By JOHN COX 

 lAA Director of Rural School Relations 



Bad Roads and School Reorganization 



Although bad roads may prevent consoli- 

 dation of school attendance units, they need 

 not prevent that district from becoming a 

 part of a larger school district for adminis- 

 tration and lax purposes. A former small 

 district may gain a number of substantial 

 advantages educationally by becoming a part 

 of a large district, even though the school 

 in that former district remains open and in 

 use. The following are a few of the possible 

 advantages : 



1. Broader tax base and a more equal dis- 

 tribution of the tax burden. 



2. Improvement of the school program 

 through the hiring of instructors in art, 

 music, speech, and physical education to 

 serve in all of the schools on a pre-ar- 

 ranged schedule. 



3. Provision for each school in the district 

 to use equipment, as motion picture 

 machines, equipment which would be too 

 expensive for a small district to own. 



4. More coordination of the course of study, 

 as well as more uniformity in text books 

 and in educational practices in any given 

 larger community. 



5. Better selection of teachers since work- 

 ing in the larger district offers more 

 security and opportunity to the teacher. 



6. Broadens interests and builds com- 

 munity spirit in a rural area. This area 

 probably already serves as a community 

 for trading, banking, church, and high 

 school purposes. 



7. More efficiency, simplicity, and perhaps 

 economy in keeping records. 



8. Partially relieves the isolation and pos- 

 sible stagnation in which the one-room 

 teacher often finds herself by providing 

 supervision from within the school dis- 

 trict. 



9. The seven members of such a school 

 board would bring to that school a 

 broader range of experience and could 

 possibly outline and provide an educa- 

 tional program better adapted to the 

 needs of rural boys and girls of today. 



10. The state legislature encourages the set- 

 ting up of larger school districts for ad- 

 ministration and tax purposes so that 

 state money for secondary roads Can be 

 used where most needed to facilitate 

 pupil transportation. 

 Although the above mentioned advantages 

 are possible while operating all of the 

 schools in use when school reorganization 

 is voted, yet the school board of the larger 

 district would, doubtless, see opportunities 

 to eliminate waste, improve efficiency, bal- 

 ance teacher loads, and offer additional 

 educational opportunities by closing some 

 of the schools and transporting the pupils 

 to some other school.' 



However, no school should be closed in 

 such larger district until the school board 

 can offer substantially better educational ad- 

 vantages elsewhere and until roads, build- 

 ings and transportation facilities are ade- 

 quate for such a change. 



Wisdom of Youth 

 At a school meeting recently when various 

 school problems were being discussed by 

 members of a panel the chairman of the 

 panel noticed a young man at the front of 

 the room absorbed in writing on a pad of 

 scratch paper. Near the end of the meeting 

 he secured the copy of those writings, found 

 them interesting and had the author read 

 them to the audience. They were as fol- 

 lows: 



When we hear how poor our schools 

 We wonder how our little jewels 

 Can evermore grow up to be 

 As very smart at things as we! 



Our schools! They're poor; 



They're small; they're broken! 



For every ill they are bespoken! 



It's strange indeed — with such a starter 



Our kids, than we, grow so much smarter. 



Our teachers all are underpaid! 



Our Boards are awkward — lax or staid! 



This screams a mystery aloud; 



How youth grows up so well endowed? 



It's strange indeed — with so much loss. 

 Our kids grow anything but cross ! 

 Not only do they grow, alas — 

 They seem to grow both good and fast. 



But paradox can be explained — 



No matter how our pride is strained — 



And we will note the answer lies 



In something that should not surprise. 



The thinking here may be qui:e crude! 

 The answer spoken, worse than rude! 

 Perhaps they're wise, in spite of fuss — 

 Because they quite ignore us ! ! 



The author J. Thomas Hastings, Director, 

 High School Testing Bureau and University 

 Examiner, University of Illinois. 



ONION GROWERS EXCHANGE 



Onion set growers in the Chi- 

 cago area have formed the Tri- 

 State Onion Set Exchange as a bar- 

 gaining agency to handle about 

 one million bushels of onion sets 

 grown annually by members. 



EDITOR'S NOTE: Future page en- 

 tries should be addressed to Picture 

 Editor, Illinois Agricultural Associa- 

 tion, 608 South Dearborn Street, Chi- 

 cago 5, III. If you wish picture re- 

 turned, enclose self-addressed stamped 

 envelope. Entries are judged on origi- 

 nality, clearness, and interest. Avoid 

 shots of persons merely looking toward 

 camera. Best picture receives S5. Others 

 published receive SI. 



lAA Opposes Rural 

 Phone Rate Boosts 



EXTENSIVE hearings have been held 

 before the lUinois Commerce Com- 

 mission in connection with the pro- 

 posed increase in telephone rates of the 

 Illinois Commercial Telephone Com- 

 pany. 



The company has 181 exchanges serv- 

 ing approximately 100,000 subscribers. 

 If the increase becomes effective it will 

 mean an increase of $880,000. 



The transportation department of 

 the Illinois Agricultural Association has 

 been active at all hearings at the request 

 of local county Farm Bureau in oppos- 

 ing the increase in rates. 



Regional hearings have been held at 

 Marion, Mendota, Olney and Paxton. 

 Another is scheduled in Monmouth, the 

 purpose of which is to give local peo- 

 ple an opportunity to testify as to serv- 

 ice. Objections to any increase in rates 

 have been made at the various hearings 

 due to the class of service they now 

 receive. 



Final hearings will be held during 

 the month of January to complete the 

 evidence and a decision must be made 

 by the latter part of February. 



A group of top-flight 4-H Club young peoplo are shown talking with John K. Cox, lAA 

 dhwctor of rural school rolations, while visiting the lAA offices during the Ntiew i 4>M 



Club Congress in Chicago. . , / 



lANUABY. 1947 



31 



