^%q PLANS ani SPECIFICATIONS for SCHOOLHOUSES Issued by tne State Scnool Commissioner Dy «ir«etian or tne Eaucational Campaign Committee of Georgia e^^gagS^ ATI,ANTA, GA. The Franklin-Turner Company Printers, Publishers, Binders 1907 \jrjMyv>cy7a. X./AjlaX.oJLa./^*'^ ''•^*>'^ Q^ o>rwJfif^ PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR SCHOOL HOUSES ISSUED BY THE STATE SCHOOL COMMISSIONER BY DIRECTION OF THE EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE OF GEORGIA EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE. David C. Barrow, Warre;n A. Candi^er, Hoke; Smith, W. J. Northi^, W. B. Merritt, M. L. DUGGAN. 1— I w ^M •-1 (= f/J o n " HH w O < O (D HH "-I fD W n- a fr^ n K p vj 1— 1 i" O t> C5 M ^ W ri- al o > ^ en k; Q > FRIENDSBIP AOADEJMY, RURAL SCHOOL, Gwinnett County, Ga. (This house was built accoraing to floor plan of cut below). n.o)R PL^n iMwiMCi Wv)v;KU(ii.!^tNT row N ONC OOTVMOOOOn SCW»\. HOUbC. OMJOITT «- TV\OnbOH MJCHVTLCT5. Plan No. I. There is a growing interest throughout the State in the mat- ter of school buildings. This is manifested, not only through the large numbers of school-houses being built, but also in the many inquiries received at the State Department of Education for plans in building new houses. The supreme need in many communities is that of a comfortable and attractive house in which the children n-iay be taught, and people are commencing to realize this need. Feeling this demand and the need and advantage of neat, attractive school-houses, the State School Commissioner laid these needs before the Educational Campaign Committee of ■Georgia, and by their direction this pamphlet has been pre- pared and is now presented to the school-workers of Georgia. Most of the drawings and plans were prepared by Mr. A. F. N. Everett, of the firm of Bruce, & Everett, Atlanta, Ga. If more particular details are required they may be had at small cost by writing to Mr. Everett. A supply of these pamphlets will be sent to each county school commissioner, and copies may be had by application to them, or by sending to the State Department. Comfortable school-houses will conduce greatly to good work on the part of teachers and pupils. It is a notable fact that in the oratorical contests most of the prizes are borne off by students who ha\-e attended school in attractive houses. The records also show that the per cent, of attendance is higher in communities where the school-houses are well built and well kept. 4. Trustees and other school officials should be interested not- only in erecting attractive buildings, but in the character of work done; the work should conform to and be in keeping with the good building. » SKETCH FEJ^srcCTIvE <■ , MOOE.U One KOOM 3CHOOuHousi MODEU ONE P^OOM RWFe/*i_ SCHOOL. H OUS£ P E3i*T>'S f^oof- CL-^Ts^ KOO»- jn. C t->^s^ fc ^ • 2>t-rE-rCH F*Ef^speCTi vFL ^ MODEL FOURROQM 'SCHOOU H0U3E Deai&^Ni '>io.^i^l 15 the eyes, neutral tints being preferred. Lead and oil should be used in the outside painting, three coats. Walls and ceilings of school-rooms should be tinted in colors, preventing any glaring effect and under all circumstances the effect of light upon the eyes should be soft and free from glare and of suffi- cient strength to see with clearness and study with comfort. Interior woodwork can either be painted soft grays or can be stained natural wood finish. The latter method is more durable and more cleanly. All tinwork on roofs and decks to be painted one coat on under side before applying and two coats on upper side after being laid, of mineral paint. Roof shin- gles can be either painted or dipped in creosote stain. This adds to the appearance of the building and protects the shingles from the weather. A good creosote stain should be used and shingles dipped two-thirds of their length before being put on. A more economical way, however, is to brush coat the stain after the shingles are on. This does not permit of the stain getting down in the cracks. PLUMBING. Where there are no waterworks, outside closets should be used and the same should be placed a good distance from the main building. The buildings to be sufficiently large to accom- modate the pupils and to be protected by lattice screens from the outside. WATER SUPPLY. It is vei-y essential that the water supply for drinking pur- j)oses should be of the very best. Wells should be located so that the surface water will not run into same. The ,greatest care should be taken in the selection of drinking water. If stoves are used in rooms there should be always a vessel of fresh water kept on same to keep the air moist. It is a good idea to have several buckets of water kept in convenient places as a protection in the case of fire. A. F. N. Everett, Architect. 