We had an interesting time getting there as I reported. I wanted to pass on the topics discussed with a few summary notes for those of you who couldn’t come.
Normal School at Oxford, Ohio – Dr. Kate Rousmaniere
A history of the educational philosophies and methods employed at the Normal School.
Naturally McGuffey – Feathers in my Books – Nancy Hughes
Nancy took on her first person character of a school marm and explained how she uses the McGuffey Readers to teach nature studies, including a handout listing the nature related readings she uses.
From the Pages of the Country School Readers – Susan Webb
Susan explained how she used the readers and handed out her booklet on McGuffey.
Pump-up the Volume! Antique Reed Organs in the One-Room School – Eleanor Ent
Eleanor discovered a piece of a pump or reed organ in her school and began to discover what she could about the use of organs in schools. She presented on the different types of organs and their delievery. The highlight was when she got out her portable organ and played.
Music Education: Victrolas, Phonographs, and School Recordings – Dr. Pam Stover
Pam discussed the history of Victrolas and phonographs were used in schools. She even played a part of a very rare Charles Fullerton school recording. It was a great program. She shared that her father told her when he went to school in town he noticed how the songs now didn’t get slower at the end.
What’s for Lunch? – Sarah S. Uthoff
An initial report on my findings on one-room schools focuses not only on the type of food taken for lunch, but also on how lunch was taken along, eaten, and prepared. I’m still looking for people willing to fill out my one-page survery on one-room school lunch.
Special Viewing of King Library – McGuffey Special Collection
The school’s association with McGuffey led them to an incredible collection of McGuffey readers and related materials.
Coralville Schoolhouse Museum – Leigh Ann Randak
Leigh Ann talked about the background of the Coralville School. It is a two story school. They have a classroom set up on the first floor set to the year the school opened and the second floor to the last year the school was open with a photo/timeline in the stairway in the middle.
Renovating a One Room School on a Shoestring Budget – Mary Fulton
Hazel Dell One-Room Schoolhouse Restoration – Mary Sue Divine
Saving the One-Room Schoolhouse: What’s in it for Us? – Susan Fineman
Susan presented an overview of the association and its history with many photos from previous conferences.
Awakening the Memories Within: The Rebirth of the North Bend Schoolhouse and Community – Caroline M. Bredekamp
Country Schools in the Mid-West and Norway as Cultural heritage, a different approach – Dr. Leidulf Mydland
A Norweign government official he started looking at the history of the one-room school in Norway (partially modeled on our own system) and how they have not shown a similar inclination to save their school buildings.
The One-Room School Arrives on Campus – Jessica Conley and Dr. Mark DeWalt
A report on the colleges and universities around the country that have one-room schools on their campus.
Country Schools in McHenry County IL – Bob Frenz
Bob previewed his new book about one-room schools in McHenry County, Illinois.
Building an Archive of Country School Records – Dr. Sue Grosboll, University of Northern Iowa
When most one-room schools in Iowa closed their records were directed to the local Area Education Agencies. These agencies had various levels of interest in this perservation and with their own budget problems. After a long struggle, UNI was given permission to collect these all in one place and provide organized access to the collection. It is exciting news and they found out that there was more material than they had originally hoped. They are still organizing it, but I’m sure it will save much material.
Making a Video Documentary – Jeanette Kottke
Winner of the CSAA award this year.
Modern Reading – Dr. Kouider Mokhtari
Basically a summary of the book The World is Flat.
Vist to the McGuffey Museum
The former McGuffey home on campus has been turned into a museum with both some original pieces and collected McGuffeyanna (or McGuffey collectibles and related material).
Collecting, Recording, & Sharing Memroies & Artifacts of a Schoolhouse and Its Community – Caroline M. Bredekamp
How a group brought their school back to life and helped the community both improve its present and save its past.
Summer Meetings: Critical Component of the Amish Country School System – Dr. Mark Dewalt
Summer meetings are regional meetings held by Amish communities about their schools including teachers, parents, and church elders.
A Peek at Calisthenics of the late 1800s - Lindsay McLean
Lots of images from school books on calisthenics in the 19th century. She uses it with school groups to her museum as something different and to allow movement. If you are interested in Indian clubs or the wooden dumbells used, there were a couple of images that I think could very easily be used to make reproductions.
The Depiction of the Country School by American Artists – Bill Sherman
Bill showed a collection of one-room school art work.
Noble Hill School – A Rosenwald School in Northwest Georgia – Dr. Mary Outlaw
Mary showed a program on a restored Rosenwald School.
Reader’s Theater of Skit – A Child’s Life article from 1934
Teacher Recognition Program – Lucy Townsend
Lucy was trying to come up with more uses for the school building when she decided that people wanting to honor a teacher could make a donation and get a book on a special shelf with their name. She also included local children showing art or performing. It was so successful that they had to move it out of the school building because of the crowd, but I think honoring teachers is a nice twist on the buy a brick type program.
Getting Noticed in a Noisy World- Richard Lewis
Richard had some really original ideas of everything from a stick version of your web address for your car window to setting up a geocache information site. I hope he shares them again in the newsletter soon.
