Uphill One Way

The distance from Raymond Dykens’s house to his one-room schoolhouse in Jasper County, Missouri, was less than two miles with a climb of exactly twenty-four feet. As a result, there is no disputing that Raymond walked uphill one way to school every day.

In a delightful collection of anecdotes that include recollections by his brothers and fascinating photographs, Raymond shares true experiences from 1947 through 1956 that reveal what it was like to learn in a one-room country school that included teachings not only at his desk but also outside the classroom. His colorful stories detail many life lessons learned from eating possum grapes and green apples, riding his horse to school, sharing an outhouse with a seasonal black snake and a few black widow spiders, listening to the same story about Dick and Jane and a dog named Spot, overcoming a stuttering problem with help from a compassionate and determined teacher, and committing a crime that caused him to spend an afternoon with his nose firmly planted within a ring drawn on the blackboard.

Uphill One Way shares a retired educator’s childhood learning experiences that highlight the value of the one-room country school and its impact on America and the public school system.