16 SUGGESTIONS ON THE SCHOOL BUILDING. The plan and model of a house should conform to the use to be made of it. It is not economy to build a schoolhouse after a pattern better suited for some other purpose. The comfort and health of the children for every school day in the year should he kept constantly in mind; instead of the accommodation of the community at the annual concert or similar occasion. Strength and comfort are first considerations. Convenience and beauty are to be thoroughly considered. The foundation should be of brick or stone, and the floor high enough from the ground to admit of free circulation of air, and to prevent the decay of timbers on account of moist- ure absorbed from the ground. The floor should be doubled, and airtight. After it is thor- oughly dry, it should receive two coats of linseed oil. This will preserve the wood and prevent the accumulation of un- healthy germs. Many a case of lung trouble, pneumonia, grippe, etc., has been caused by a crack in the schoolroom floor. The brain can not do its best work if the feet are cold. After an inspection of hundreds of rural school buildings. I am convinced that more defects are to be found in the ar- rangements for lighting and ventilating than in any other re- spect. The average school patron does not realize the impor- tance of these points, and too often the teacher is negligent concerning them. When pupils are sluggish,, inattentive, or irritable, there is cause to believe that the air is not so pure or the light not so good, as should be. The admission of fresh air into the room without causing a draft is often a problem hard to solve. If the matter is given the proper attention during the construction of the building it will save much worry and trouble. The two floor joists (sleepers) that pass under the place 17 where the stove is to be set should be carefully ceiled on the under side; a hole cut in the weatherboarding above the sill at the end of this flue as long as the joists are apart and as wide as the joists. This hole should be covered with wire gauze. A hole should be cut in the floor just under the stove about eight inches square. This should also be covered with wire gauze. This air box,' if constructed as suggested above, will be eight or ten inches deep and one and a half or two feet wide. It should be perfectly airtight under the house so that dust or foul air from under the house would not be drawn into it. If no air leaves the room none can enter; therefore it is neces- sary to provide a vent for the escape of the impure air. Hot air rises and if this opening is made in the overhead ceiling, the cold air in parts of the room not near the stove will remain unchanged and not heated. The carbonic acid gas which is given off by the pupils in breathing is heavier than air and if the escape vent is not near the floor this foul gas will not be removed, although pure air may be passing through the room. At the gable end of the room, sheet two studs with tin, or tar paper. The plate should be cut out between these two studs and the box continued to within two feet of the comb. Here an opening should be made in the weatherboarding as large as the space enclosed between the studs. The tin or paper on the inside should be pulled across and attached to the weather- boarding just above this hole. At the floor the baseboard should be cut out between these two studs. The holes at each end of this flue should be pro- tected with wire gauze to keep out birds and rats. If this flue is not made airtight on the sides, the cold air rushing through the cracks of the weatherboarding will prevent its taking the air from the room. Around the stove should be a sheet iron jacket, a foot higher than the stove, and six to twelve inches from its sides all -around. As the air inside this jacket is heated and rises, the 18 air from the flue underneath rushes up to take its place and be heated. The air in the room is pressed down, and being: wanner than the air outside, causes a draft through the open- ing in the baseboard at the end of the room. It is no extra cost to have the windows so arranged that the rooms of the building may be properly lighted and venti- lated; but only a small per cent, are so arranged. The windows may be as far as three feet above the floor, but they should reach within a foot of the ceiling. The upper sash should be hung with weights or on hinges. In most schoolrooms the space above the tops of the windows is one- fourth or more of the space in the room. Only when the air in this space is cooler than that on the outside will it descend, and pass out the openings. The windows should be sufficient in number and size ta- equal in area one-fourth to one-fifth of the floor space. Even more than this per cent, should be provided if the room is- more than half as high as it is wide. Eleven feet is high enough for a room twenty-five feet wide. Under no circumstances should windows be at that end of the room toward which the pupils