Little School in Fryeburg is a privet 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
Little School in Fryeburg, Maine
Curative Education
Where Education Heals
Homestead Eenvironment:
Safe, Calm and Creative.
One-Room School House
“There was a time when almost every American child learned in a one-room school. In the 1700s, John Adams taught in a one-room school near Boston; Abe Lincoln was educated at a one-room school, and Henry Ford loved his so much, he had it moved to a museum in Michigan. They had advantages that we do not have today”, writes correspondent Barry Petersen.
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What are the advantages?
Here are my answers to this question:
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The high student-teacher ratio allows tailoring age-appropriate lessons for the student's current capacities. This way the student is always working at the appropriate level and not trying to keep up with the level of someone else. It's a liberating experience when motivation comes from one’s innate love for learning instead of fear of the tests, ambition, or stress of competition.
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Active engagement of the whole child, personal attention, fewer classmates to deal and bond with, a cooperative environment, and working towards healing brings a sense of well being and safety -things crucial for effective learning.
"Yes, there are still one-room public schools in America," correspondent Barry Petersen said in the report. "Today, about 200 one-room schools carry on a tradition that's older than America itself. And while the frontier where they first appeared may be gone, the spirit that they helped create is alive and well in towns across rural America."
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The mixed-age classroom is like a family. The older students are guided to nurture the younger ones and motivate them. There isn't more of an effective teacher for a new first-grader than an experienced third-grader who is proud of his skills. We allow the children to be successful. The joy gained from becomes a motivation for future progress.
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Last but not at least, In a rural area like ours, a one-room school model makes it financially possible for Little school in Fryeburg to open its doors.
Little School is a part of a new homestead, small and beautiful with a view of the Kearsarge mountains in Fryeburg, Maine. There are herb and flower gardens, chickens and angora rabbits. A forested area for a wilderness experience and the Old Saco River slowly passing through with its wildlife.