344 RURAL SOCIOLOGY 



rather than primarily for educational purposes. Such limited 

 consolidation may be better than none, but it by 110 means ap- 

 proximates the ideal. 



For one reason or another there will probably always be some 

 isolated one-teacher schools. What can we do with these? 

 Surely we must have a fairly uniform curriculum for country 

 schools. Our revised course of study could probably be adapted 

 to these schools quite as well as the present one is, especially if 

 the great amount of dead matter which now exists in the rural 

 school curriculum were eliminated. And the resulting benefits 

 to the community should be much greater. 



The best effects from such a change in curriculum can not be 

 realized until the rural school is brought into closer contact with 

 the adult members of the community. Already in certain 

 isolated instances much has been done in the way of rural school 

 extension, especially through agricultural club work, school fairs, 

 cooperative instruction in farm practice and home economics on 

 the farms and in the homes of patrons; and in some cases the 

 schools have attempted to give some formal instruction to adults. 

 The busy teacher of a one-room school is necessarily limited 

 by lack of time, and possibly by her sex, in the amount that may 

 be accomplished in these directions. Both these limitations may, 

 however, be removed if the consolidated school and its extension 

 work can be so expanded as to include not only agriculture and 

 home economics, but also cooperative endeavor in the wider 

 forms of social and civic interests. 



Along with these more definitely educational modifications in 

 the rural school should come certain administrative changes 

 which we need only mention briefly here. The value of medical 

 and dental inspection and supervision in rural schools is now 

 conceded. It is one of the improvements which will soon come 

 regardless of other changes here suggested. And there is also 

 great need of better state and county administration, super- 

 vision and inspection of rural schools. Likewise our taxing sys- 

 tem as at present applied to country schools does not secure 

 anything like equality of educational opportunity. These and 

 other problems are coming into the public consciousness. 



But the heart of the rural school problem is that of the cur- 

 riculum. For as it is, so will be in large degree the intellectual, 



