June 30, 2011

Schoolhouses are Made Wrong

"Schoolhouses are made wrong.  If they must be, they would be built in a woods pasture beside a stream, where you could wade, swim, and be comfortable in summer, and slide and skate in winter.  The windows should be cut to the floor, and stand wide open, so the birds and butterflies could pass through.  You ought to learn your geography by climbing a hill, walking through a valley, wading creeks, making islands in them, and promontories, capes, and peninsulas along the bank.  You should do your arithmetic sitting under trees adding hickory-nuts, subtracting walnuts, multiplying butternuts, and dividing hazelnuts.  You could use apples for fractions, and tin cups for liquid measure.  You could spell everything in sight and this would teach you the words that are really used in the world. "