(5028
St. Rt 96 - West of Shelby,Ohio - across from the airport)
Dear
Visitor:
The
Morton One Room School Historical Society would like to welcome
you to our Museum web site. We hope that you will find this site
informative and useful in your preparation to attend the Morton
One Room School Historical Museum.
It
has been our goal not only to rehabilitate one of the last one
room schools in Sharon Township,Richland County Ohio but to also
provide a cultural and education center for the surrounding communities.
Since
one room schools played such an important role in the early education
of pioneer families in Ohio, we thought it only fitting that
we should work hard to reclaim Morton so that it could once again
be used as a place for children to come and learn. It gives children
an occasion to feel and see the type of environment in which
their ancestors were taught, and how their ancestors' country
of origin mandated the curriculum within the school. Morton like
so many other one room schools was situated in a large German
speaking community, thus making the ability to speak German and
English a requirement for any one who would have taught there.
We
think that there are important social lessons for children to
learn in attending Morton also. It allows them a chance to see
what a significant place the country school held within the early
community.
The
three important institutions in the early settlements were their
churches, their granges and their schools. Of these three, the
school was the most important because it was free of the influences
of religion and politics and thus became the neutral ground for
many social functions.
Second,
it allows children to experience a different kind of teaching
environment from the one they are now immersed in. It takes them
away from the pressure of the modern schools, allowing them to
feel the interaction between the teacher and his or her pupils
which may surpass the computer driven education they are now
experiencing. The country teachers and early educators helped
to nurture the great minds of the industrial revolution of this
country and gave us great political leaders and scientists.
The
country school will always be the underpinning to the argument,
that if a child learns the basics of education well and how to
apply them, he or she can conquer the obstacles of life. It will
also allow children to see how the role of the teacher has switched
from authoritarian to helper.
Finally,
we hope that having children come and see Morton will allow them
to understand that "recycling" isn’t our only
social obligation. Along with protecting our natural resources,
we have to protect our historical landmarks as well. With the
gifts of knowledge's enlightenment that history provides us we
as individuals and as a community have an obligation to help
preserve what has been left to us by those who have lived before
us.
Morton
is a preservation project.
Would
you like to schedule a Morton One Room School Class Visit ?
