I became good friends with some curious cows as I visited the remains of the former Fairview School, Greer County, Oklahoma.
A map from 1921 shows the Fairview district located a bit southeast of Mangum. Two smaller schools were consolidated into Fairview in 1917, and the new school became the pride of the area, with a teacherage to house its faculty. It had a three-year high school option for its students, a debate team, a basketball team, and even a glee club. The majority of its students were tenant farmers who grew cotton, and the long summer "vacations" were scheduled to accommodate cotton picking.
The United States was built on a system of public literacy. It took a lot of work to ensure that every person had access, and it boggles my mind how public education continues to get politically attacked. I've always thought that one universal rule to follow is that if a group wants to deny others access to education, it's because that group doesn't want you to learn what they're hiding.
