Category Archives: Education

The destructive nature of Indian boarding schools

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While conducting research for my book Chalkboard Champions, I was surprised to learn a great deal about numerous types of schools that I had never heard about in the 36 years I had been teaching. For examples, I learned about industrial schools, soup schools, farm schools, normal schools, specialist schools. Where were all these terms when I went through student teaching? I was particularly interested in reading about Indian boarding schools, and the controversies these facilities generated.

Indian boarding schools were created specifically for the purpose of educating Native Americans. American Indian children were sent to these schools, sometimes involuntarily, because it was believed the only way Native Americans could ever succeed in a predominantly white society would be if they abandoned their tribal ways and adopted the lifestyle practiced by the dominant culture. Proponents believed that this assimilation could best be accomplished when the Indian children were very young.

Most Indian boarding schools were originally founded by church missionaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Later, some were established and run by the US government. The intentions were pure, but in retrospect, the results were disastrous. Some historians go so far as to assert these schools were institutions of cultural genocide.

The children, some as young as four years old, were taken away from their families, sent many miles away from home, and forced to give up their native languages, customs and religious beliefs, art and music, clothing, and even their names. These youngsters often found it traumatic when they were forced to cut their long hair, a symbolic act of shame and sorrow to many Native Americans. The highly regimented routine and military atmosphere of the boarding schools were harsh on the youngest ones. Exposure to diseases to which they had no natural immunities, coupled with homesickness and, in some locations, unsanitary conditions, led to a disturbingly high death rate. In despair, some of the youngsters ran away from their schools, freezing or starving to death trying to make their way back to their home reservations. Such a terribly sad thought for educators who care so much about kids and really believe in the liberating power of schools.

You can read more about these schools in the book Indian Boarding School: Teaching the White Man’s Way, available on amazon.com. You can also read about them in my book, Chalkboard Champions.

Turn-of-the-century farm schools educated orphan, homeless boys

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When we think of schools today, I think most of envision the standard classroom with one teacher and 30 or so students, a chalkboard or white board, desks , bulletin board, playground, and so on. But while I was conducting research for my first book Chalkboard Champions, I learned a great deal about various types of schools that I had never heard about in my 36 years as a teacher. Industrial schools, emancipation schools, farm schools, normal schools, specialist schools. In our nation’s past there were many types of schools that didn’t look like the picture I have described above. One type of school I learned about that I found particularly intriguing is the farm school.

A farm school was a boarding school which primarily served teen-aged boys. These schools were most often established by missions or charitable organizations during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The purpose of the farm school was to care for orphans and homeless youth, while simultaneously giving these youngsters the opportunity to learn a marketable skill which would enable them to find employment on farms in the Midwest or the South.

The farm school provided housing, food, and medical care. In addition to room and board, the school offered training in agricultural skills, and in fundamental literacy skills in such subjects as reading, writing, and mathematics.

Educator Ruby Cole: One of the founders of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society

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Chalkboard champion Ruby Cole, one of the original founders of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International.

In 1929, a group of accomplished women educators in Texas got together to create an organization to advance the interests of women teachers. These women, who came from all over the state of Texas, formed the Delta Kappa Gamma Society, an organization for women teachers to work towards improving professional preparation, recognizing women’s work in the teaching profession, and providing scholarships for those needing assistance in advancing their professional expertise. One of these founding women was Ruby Cole.

Not much is known about Ruby’s early life. She was born on December 2, 1885. As a young woman, she enrolled at Sam Houston Institute in Huntsville, Texas. In her sophomore year of college she transferred to Washington College. She completed the requirements for her teaching degree at Southwest Texas State Normal College. In her later years she completed graduate study at the College of the Incarnate Word and at Our Lady of the Lake College in San Antonio, Texas.

Early in her career as an educator, Ruby was active in the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and various women’s clubs. She was a member of the Teachers Retirement Committee of the Texas State Teachers Association, and she served as the Chairperson of the Legislative Committee of Elementary Principals. Because she had earned an excellent reputation in her community, she was invited to be one of the original founders of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society (DKG).

Ruby was very active in Delta Kappa Gamma’s national committees. She served as a member of the Constitution Committee from 1929 to 1930. She also served as  the Chairperson of the Nominations Committee and was a member of the Membership Committee from 1930 to 1931. In addition, Ruby was a member of the Initiation Committee from 1932 to 1935, and she was part of the Legislation Committee from 1936-1938. She also devoted much of her energy to the Retirement Fund for Teachers.

Sadly, this chalkboard champion suffered a heart attack and passed away on November 20, 1940.

To read more about Ruby Cole, click on this link: DKG Founders.

Educator Misty Eidson becomes driving force for community “book bus”

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Every teacher worries about the summer slide students experience during the summer months when kids are on vacation. “The research shows that if students have access to 12–15 books over the summer, the loss of learning over the two-month break can be minimized or even overcome,” asserts Misty Eidson. She’s a third grade teacher in the Mustang Valley Elementary School in Mustang, Oklahoma. To give her students access to those books during summer vacation, this enterprising educator became the “driving force” behind her district’s initiation of a book bus.

Misty approached her supervisors at the district office with her innovative idea for roving book mobile. That’s when she discovered that they owned a bus that was scheduled to be retired from regular service. Unfortunately, there was no budget to refurbish the vehicle. That didn’t stop Misty. She and a group of cohorts persuaded a maintenance crew to remodel the inside and build shelves to hold the books. They asked the Advanced Placement art students to paint designs to decorate the exterior of the bus. Then they solicited donations of books to fill the shelves. “Once people heard about it, books just started pouring in,” Misty recalled. “Our community really came together for this project.”

The Mustang Public School District where Misty teaches covers an area of nearly 70 miles. Nevertheless, the book bus makes the rounds throughout the community twice a week. The bus is especially careful to visit areas that aren’t located near a public library. “A lot of our kids aren’t within five miles of a public library,” Misty observes. “Having access to books is a need in our community. It’s a need in a lot of communities.”

To learn more about this amazing chalkboard champion, click on this link to go to the full story, which can be found on the We Are Teachers website.