Special to the Delta Heritage Center by Emily Pugh
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| East Side Elementary Teacher Joni Taylor describes to her 5th grade class what school would have been like at Flagg Grove School in the early 1900s. The students participated in the first lesson to be taught in the one-room schoolhouse since the mid-1960s. |
“Your
dream cannot work without education.” These words, spoken by Nutbush native
Tina Turner, are what visitors hear while touring the newly-restored Flagg
Grove School at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville, Tenn. Recently, two
local 5th grade classes experienced what it must have been like to
attend the one room schoolhouse. On
November 24, the East Side Elementary classes of teachers Joni Taylor and Wendy
Piercey were given the unique distinction of being the first students taught in
the school since its closure in the mid-1960s.
As
the children stepped inside the schoolhouse, Taylor numbered each child off to
signify the eight grades taught in the one room building. The students sat,
some in the original desks and some on
the floor, while experiencing first-hand the lessons and challenges.
Each
“grade” was given a different assignment that was written on the school's original
chalkboard. For example, first grade was asked to write their name 10 times,
and "print clearly;" eighth grade was told to write a five paragraph
essay while other students did arithmetic or simple sentences.
Students
were given a history lesson about life "back in the day." Taylor explained
that the school was an African-American school and built 24 years after the
signing of the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves.
"This
equals 24 years of children growing up without a formal education," Taylor
explained. “What do you think they were doing instead of going to school?"
Taylor
explained that children would have their own chores, from boys picking cotton
and working as farm hands to girls helping cook and washing and mending
clothes.
These
daily routines were altered somewhat when Flagg Grove School was built in 1889.
Education became the focus in the little community. Most children walked to
school and each family paid one dollar per child, per month, for the teacher’s
salary.
Taylor
told them about outhouses and explained about the potbelly stove. Not only did
the kids get to experience the inside of the school, they each rang the school
bell and tried their hand at the old well pump outside. Many proclaiming they
were happy to be attending school in this century.
Students
also visited the museums and exhibits inside the Delta Heritage Center, on a special
tour lead by Mrs. Piercey, and were excited to learn that people from all over
the world stop in Brownsville to see the Center. According to Center director,
Sonia Outlaw-Clark, more than 22,000 visitors have stopped so far this year
from all 50 states and 35 countries.
The
children's experience in the 125-year-old school building, coupled with its
rich history, continues to emphasize the importance of education and the
school's unique legacy.
About the author:
Emily Pugh, a Brownsville native, is in her first year of college at the
University of Memphis. She is studying Public Relations with hopes to work in
the tourism field.
