My old country school is finally closing. - Freeze-Frame Radio

WebGuy · Doesn't Do Windows

My old country school is finally closing.

MzHartz · Permanent Vacation

Aw, that's sad.

Lady Strange · 80's Rock Chick

Wow - you must have really grown up in "The Boonies"!

WebGuy · Doesn't Do Windows

Compared to most of you, I'm still living in "The Boonies".

disco strangler · Smiles everyone, smiles!

That's sad...

-- Edited by disco strangler on Wednesday 18th of November 2009 09:06:35 AM

WebGuy · Doesn't Do Windows

Yeah, it is.

The school was its own entity until about five years ago. Then, our state passed a law that sucked all the small schools in to the bigger districts. It was sold to the voters as a way to give the little schools more resources and assistance . . . but in actuality it was just a way to grab more rural tax money into the bigger central districts.

My brother was on the rural school board when that change came through. The next year, the district decided to close this school. My brother filed a protest and then got a spot in the big district meeting. The reason given for closing the school was that it was just too expensive to keep it open. With all the local press there, my brother stood up and showed the figures how this little country school is actually educating these kids at a lower per student cost than the bigger schools. He asked them to look him in the eye and explain how it was too expensive to keep the school open when they are doing it for less than the district . . . they voted to keep the school open at that time.

Now, the problem is that with some students moving up to middle school in town next year, there are simply not enough kids left in the community to justify keeping it open.

disco strangler · Smiles everyone, smiles!

It's always about money. Basically, the district just pacified them for a year. That is just really too bad. The kids definately don't get the same quality education in the big schools as they do in the smaller.

WebGuy · Doesn't Do Windows

Yeah, it is the boonies . . . THIS is a map of where I grew up.

"A" is where the country school is.
"B" is where I grew up, and my dad still lives there now.
"C" is where my grandparents used to live. My brother lives there now.
"D" is in town where the kids will be going to school next year.

I love maps.

disco strangler · Smiles everyone, smiles!

Unknown road to unknown road to unknown road

I love it! It's going to be a long day for the kids on the bus to school then home.

I live out in the sticks (10 years now) and I still don't know the assigned street numbers.

When I give directions, I use landmarks... At the tan barn house with the green metal roof, turn left; when you get to the T by the red barn, make another left, etc...

confuzzed · Permanent State of Confusion

Directions to Web's house:

After driving for a long time on an apparent road to nowhere, when you see the general store, turn left. Go along further and turn right at the fourth cow. Go to the end of the second corn field, cross over the railroad tracks and turn left. Go to the sixth house.

confuzzed · Permanent State of Confusion

Sorry to hear they are closing the school Web. So much family history. The only kid in you grade huh? I graduated 8th grade with about 100 kids. And from high school with about 375 kids. I am not rural. But I am not city either.

WebGuy · Doesn't Do Windows

Yeah, some of those roads are "Minimum Maintenance" and are only passable under the best conditions.

We are just now finally getting the 911 road signs put up.

Its that way here too . . .

"Yeah, just go two miles past the Johnson place and turn left."
"Uh, where is the Johnson place? I don't remember there being a house in that area?"
"Oh yeah, the Johnson house burned down in '53."
"Oh, I thought Smiths own that ground?"
"Yeah, they do . . . Smiths own the Johnson place."

WebGuy · Doesn't Do Windows

confuzzed wrote:

Sorry to hear they are closing the school Web. So much family history. The only kid in you grade huh? I graduated 8th grade with about 100 kids. And from high school with about 375 kids. I am not rural. But I am not city either.

Yeah, the only kid in my class 1st - 6th. There were only about 10 kids in the whole school country school most years. 7th grade I started Jr High in town. It was quite a social shock. Sure, we had our spats with other kids in the country school, but it was always for a reason. After starting 7th grade, It took me a while to understand that other kids would steal and be mean for no other reason than the "fun" of it.

I had 76 graduate in my Senior class.

confuzzed · Permanent State of Confusion

I guess that made it very hard to cheat off someone or try to get away without doing your homework.

Jeremy Riggs · 2011 Super Bowl Champions!

Wow! The only kid in your class! I guess you graduated at the top of your class then!

Of course you were also the dumbest kid in your class too.

My old business partner went to a one-room school in Western Wisconsin. I got to see the place once. It's weird. It's like they ended classes one day and immediately boarded it up. If you look in through a crack in the boarded up window you see all the dusty desks, with bookshelves full of books, etc.

It's always kind of sad to see stuff like this pass.

Mad Mema · Bad Biker Granny

Its amazing, but nice, to hear that there are still some of those schools around. One really doesn't think about the fact that some areas really do need the very small schools.

My older son lives in an extremely rural area in Missouri, so my grandson, Walker, goes to a small school. There were actually more kids there than I thought there would be. I think right now there are 6 kids in his grade. The good thing about it is they get a lot of individual attention from the teachers.