face when seated. If only one side is lighted, so arrange the seats that the light comes to the left side of the pupil. If possible the room should be so located that the pupils seated shall face north. All maps should be hung on the north wall. This is especially important in the arrangement- of rooms for primary grades. The advantages in favor of patent desks outweigh the dif- ference in cost between them and seats made at home. The size of the pupil to be seated should be in mind when seats- are purchased or made. It is barbarous and often results in lasting injury to require- the child to occupy a seat so high that its feet can not reach the floor. If patent desks are bought they should be properly put to- gether. Many school-desks in the State would have lasted: twice as long if they had been properly put together. 19 Sometimes it is not desirable to fasten the desks to the floor. The following plan has been found effective in keeping the desks in position and permitting easy remo\^al for sweeping or change of arrangement in the room. Use slats one and a half inches by three, long enough for three desks. Fasten the desks to these with screw^s. This section is too heavy to be easily pushed out of position, and yet light enough to be moved to any part of the room by two pupils. Each coat room should be provided with a shelf with hooks on the outer edge for hanging coats. When hung against the wall, damp wraps retain the moisture and are more apt to- injuriously affect the child when again used. The schoolhouse and its surroundings should be attractive to the eye. The refining and cultural influence of a beautiful building and grounds can not be overestimated. The proper respect for property rights, law, order and systematic labor is much harder to teach the child if the house and its surround- ings are not attractive. The architectural design of the building has its effect on the character of each child that attends the school. If patrons comprehended the lasing effects of the convenience and comfort and beauty of the house on the child, our school buildings would all be models of elegance. The time has come when county boards may demand such conditions of school grounds, buildings, and appurtenances as will insure the comfort and health of the pupils. No school should be permitted to open until the building is put in good condition for heating, lighting and ventilation. The conditions of the grounds and the outbuildings should come up to the standard requirements. It is gratifying to know that in most communities these matters are being properly regulated by the local trustees ; but such things are too important to pass without notice even though of rare occurrence. It is a notable fact that in communities where much com- plaint of vandalism was formerly made, that since the property has been turned over to the county board and put in first- class condition, cause for these complaints has disappeared. 20 THE COUNTY SCHOOLHOUSE AND ITS GROUNDS : AN AID TO AGRICUIvTURAIv TRAI^TING. By the Hon. James Wieson, Secretary of Agriculture. [Reprinted from The Youthfs Companion, March 14, 1901.] Sometimes the country schoolhouse has extensive and well- kept grounds, but oftener it is in a pasture, a cultivated field or a wood-lot. In these instances, although the playgrounds are usually adequate, the opportunities for object-lessons in natural history and in various profitable but incidental lines of study may not be recognized. Th^ young farmer can not be introduced to Nature too soon, ;and should never be long separated from her object-lessons. Suitable text-books designed to lead him by easy stages are still few and not well arranged. We live in an age of specialized work, and men of educa- tion must usually, if they would become impressive, confine their inquiries to one channel. The farmer deals with soils, -plants and animals, with heat and cold — in short, with nature in her varied forms and manifestations. It would seem wise, in the interest of the commonwealth and of himself, that he should be made thoroughly acquainted with soils and their composition, with the life of plants and animals, and with the various species that may be expected to flourish in particular localities and climates. Yet although the farm keeps the balance of trade in the nation's favor, furnishes two-thirds of our exports, contrib- utes to our manufacuring supremacy by providing cheap food for our mechanics, comparatively little has been done toward educating the farmer for his work. To be sure, the United States has done more for him than any other country. In 1862, Congress endowed agricultural colleges to teach the sciences relating to agriculture. In 1867, experiment stations were provided for, where research might be made into the operations of nature. THE OLD AT WOLF FORK, RABUN COUNTY, GA. SOLD FOR $17. THE NEW AT WOLF FORK. VALUE OF BUILDING AND" EQUIPMENTS, $600. SCHOOL GARDEN. Plain's High School, Sumter County. ■ "A COUNTRY SCHOOL LIBRARY." From Kern's Among Country Schools. 