Customer Reviews

Small Wonder: The Little Red Schoolhouse in History and Memory (Icons of America)

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Had seen the author on C SPAN and having personal experience with more than one such schoolhouse I was interested in reading more about one room school houses. I should note that we have used one room school houses as have family members in South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, eastern Washington, Alaska and here in northern California in the past ten years and for decades before.

The book is a Readers Digest type book on the subject and lacked the in depth study of one room school houses that anyone who have used one, would have loved to read about. In fact the author seems to have picked a select few schools to study and these had little in common with most of what we have experienced. And the book isn't that long, and can easily be read in an afternoon.

Will also note that one room school houses past and present, here in the west, are much different from those in the east, from what friends/family members have shared with me. Again this is all first hand information. Here in the west our remote one room school houses often double as gatherings for Protestant religious services, 4 H meetings, quilting circles. Very much a wild west, independent thinking way of life.

Am searching for a more in depth book on the subject of one room school houses. Especially one on the schools from South Dakota westward. Both of my Grandmothers taught in one room school houses in Montana as did two of my Aunts. And these were married women. And the schools ran year round based on crops that needed planting, harvesting.

This is wonderful novella 0f 233 pp with large type and small pages which can easily be read in two evenings. The author goes to great length to discuss the nostalgic elements and separate them from the realities of what came to be known as the little red school house although only about 2% were ever really painted red, with the vast majority being white or light gray, and many built of logs, sod, adobe, and planks that were NEVER painted at all. This book should appeal to any who might be of demographic old enough to remember such a structure to those lighthearted enough to want to believe in its virtues, whether real or imagined. It is very easy to read and it is obvious the author is well versed in the subject. Just buy it and expect to spend a couple of fun filled evenings enjoying it.

This book is a great account of the image of the "little red schoolhouse" in all its permutations throughout American history. One of the lessons of this book, I think, is not so much about the status of education in America, but rather it is more an observation of how important, iconic landmarks of American life get tossed and turned and used by both sides of any argument about America. For anyone interested in American iconography as well as education, this book is a great, short and quick read.

I would also like to praise the series in which this book appears. The Yale series, "Icons of America," is filled with fascinating topics that inform our history. I read the work on Joe DiMaggio (although I never really liked the guy) and thought it was a wonderful meditation on the Yankee Clipper and made me understand him just a bit better. This book on the little red schoolhouse has a similar mission; it is a fine book from an even finer series. I recommend both the book and the "Icons of America" series from which it springs.