- submitted by Mike Pitko Rural Schools
Bessie Lindamood, Greenwood County Superintendent of schools in 1931, informed the public on many items related to rural schools. One of those was the fire rules and regulations pertaining to Greenwood County rural schools: 1. Coal oil is not permitted to be used to start a fire in any building. 2. All doors must open out. 3. School buildings must be provided with at least two separate exits. (windows could be one of the exits) 4. Any portion of a school building used for public gatherings must have exits marked. 5. Any basement used for a playroom or social gatherings must have two separate exits. 6. Furnaces must have at least an 18inch clearance from the ceiling. 7. Stoves must be protected underneath with iron or masonry at least 18 inches in front. 8. Hail wire or screens must be on hooks or hinges with a hook at the bottom. 9. All schools must have fire extinguishers, not less than one per floor. 10. All doors must be kept unlocked during school time. 11. No candles or cotton for Christmas decorations. 12. Fire drill once a month and a penalty of not less than five dollars is provided for anyone violating the provisions. 13. See that all oiled mops and supplies are kept out of consealed places, especially closets under stairways.
Composite of teachers in one-room school in the United States in 1931: Men are a great scarcity; the typical teacher is a woman about 27 years old. She would have a total education of four years and one month above grade school and her teaching experience would total 2 years and six months, salary of $874 a year (this is for the 153,000 one-room schools in the U.S. in 1931). She would be employed in school 152 days a year. One-room schools were closing at a rate of 4,200 per year in favor of consolidated schools.
The following is a summary of the qualifications of teachers in one-room schools in Greenwood County: 19 teachers on 3-year certificates, 6 on second grade certificates (this does not mean they can only teach second grade), 5 on first grade certificates ( same applies as previous), 40 on normal training certificates (high school seniors could take classes that were for teaching, do some student teaching and qualify for a twoyear certificate), 18 life certificates, 1 had a college degree. There were a total of 89 teachers in oneroom schools with 14 teachers who had no previous experience.
The average number of hours of college work for the 89 rural teachers was 32 hours of college work. There were 16 men in rural schools. Only 2 of the 89 rural teachers were not high school graduates.
