Minimum essentials in elementary education

Abstract

Fourscore years ago my grandfather attended a subscription school in Mason County, Ky., for three months during the winter. He studied Warren Colburn's Arithmetic, Webster's blueback Speller, reading, and penmanship. In 1875 my father was attending a county school in the same neighborhood. He studied arithmetic, spelling, reading, penmanship, geography, grammar, and the history of the United States. In 1900 the writer of this paper was a pupil of the rural school of the same community. In his book satchel he carried to school texts on arithmetic, spelling, reading, penmanship, geography, grammar, history of the United States, history of Kentucky, civil government, and physiology. Shortly, a little girl, who is my niece, will enter the schools of the same county. She will study arithmetic, spelling, reading, penmanship, geography, grammar, history of the United States, history of Kentucky, civil government, physiology, agriculture, and physical education. And there is a prospect that the Legislature will add, long before her children are ready for school, music, drawing, industrial arts, and home economics.