“It’s a historical field trip (that allows students to) participate in a real, one-room school day,” said Linda Clements, who is one of four teachers there and also schedules the field trips.
At one time, there were over 100 one-room schools in Clark County. Less than 50 of those buildings exist today, and more than half of those have been converted to homes.
The schoolhouse now welcomes third- and fourth-grade students from Springfield City School District, Tecumseh, Shawnee, Northwestern, West Liberty-Salem and Catholic Central, along with home-schooled children from around Clark and Champaign counties. Students from Vandalia, Fairborn and Huber Heights also participate.
“We give (the students) a little bit of the way kids and families lived as we go through the day,” she said.
Students arrive around 9:15-9:30 a.m. on the day of their field trip. They are given a tour of the grounds and the building — which had been turned into a barn — along with an orientation on “deportment,” the behavior that was customary in that time and is expected of them during classes at the one-room school.
At the sound of the bell, the students line up one by one and show respect to the teacher. Boys bow and girls curtsy. During class, students must stand to ask questions.
“In those days,” Clements said, “teachers got the most respect.”
Many parents could not read or write, so it was very important for the children to learn to do that so they could eventually take over the family business, she explained.
Once inside, it’s down to the business of education as it was in the 19th century. Using McGuffey Readers, the students read orally, in unison and in choral response. McGuffey Grammar and McGuffey Speller books are used to teach those subjects. Arithmetic is done on slates, and students learn “Script Handwriting,” which Clements said was fancier than the cursive writing that was later taught in schools.
In another exercise, the children compare and contrast their school and lessons with what they experience at the Advance School.
Clements indicated the children’s response to the more traditional methods is positive.
“They love it,” she said. When they walk in the building, “their eyes are going all around. They’re in awe of the building and the echoing in the classroom.”
After they’ve gone, she says, “they wanna come back.”
The students are encouraged to wear clothing of that period, but it is not mandatory. Clements says the school’s teachers provide some of the items — like suspenders for the boys. Teachers at the students’ home schools often show reruns of the television show “Little House on the Prairie” to give them suggestions on clothing to wear.
Students must bring food wrapped in neckerchiefs, baskets or pails for their lunch. And restroom usage — in the two outhouses out back — is only allowed during recess and lunchtime.
Clements and the other teachers at the school — Nancy Sherwood, Barbara Blackburn and Janet Ritter — are all retired classroom instructors of a more recent time. Each teaches one day per week. In addition to leading the classes, Clements said they also sweep the floor and clean the blackboards and outhouses when the day is done.
Funding for the Advance One-Room School comes from grants provided by organizations like The Turner Foundation, Springfield Foundation, Della Selsor Trust, Richard and Ann Rice Family Trust Fund of The Springfield Foundation and CCRTA.
Proceeds from an annual car show also help cover expenses. This year’s event will be held Oct. 11 at Young’s Jersey Dairy in Yellow Springs.
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