One-Room School

The first school I attended was named the Draffin School.  I do not know why, but I suspect the land for its erection was donated, or sold, to the school district by a person or family by that name as there were several in the area at the time.  Officially it was District School #25 within the Town of Lisbon, County of St. Lawrence, State of New York.  It was located at the intersection of the Cline Road, Brown Road, and State Route #68.

On a regular basis grades 1 through 6 were taught.  There was no kindergarten at the time, and my brother Ron, for whatever reason, completed his 7^th grade there.  I know of no other exceptions.  There were six rows of seats from front to back, each with 5 desks for an average of about 25 students each year.  Each row was equal to a grade.

I was born in July 1938, the seventh child in my family.  A younger sister named Dixie was born in February 1940.  She died an accidental death in January 1942.  A younger brother named Fred was born in May 1942.  In September 1942 all of my brothers began the school year including the next older than myself named Dell.  This left me at home with my mother and an infant brother.  My mother always told how I was so lonely I would not leave her side, tagging along like a faithful puppy.  I apparently couldn’t determine any reason for everyone leaving every day.  After two or three days of this my mother sent me with the older children to school so I could see for myself where they went every day.

Miss Bessie Dewan, my teacher for the first four years, sent word back to my mother she thought I was able to fit into the first grade even though I was but 4 years old.  So it was I began school then.  Thus I finished the sixth grade at the age of 9, and ultimately graduated high school at age 15 after completing 12 full years of school in 1954.

With six grades all being taught in the same room the lower grades got some benefit of listening to the older grades, and the older grades got some benefit of reaffirmation of what they had learned in previous years when a younger class was in session.  I remember on many occasions I would note George , who was a grade higher than myself, struggling to understand his arithmetic.  Raising my hand I would ask if it was okay to help him.  With the teacher’s permission I would help George, and I hadn’t even been taught yet what he was doing.  This is an example of the benefit of listening in on the higher classes.  The following year when it was my class’s turn to learn that material I already knew it.  In my opinion this is a fairly good system.