In a message dated 05/01/2000 10:29:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

> Laurence Kestenbaum's 8th Grade Exam prompts me to ask who out there knows
>  the best leads for information on 19th century schoolhouses, preferably the
>  one-room variety.  We've worked on several in the last few years and would
>  like to know more about design standards, such as they were, mandated
>  guidelines, small details of operation, etc.  Someone has to have written a
>  (or the) book or a good graduate thesis.  Any help?  Thanks.

Randy-
I read a very good article in _American Heritage Magazine_ (Feb, 1990; p. 66)
entitled 'The Public Schools and the Public Mood'. It gives a very good
overview of the history of public schools, and includes general information
on design guidelines, and has a bibliography at the end of the article for
further reading. I used this article when I was researching the early schools
of Ewing, NJ and it really helped put the school history into perspective.

I don't believe that the early one-room schools had nationalized 'design
guidelines' as such. There were of course, certain elements that were
particular to schools, such as the schoolbell. In our town the one-room
schools were all based on the same design: seperate wings which served as
entrances/ cloakrooms for boys and girls, a distinctive arched window pattern
in a 1-3-1 configuration, and inside, an iron stove for heating. According to
an oral history taken about school life here in the early 1900s (when the one
room schools were still in use) the children were required to help with the
school maintenance: toting water from a nearby farm, and cutting firewood for
the heat.

The four existing schools one-room schoolhouses were built from 1896-1898.
Approximately 15 years later, all four schools were deemed obsolete, and a
new building program of four 'modern' schools were planned. Built during a
period of nationwide educational reform, the four new schools illustrated the
ideals of the 'progressive education' movement, which began in the early
1890s and continued into the 1920s. Progressive education changed the
educational policies of American schools, mandating teacher training and
regional superintendents, eliminating politics from school management,
emphasizing 'children's interests,' and reforming building requirements for
per pupil space and ventilation standards.

Hope this helps! Dare I say it... I'd be happy to copy the article for you,
if you send me your address.

-Heidi aka CopyCat