School House in the Red (ca 1945)

this is a story of country people and of a thing very close to them the welfare the education of their children it is about people who live on the land whose fathers lived on the land before them and whose Hearts tell them that old ways are good ways and should not be set aside like to these people the country schoolhouse of their youth be it red white or whatever color seems one of the few unchanging things in a world of confused and changing values it has been tried and tested and found good their fathers created it and they themselves bear The Honorable impress of its mold it is their own and their loyalty to it is beyond any that mere brick and mortar can Inspire but they are a fair-minded people and prudent and some among them are made uneasy by the thought that what was once good enough for them may not now be good enough for their children this picture is about a group of people who face that problem it tries to show the different ways they had of looking at it and how they all wanted to do what was best and how they went about trying to find out what really was best there are no actors in this picture the people you will see are just the kind of people they appear to be the kind who all over America want to do the best they possibly can for themselves and for their [Music] children [Music] Miller School District number six another year another school board meeting there's a letter I think 12 students are [Music] enough I think she's right Ed we've been putting off it's time we did something let's look around see what she needs this [Music] year how well I know what's on their minds the boys and girls what is best for them they wonder about this new thing is it better for the children should they join up with other districts and have a bigger School better equipment would that mean more and better opportunities how much can they afford but it's not just the cost that bothers them there is a real worry about their rights their independence how they'd get along I remember 13 ragged scattered States suspicious afraid of one another afraid of surrendering their rights to a continental congress but change and growth still come together these people know that indecision will not stop the change but when the people all the people together face their problems then they can guide the change and take part in it otherwise change comes and the people must follow for ours is a living changing world with new problems new needs new needs for the children you folks here at the Miller School have been doing a fine job ever since Ed Miller's grandfather set aside this piece of land the people in this District have faced the fact you've got a problem here might as well admit it straight out there are 3,000 counties in the United States and about 2500 of them have a problem similar to yours there is no one answer to the many and varied problems of all schools we must study our our own needs know what we have and what we want if we are to get the most and best for our money we should use our agricultural College State Department of Education and other agency to help us do the best job for our children just bringing more pupils together or building larger buildings may not be the answer to our problem I know you have been talking and thinking about one way of answering it well my job as County Superintendent puts me in a position to get at some of the facts I have seen many good school programs not all alike but each serving the children's best interest in its own way for some it was best to bring all children into one central school and have one or more teachers for each grade others found they could do the best job by having a Central High School with a small Elementary School schs near where the children live but let's talk about our own problem here is the Miller District the Miller School you have 12 pupils and you know that's not enough Hickory Corners has 15 children aen 23 Ripley has 65 in their two room School The Village has about 400 and is already transporting your high school student now add in the children in the 23 districts falling within convenient distance you have enough to justify a good school with all the special but important Services needed by the children and the entire community and with an administrative unit large enough to do a real job I know you want the better for your children and in your case I would say that Joe Turner has the answer throw in with the other district and run a school in the village that comes up to Modern standards that's what I thought would happen what do you [Music] think I don't like the idea where I came from we didn't do it that way how are we going to keep track of what's going on I don't want my children getting up and leaving on the buses in the morning well be safer than walking along these highways these times anyway wait a minute folks wait a minute Joe Turner here has the idea let's go and see a good school I can get you the bus how many want to [Music] go [Music] had enough room and enough kids the same age to get up a real ball game a game that the players could really play and that even the very biggest boys could take an interest in [Music] n [Music] even as were in agreement when it came to the agricultural [Music] program what students learned here didn't stop in the [Music] classroom the rooms and Equipment were available for night classes and again what men learned was taken out into the community and we women saw things that we understood in [Music] life we all knew what the approval of your family can [Music] mean it's your Bill of Rights yours to protect by voting by studying by understanding those principles of Liberty equality and justice under law which are the hope of enslaved peoples [Music] everywhere and afterward they red and studied what they had experienced through the film in guided discussions building themselves into better and stronger [Music] citizens [Music] we all saw things that impressed us different [Music] things Ed Miller's boy got interested in a [Music] workbench wanted to know all about [Music] it [Music] it got to be quite a [Music] story and Ed got interested too in spite of [Music] himself it seemed that when the boys got back to school this last fall the shop teachers said the advanced class could use the shop to build anything they wanted at first that sounded easy what did they want to build first well there were lots of things let's see well lots of [Music] things after a little discussion they found it took some real thinking to decide just what you really did want most so they took the problem home with them Tommy's room was small and cramped he'd always dreamed of fixing it up but there are a lot of things that a boy just seemed to need right- handy when he wanted them it kind of piled up maybe if he had a bench the teacher said he would help but it took money for wood and screws and glue and fittings quite a lot of money turned out they all needed money well what would people pay for a spray program to control insects maybe we ought to find [Music] out [Music] [Applause] and where did the Reading Writing and arithmetic come in arithmetic how much money do you need what's the interest for 6 [Music] months reading who ever thought there were so many different kinds of spray outfits writing it takes a good many business letters to be sure of getting just what you need how much spray does it take to do a job how should it be [Music] mixed seems as though kids can learn Reading Writing in arithmetic just about as fast as they need it if it's for something they want to do instead of something they have to [Music] do by the time they got going there it was again the whole Community was [Music] involved boys were learning to use Reading Writing at arithmetic just the way they'd learned to use a hammer or a saw by making yet do something for [Music] them then a hot lunch just the kind their children had every day good school good food good [Music] health [Applause] [Music] so the people all the people had their say I don't care what those State experts say our kids are better off where they are if your cow was sick you'd trust an expert wouldn't you and they grw up to take jobs in factories they're up against kids with more education Reading Writing and arithmetic that's what they need not all this no fangle stuff any good school keeps them up in the three Ys but we got to have a bigger tax unit well we're just going to have to raise taxes why can't the state and federal government help then they'll try to tell us what to do but we are the government might not be as bad as you think if we do go in we may wish we were out yeah yes but if we stay out we may wish we were in too you still have your vote haven't you and you'll have something to say about how the high school is run too the town's people allowed voters but what's the best way to spend the money such a thing is getting too big you know we all want the same thing a good school our school is good enough for you and me well it's not good enough for my kid all we want is a chance I fought this thing for 30 years well I'm for it I don't like the idea of swearing away our rights it's going to cost us either way I'll go along not me I'm satisfied the way things are well I don't know whatever is best for the [Music] children [Music] if they were sure what is best they would all want to do the right [Music] thing [Music] [Applause] [Music] they've studied and worked together now they're all voting for what they think is best for the children and that's all all anyone can [Music] do but however it comes out what they wanted all of them [Music] together [Music]