Are your rural schools closer to this essayist's dream, or to his nightmare?

"Low regard for education is an unfortunate part of local history for many rural communities across the U.S.," Timothy Collins writes for the Daily Yonder. "It seems we have all too often taken a minimalist and pragmatic approach to rural public schools. Vestiges of a deep disrespect for too much “book learning” and anything that smacks of intellectualism are all too common. Many rural schools operate with minimal resources. Local property tax funding mechanisms are disastrous. State funding mechanisms are often inequitable. Some communities can’t – or won’t – tax themselves for better schools."

Collins' essay begins with his nightmare about guidance counselors going for the lowest common denominator, but he wakes up and offers some hope: "By the growing light of day, I see things in a new way. For generations, rural schools – whatever their limitations – educated teachers, nurses, lawyers, physicians, and other professionals and skilled workers who helped provide community leadership. Others left and did well elsewhere. Those who decided to stay tried to do their best. Maybe they made some well-meaning decisions that turned out to be bad. Ever so slowly, their decisions – well-meaning or not – ran up against the political, economic, and cultural forces of a nation and a world that rendered their community and school into the stuff of my nightmare."

Collins, assistant director for research, policy, outreach, and sustainability at the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University, concludes: "Even if we can’t overcome the financial obstacles for rural schools, we need to encourage children to do their best with high expectations that are tailored to their needs, potentials, and desires to show what they can do for themselves and their communities. Here’s my dream: We need to appeal to what’s best in children and the communities that are responsible for their future. With positive support, they can, and will, meet the challenges of high expectations. The alternative is nightmarish." (Read more)