LESSON 46 
CountTrRY SCHOOL GROUNDS 
HE country schools of the nation are highly impor- 
> tant and the physical surrounds of each school 
f) play a highly influential part in determining 
~ final results. It is desired at this time to learn 
ox] 
Bp what present conditions actually are, what ideal 
Loe conditions would be, and how the former can 
be made to approach more nearly to the latter. 
Specifically this lesson considers the plan of the country school 
grounds. 
—, 
Argument 
Size of Grounds: Some school grounds are too small. Ex- 
uberant school boys and girls cannot be confined like convicts in a 
penitentiary. The country boy who does not necessarily cover more 
than half an acre in his first ten minutes of play should be sent to 
the hospital at once. There is something wrong with him. In 
the country, where land is cheap and where people are unused to 
being crowded, the school grounds should be ample. One acre 
may be regarded as the minimum for any school; two acres is not 
too much for a large and well-managed country school; while high 
schools and academies, especially those teaching agriculture, will 
sometimes need five or ten acres. Country schools which now have 
less than one acre should buy more at the first opportunity. 
The School Building: The school house, which of course should 
be well built, well furnished, well lighted, well ventilated, well 
painted, and well kept, should be placed well forward on the lot, 
near the street. This is because land back of the school house is 
valuable, while that in front is comparatively useless. A distance 
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