21 But considering that Americans pay more money for public education than any other people on earth, a comparatively small proportion of the sum is devoted to stimulating and aid- ing that half of our population who cultivate the soil. The tendency of primary education has been to lead the country youth away from the farm instead of helping him in the study of those sciences relating to production. It would be politic and patriotic to incorporate into the fann youth's education some knowledge that shall bear more directly upon his future life and work. And first, the grounds around the schoolhouse could be made to speak out in a language easily intelligible to the youth, whose eyes have been familiar with nature from the days of the cradle. Flowers should abound in the schoolhouse grounds. They are among the best of educators, for they develop taste and a love for the beautiful, and make men sensitive to the attractive and lovely, in town or country, in field or forest. Moreover, the flower of the plant has an economic use, concerning which the scholar should be informed. Nature designed it to invite the wayfaring insect, and we can employ it to delight the child in its first journey away from hon^e. Little people, in fair weather, should not sit long at a time on benches in school. The lawn should be arranged for their pleasure, and in any such arrangement flowers can not be omitted. Although their language will not be immediately understood, the child will, by gradual acquaintance, learn t: know and love them. The country boy is usually bashful, and has little to say to new acquaintances; the flowers would get into his confidence sooner than most strangers. He would not miss home and mother and familiar things so much. Instructive lessons about annuals, biennials and perennials could be taught as the years go by. The names of the plants and of their several parts would be memorized much more readily from the living subject than from a book. At recesses and during the noon hour much of the plant-lore given to the 22 more advanced students would be dealt out by them to the beginners. Young people do not hide things under a bushel. The study of nature's book is never regarded as a task, and what she tells us in her own peculiar way finds almost always- an open mind and a retentive memory. In the very best rural schools are found herbariums, fishes preserved in alcohol, samples of rocks, soils, woods and min- erals. There are few districts in any of our States that can not afford these collections, and there is no good reason why the country teacher should not use the out-of-door object-lessons that are so abundant, so inviting, and altogether so appropriate for the best development of the young farmer. Heat and moisture are good servants of the cultivator when controlled, but severe masters where, through ignorance, they are permitted to have their own way. Their potent influence on production is generally overlooked in the- education of the farmer. The subject is certainly neglected entirely in most of our country schools, important thought it may be to the future welfare of the child. Advanced research to discover the effects of heat and moist- ure on production is receiving some attention at our agricul- tural colleges, and valuable results are available to the students who reach the colleges; but these are comparatively few in number. The State college endowed by Congress offers to the farmer a kind of intermediate stage of education, but he- is given no practical beginning in the common school, and there is no university in which, after graduating from college, he might carry on specialization. Many of us have distinct recollections of disagreeable school- houses and grounds. We ought to arrange matters so that different impressions will be made on the little people who now venture from home and go to school. We should associate as many attractive things around the schoolhouse as can be brought together, just as we make the parlor the most beautiful room at home in order that our friends may be pleased while they visit us. bo 03 © ■SMO I'd .s§^^s O O o k1 1-3 1—1 M o o M •tJ 03 03 4^ (3 03 W +? » p a; ^H « p£5 a; fH D fe -M oj O St- 'X3 °' O 1 53 C O 3 01 C bX) P4 22 M o O >^ H O o < H Ph o o W o OQ ft H H 9 ^ 3 3 5 a> -1^ ^ oi r^ "^ O rtl "^ rH UJ n >~> T3 o rW- n fe -^ » 13 11 ^ 0) o C 03 QJ be ,i2 tT 3 "S O) Ol JJ^ 1^ 03 o3 5 0) P4 (-1 u o c 0) ID 5 >! ^Ph4^ o C rt 03 H o •l-H OpC no o is c3 J5 =3 O +3 a on' ^C5 '^■s C O) MS O) o O o -u J-1 O .5 o 4J uO ^S ■» CD g^ a; ® "c <« -g C +i „ cDri; 3 ■S, oi c3 CO C "p S ^ - 'd (n .- o '^ bo-)sJ?5 o g 6 & 0. 2 f^^ 3 rci S O •" g, © "-' X rrt O - "^ '/I ^ -^ 3 U S el's rl CO 3 to Ca