My age is showing again. My mother attended a one room rural school for eight years. A few of my classmates attended the same for varying lengths of time.
From all accounts, the key to success was organization. The teacher had a lot of responsibility. In addition to teaching the children, she often had to arrive early and stay late to tend the stove. Few of the rural buildings had electricity or indoor plumbing until years after the small towns acquired these modern conveniences.
This schedule covers all the basics -- plus music, art, and agriculture. Students were ready for high school, or quite often, farm work and housekeeping. After all, they could read newspapers, keep household books, and understand the world enough to be a good citizen.
In the fictional town of Elm Ridge, Illinois, the citizens supported education. However, the immigrants the reader meets in New Dreams, a sweet romance set in 1851, were out of the schoolroom. For more on this story of new beginnings click here: https://amzn.to/3vWydWE
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