TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



long run it is cheaper to build snugly than to pay fuel bills, and 

 the same type of building which is warm in winter is cool in summer. 

 Moreover, cheap, flimsy construction will prove most expensive in 

 the long run for the cottage is to be a permanent institution in the 

 community, and should be built to give many years of service. 



Special attention should be paid to details of arrangement 

 since the teacher or teacher's wife will often do her own work, 

 and steps should be saved. A good water supply is the first essen- 

 tial. If possible a bathroom should be provided, and most cer- 

 tainly a cheap but effective method of sewerage disposal. These 

 are items of rural sanitation which are sadly neglected. The proper 

 handling of them will be a permanent example to the rest of the 

 community, and a great factor in the improvement of conditions 

 of country living. 



The cottage should be built of the materials most available in 

 each locality and best adapted to its needs. These are easily ascer- 

 tained upon consultation with the nearest lumber dealer or build- 

 ing supply man. The exterior may well consist of drop siding, 

 rustic boarding, or drop shingles, the interior trim of either hard 

 or softwoods, and the floors of hardwood or rift-sawed softwood, 

 which will wear for a long time without splintering. The exterior 

 should always be kept well painted so as to make an attractive ap- 

 pearance, and to preserve the structure. The interior trim should 

 be stained rather than painted in order to bring out the beauty of 

 the wood-work, and harmonious schemes of color and decoration 

 should be worked out to secure an agreeable, home-like atmosphere. 



None of these requirements is expensive. They simply take 

 good judgment in the selection of materials, and good taste in their 

 arrangement. Pleasant surroundings and right living conditions 

 are big factors in making good teachers. An attractive teacher's 

 cottage will permit the employment of capable married men for 

 teachers, who become a permanent and valuable part of the com- 

 munity life. "Women teachers who have relatives or families de- 

 pending on them can also take schools with cottages and have much 

 better living conditions than it would be possible for them to secure 

 in the city, and can so well afford to teach in the country for smaller 

 wages than paid in the city schools. 



The principles which should guide in the construction of a 

 small cottage for the rural districts are well stated by Dr. F. B. 

 Dresslar in Bulletin, 1914, No. 12, U. S. Bureau of Education : 



"The cottage for the teacher should be as far as possible 

 a model of its kind for the neighborhood. A beautiful, well- 

 planned, and sanitary cottage on the school farm would help in 

 a definite way to stimulate the farmers to build better houses 

 (not more expensive ones) and to reconstruct to a degree those 

 already built. 



What sort of cottage should be built? The complete answer 

 to this question must of course be left to the authorities of the 

 district. There are, however, some suggestions applicable: 



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