Do you remember your grandfather? Your great grandfather? Could they read and write? Could they speak English? Many grandfathers could not and this was a great handicap for them in the new world that they had entered as immigrants. So, it was absolutely necessary that schools be built in each Cheboygan County township. They were determined that their children and grandchildren master English and learn to read and to write.

The first schools were in the homes. This limited the number of students who could attend to immediate neighbors. The teacher was usually a mother. Later on, the typical early school house was often an unpleasant place to learn. The schoolhouse was typically a log or brick or clapboard shack. It was often poorly built and seldom painted. It was not insulated so it was often cold in the winter. Usually no trees were left to shade it in the spring and fall. There was no landscaping. Often it was built dangerously close to the road.

Often area residents furnished the wood for heat. If it was green wood, smoke filled the classroom and little heat was released into the classroom. If a student sat close to the stove they were warm. If not, they could be very cold. Floors were cold. They frequently had open cracks.

Bathroom needs took the children outdoors to a hole in a board privy. Thirst needs drew students to a water pail, where they drank from a common dipper and shared their many diseases.

A single teacher was often expected to supervise and to teach as many as 40 students. Students could range, in age, from 5 years old to twenty. A teacher in that situation could only be successful if she or he recognized the talents of the students and fully used older students to assist with teaching the younger students.

Teachers usually had only one year of preparation beyond high school. Pay was low. Only the superbly organized teacher could succeed in handling the difficult task of teaching all students well.

Some teachers were only 18 years old, the required age for teachers. The respect accorded to teachers was often small. It was no wonder that many of the teachers left the profession as quickly as possible.

Teachers were supplied with a blackboard and a globe. If they were lucky, they also had a map and presidential pictures.

Textbooks often were not provided. Poor students went without. Attendance was not mandatory. Many parents kept their children at home when they needed help. If weather was bad, mothers were reluctant to send their children to the rural school.

Maintaining order in a classroom of students who varied widely in age and talents was a disciplinary nightmare. Sometimes the rod was applied with a vengeance shame, humiliation and embarrassment were standard disciplinary measures. Rulers were frequently turned into weapons by frustrated teachers.

It is a small wonder that so many students dropped out of school as quickly as they could.

On the whole, the rural school fulfilled its purpose fairly well and it provided the basic elements of a an education. Many of its graduates went on to become community leaders and successful citizens.

Some rural schools were blessed with gifted teachers who overcame the hardships that accompanied the rural schools. Some teachers demonstrated a genuine affection for students and a wise understanding of them. Some used teaching methods that were 50 years ahead of their times. Some teachers were so truly loved that students did whatever the teacher asked them to do. Learning was a pleasant experience for them.

Some rural school teachers were very ingenious in acquiring the materials that were necessary for providing their students with a good elementary education. Blessed were those students who enjoyed those special teachers!

Eventually the consolidation of schools destroyed the rural schools. For some students it left happy memories. For others the memories were like a nightmare.

Perhaps your grandparents and great grandparents told stories of what the rural schools meant to them. Cheboygan County’s rural schools are a thing of the past and they occupy a prominent place in Cheboygan County’s history.