VANISHING AMERICAN EDUCATION--PART 2

I'm so excited to finally be able to share more of the pictures we took the day we had our little "field trip" to the Nottawa Stone School--one of the best kept destination secrets in our county! The first picture is of Huxley, my grandson, who wore his brown-striped overalls for this old-fashioned day of school! Even a little one like Huxley enjoys the old desks!

Here's Sophie, almost three years old, trying out her slate. She loved the old school too. Her favorite part of the day was "cleaning" the front desk up on the teacher's platform. She wiped it down several times with the cloth erasers provided for the slates!

Next is Emma, in her green prairie dress. She is the oldest and already is learning to read. She went into "teacher mode" almost as soon as we arrived and she gave her Granny an assignment to do on Granny's slate!

Emma enjoying the opportunity to write on the big blackboard up in front. See her prairie dress and bonnet? Granny made prairie dresses for her and Sophie with bonnets to match, especially for this day.

                              Both girls up near the teacher's desk. They LOVED ringing the bell!

Two contemplative pictures of Emma. First, she is at the teacher's desk loving her chance to play "old fashioned" schoolmarm. I love the one where she is reading under the big windows where the light fell in from the west!

Two little prairie girls shivering in the wind at the front doors of the school! Sophie looks so sweet! Emma's bonnet got shoved a bit forward and hid her big smile! We hurried to take this picture!

I know this post was a bit more lighthearted than the previous one. I intended it to be so, for I think it simply reflects the innocence we've lost in our culture since the days that this school was built (1860's?). I was talking to a friend the other day who is in her sixtie's and she was reminiscing about being able to walk a country mile as a child to visit cousins without her parent's supervision. We were a different people at the foundations of this country. Have we lost our freedom with all of our "progress?"

I am reminded of part of the prayer of King David of Israel, noted in Psalm 144...."That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets: That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets . Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord." (Italics and emphasis, mine)

This condition is true freedom!

Blessings, LORI

VANISHING AMERICAN EDUCATION

I am excited to share this post with you! See these dusty books? They are indicative of what I want to communicate.

For a long time I've been thinking about doing more "devotional" style blogs again--I've been silent too long.It was so evident to me this week as my grandchildren and I visited a nearby country school, still open to the public for tours, that we have lost something very valuable over the last century.

 American education is simply not what it was when our granparents filled classrooms like these and studied from books like the McGuffey readers. My respect to all you teachers, this is not intended to cut down your service. I know many teachers and most are a very dedicated group of public servants. But I think we can learn some things from observing the vanishing American schooling trends of the past.

The heavy, durable desks and furnishings were just one example of a culture that valued quality and long life. Things were expected to last--money was viewed differently. Things were hard to come by and therefore quality and durability mattered. Textbooks and supplies were not replaced every year.

How about these slates as an example of environmental consciousness? Each child could pick one up each morning and use it repeatedly without wasting sheet after sheet of paper. How's that for "green?"  And we think we are on the cutting edge!

But even more obvious than all that, I was struck by the pictures that hung in this classroom. Portraits of the Presidents, Washington and Lincoln, were proudly and prominently displayed at the front of the room and elsewhwere on the walls. Other pictures depicting events of American history were displalyed as well. The desks were arranged with larger ones to the backs of the rows for the older students and they gradually got smaller toward the front of every row. This was a vivid reminder that we once could put all age groups together and that the older ones helped the young to learn. No need for multiple classrooms and special age-related programs.

All these observable differences point to the fact that scholastics and character-building mattered more than all of the frills we often associate with a well-rounded education. These vanishing (or vanished) American educational trends served a society that honored Christian principles and produced some of the world's greatest leaders, inventors, statesmen, and heroes.

What has our progress cost us?

More on the next post....until then, Blessings, LORI

PETER RABBIT HAS BEEN IN MY GARDEN

Peter Rabbit appears to be holding some of my garden carrots! Peter Rabbit is a bid deal around here! We collect his books, and so forth. These beautiful carrots came from the garden and this late in the year we are still enjoying them! Next year I will definitely plant more! There is a definite taste difference in a home-raised carrot and one from the store. Maybe Peter thinks so too!

I haven't posted many "devotional" style blogs for some time, but hope to have some real thought-provokers coming up soon--stay tuned! Blessings, LORI

RECYCLED BAGS

Here is a picture of my leftover scratch grain bag that turned into a really good bag for "big" type needlework. It is currently holding a huge ball of Icelandic roving that I am spinning!  Blessings, LORI