Well-known Member

greenmech

Well-known Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

LAA

Well-known Member

Dick2

Well-known Member

EricInSEI

Member

Richard G.

Well-known Member

Prawn Farmer

Member

Similar threads