Two-Room School

[pesoto74]

That reminds me that one of the nuns in the upper grades would sometimes hit kids on the knuckles with a ruler.  She was gone by the time I got to that level so I never experinced it myself.  From what I heard it did kinda hurt.

Later on when I was in public school we had this kid who could be violent and who was often acting up in class.  We had a teacher, Mrs Coleman,  who must have been near sixty at the time.  One day the kid called Mrs Coleman a name and we were all ready for fireworks.  Instead Mrs Coleman grabbed the kid by his ear and dragged him down to the principles office.  He didn't even put up a struggle. 

[joni]

That was just the way it was. We of course noticed the heat and the cold, but just took it for the way things were. We were not spoiled back then. You accepted life the way it was.We also did not have homework. We did not have any activities as they do now. School was for getting your lessons finished by the end of the school day. As far as discipline, we knew our boundaries. We also knew we had to answer to the parents when we got home, if we misbehaved.Believe me ,in no way were we angels, but we were taught to respect our teachers.I see such a lack of respect now. If we had ever called our teachers by their first name as they do now, or talk back, there would be heck to pay. I feel the youth of today could really learn from these things.

[pesoto74]

One thing is it may not have gotten as hot early back then as it does now.  I am fairly sure that the seasons are different then they were back then.  I remember 20 years ago flowers like peonies bloomed around Memorial Day.  Now they bloom by Mother's day.  We also didn't use to start school till after Labor Day. 

[Oops Did I Do That]

And I am sure back in those days it was unheard of for a teacher to have any type of "relations"with a student as well,that seems to be happening alot lately!

[Guardian Angel]

And I am sure back in those days it was unheard of for a teacher to have any type of "relations"with a student as well,that seems to be happening alot lately!

You are so right about that.  But then the teachers I had were all relatively old and had been in the teaching profession for years.

[pesoto74]

And I am sure back in those days it was unheard of for a teacher to have any type of "relations"with a student as well,that seems to be happening alot lately!

There wasn't a problem with that at the Catholic school, however there was some of that kind of thing going on at the public school that I went to.  This reminds me of one of my Grandmother's favorite quotes from the Bible, "There is nothing new under the Sun".  And at least as far as human behavior goes I think that is true.

[pesoto74]

Here is some history of the two-room St. Mary's school.  This is from a parish history.

The building of St. Mary's School
The memorial school planned for the jubilee year could not be erected and the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary was a minor affair. However, for some time the old frame school building had been showing the effects of age in mounting repair bills. Already in 1921, when the structure was little more than a fire trap, the parish decided to let it to fate and give the building fund a chance to grow.

Finally, the building had to be replaced. Toward the end of 1925, plans were made for the new school. On February 20, 1926, a building committee consisting of the pastor, the trustees and four other prominent parishioners awarded the general building contract. Mr. Deem, being a local contractor, was able to offer the lowest bid, $14,650.

The generally low figures quoted by the contractor were made possible not only by the parishioners' donation of labor, which consisted of the wrecking of the old building and excavation for the new, but also of the transportation of the required materials. At that time the machine age had not yet invaded this community to the extent that farmers felt the need of motor trucks. On March 6, a team of sweating horses, driven by a young married man of the parish, brought the first of 339 horse-drawn wagon loads of material from the Illinois Central railway's siding in Pesotum.

St. Mary's pupils enjoyed a long vacation that year. School closed early for the men of the parish began wrecking the building on March 15. By the seventeenth the wrecking was finished, all usable lumber salvaged and willing hands began excavating on the following morning.

Almost a month after the footings had been poured, the first brick was laid on April 19th. That the work progressed fast is evident from the fact that the cornerstone was laid and blessed on May 2nd by Fr. Fuhrman.

Thus after construction had reached the level of the window sills, the building began to take a more definite shape. Before the end of August, the work was completed. The grounds were landscaped by the parishioners under the direction of Fr. Wissing. Bishop Dunne, assisted by the pastor and a number of priest-friends from neighboring towns, dedicated the new school on September 6, 1926.

Intended to serve only the children of the elementary grades, St. Mary's new one-story brick school has only three classrooms. A hall extending the length of the school and half its width offers opportunity for social gatherings and parish plays, card parties, dances and other sources of revenue for the parish.

After plumbing and wiring contracts and other expenses had been added to the general contract, the cost of the new building totaled $20,725.62. Since only $6000 had to be borrowed, the financial cooperation of these Catholic farmers was admirable.

[Marilyn]

I must have had a privileged lifestyle ...

I attended a THREE room school