SCHOOL DAYS by Ralph Bice

From Wednesday, June 28, 1978

Schools and education have been very much in the news the last few years. Does not seem so long ago that enrolment was increasing, schools were overcrowded and those in charge thought the trend would continue. New schools were built and editorials stressed the necessity of a good education and it looked like everyone was expected to get a course in a university. No one stopped to think where all those highly educated people were going to find employment.

Then the question of regional school boards. When it was first suggested many thought it unnecessary and predicted very high costs. Some thought it would be an improvement and since it was for the children and might benefit them the change was accepted. Only thing, we were not given a choice. Like regional government in some places it was something we were told we were to have. From the start there has been a lot of objection and discontent. As predicted school taxes began to climb and still are. And many are asking if any advantage to the children is worth what it is costing. I know in this small area our school taxes have climbed well over seven hundred percent.

From the beginning of the regional school board being established it was quite apparent that the original idea was to disband the small schools. We were told that in a larger school the children would have many more advantages such as a Library, gymnasium, and of course larger groups of pupils and would benefit socially. And of this there still is some doubt.

Now that the enrolment is dropping all over the province many are beginning to think again about whether this move to regional boards was worth the trouble and money. Even though there are fewer pupils and of necessity fewer teachers the staff remains the same and each year sees an increase in taxes.

There are a few around who can remember schools of years ago. I talked to one lady who attended the public school in Kearney in 1900 and another who attended the Sand Lake school in 1896. I can easily recall the last two years I attended school. Not grades then, but grade seven and eight as we know it now would be junior and senior fourth. The last year we did have two rooms but when I was in Junior fourth (grade 7) 1912 there was just one room and one fine teacher, Mrs. Crooker. There were I believe 62 on the roll, seldom all there. But this one teacher taught all grades. When it came time to write entrance examinations at the end of the school year very seldom was there a failure.

School teaching has been very prominent in not only my mother’s family but also in my own. Not long ago we were going though some old papers that surfaced after our parents had gone on and amongst them was my grandmother’s first teaching certificate as well as her first contract. This was a number of years before confederation and her salary was $250.00 per year. Then we also found my mother’s first teaching permit in 1891. She was to receive 300 dollars per year but she was told where she was to board. I have gone through several of the early minute books of early school boards and they are most interesting, especially those of the early 1880’s. Notice in one entry where trustees were objecting when stove wood increased to $1.75 per cord (20 inch wood). More than once when some pupil was engaged to get to school early and light the fire so the room could be warm when the others arrived. For this stipend was twenty-five cents per week.

No one wants to go back to those days. Everyone wants children to receive as good an education as possible. But we do not think that just because a school is larger it must be better. Quite often we read in the paper where educators are beginning to wonder if education was not only cheaper but better in small schools.

Enrolment has dropped at the Kearney school and it was announced that it would be closed at the end of the school term. There were many pleas to keep it open. The announcement made it would remain open for at least another year was very cheerful news. Some thought it was just a bit of salve to ease our concern about the 23% increase in school taxes but still welcomed the decision of the board.

Kearney has always had a good school. The proof of the pudding is in the eating (not ‘the proof is in the pudding’ as misquoted by many – Ed.) we have long been told and records show the children from Kearney would compare with any in the district in schooling. We hope that the board will see our side and keep our school open.

For more school stories goto: The Happy Centenarian (Bill O’Brien) – click on the magnifying glass symbol on the top right then type in your request. Or, under the title Newsletters, click on ‘Bill O’Brien’.