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Macdonald Consolidated School was established in 1904 as a model school for Ontario through the sponsorship of Sir William Macdonald, a Montréal tobacco manufacturer and philanthropist. Macdonald was an advocate for the consolidated school movement, which involved closing small rural schools and amalgamating them into one large school. The school's first students travelled by horse-drawn van and benefited from qualified teachers and an expanded curriculum that included nature study, manual training and domestic science. The school also featured a chemistry laboratory, auditorium, indoor plumbing and individual garden plots for each student. ==History== At the turn of the century (1904), the major problems facing Canadian educators was the so-called “rural school problem”. More importantly, the population in country schools was declining as students were attracted by the opportunities and glamour offered by city life. Curriculum in rural schools did little to encourage the future farmer since subjects were still based on the traditional combination of literature and the classics. At the same time, farmer’s groups throughout North America were calling for equal opportunities for rural and urban children and a curriculum more scaled to the practical needs of farm life. Various solutions were sought to upgrade rural education, such as adding agriculture to the curriculum, and establishing closer ties with colleges like the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph. However, the most successful solution was found in the consolidation of rural school districts. The movement began in the United States with the passing of an act in New York in 1864, quickly spread throughout New England, and found its greatest success in Ohio, Indiana and Iowa. Consolidation involved the concentration of a number of small, scattered country schools into one large school consisting of three to five rooms; the provision of a well-qualified teaching staff; and the transporting of students to and from the school in horse-drawn vans. In Canada, the earliest attempt at solving the rural school problem occurred late in 1902, Sir William Macdonald, the Montreal tobacco manufacturer and philanthropist, made available to Professor James Robertson, at that time Dominion Agricultural and Dairying Commissioner, a sum of money which was to be used for the introduction of practical work into country schools of Eastern Canada. The objectives of the “Macdonald Movement” were twofold – to encourage the consolidation of rural schools, and to promote the development of those subjects most compatible with agrarian life, namely nature study, manual training and domestic science. The first step by the Macdonald Rural Schools Fund was to establish model school gardens at five rural schools in each of the five eastern provinces. The students were responsible for the care of their own garden plots of approximately 36 square feet each. They learned practical lessons of proper seed selection, rotation of crops, and protection of crops from weeds, insects and disease. Supporters at the time hailed the school garden experiment, and one 1905 report described it as a means to “cultivate the sense of ownership and a social spirit of co-operation and mutual respect for one another’s rights.” Coinciding with the school garden experiment was the construction of four model consolidated schools at Middleton, Nova Scotia in 1903; at Kingston, New Brunswick and Guelph the following year; and at Hillsborough, Prince Edward Island in 1905. Macdonald agreed to subsidize the schools during the first three years of their existence and it was hoped that after that time, funding would be assumed by either the province or local bodies once the worthiness of the experiment had been demonstrated. From the beginning, rural school trustees saw the advantages of consolidation. It was clear that regular and increased attendance would be assured, and by conveying pupils in horse-drawn vans children would be less exposed to damp and cold weather. There was also the advantage of a more sophisticated classroom situation and children could now progress through the various grades within their peer group. The Macdonald Fund set an example as well for the teachers who were carefully selected and then sent to special courses at Columbia and Cornell Universities. In general, the costs of education a student were lower than before consolidation, since students stayed at school longer and general attendance increased – in some cases as high as 90 percent from as low as 60 percent before consolidation. Notwithstanding these advantages, the rural public in eastern Canada did not immediately embrace the ideals of the Macdonald Movement. Although most believed that the results of consolidation were positive, some districts voted to return to the one room schoolhouse, since the expense of transporting children produced an increase in their annual operating costs. It is interesting to note that consolidation was more successful in the prairies where provincial departments of education in the West provided the initial stimulus and funding required rather than relying on the Macdonald Fund. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Macdonald Consolidated School」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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