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| Antelope School April 1948 Riverside County, CA |
| I ran away to this school before I was old enough to attend. I don't remember walking there, because too many years have passed. I do remember the teacher greeting me with a smile and sitting me at one of the desks with pages to color while waiting for my mother to collect me. I also remember the chastising I received from my older siblings for coming to school without our mother's knowledge! I wish every child could have the experience of going to a one-room school. I credit the things I learned from there to be one of the greatest influences in my life. There was no bus to take us to school, which I am thankful for. We had to walk to school which was a great distance for little legs. I don't know if it was 1 1/2 miles, or more, from our home. Walking to school taught us discipline and responsibility in how to use an allotted time, without wearing a watch. Breathing in the morning air was exhilarating to the body, mind, and soul. The one-room school taught us to get along well with all age groups, because it took everyone to make up two teams to play a game of softball, basketball, dodge ball, red line, red rover and tug-o-war. It taught us to respect one another. The teacher applied the skills and patience of the older students to help tutor the younger children after they had finished their own assignments. It was a good environment. If a student misbehaved, there was a tall stool that the student had to sit on while wearing a "dunce" cap. The stool was placed at the front of the classroom. That was one of the greatest influences of making sure the students behaved themselves and it worked! I only remember one time of seeing a boy sit on that stool, wearing the cap, and that was because he put a snake in the teachers desk drawer. He also missed recess for a whole week and that was the very worst descipline!! You could hear all your friends having way too much fun, while you were stuck inside with the glaring stare of that teacher! There was no such thing as skipping out on a test! If you were absent the day that test was given, you knew it would be waiting for you when you returned. If couldn't attend school, the lessons you missed were brought to you, either by a sibling or any way they could be delivered to you. There was no way of ducking out of the responsibilty of school, unless you did something bad enough to get expelled. That had to be "real" bad! Even worse than putting a snake in a desk drawer belonging to the teacher. I look at our school systems of today and grieve for our children. They are restricted to the extent of suffocation and loaded with homework to the point of going blind. The school systems of today are defunct! The teachers hound the students and parents, while the parents accuse the teachers and the whole school system for failing to provide a good education for their children. Bigger and Better has stripped our children of the chance to enjoy being children and the desire to learn has been lost. Sincerely, Evelyn Hanks (back to my homepage) |
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