"This story of one year's experiences in a Pima County, Arizona, rural school, told by the teachers and pupils...all took place before World War II, before Sputnik, before 'anti-poverty' measures."--Eulalia Bourne, from the Preface.

"These short biographies of twenty-eight female writers and journalists from Arizona span the one hundred years since Arizona became the forty-eighty state in the Union. They capture the emotions, the monumental and often overlooked events, and the prioneering spirit of women whose lives are now part of Arizona history" -- Cover p. [4].

An annotated bibliography of fiction, history, biography, poetry, drama, and folklore from and about the southwestern region of the United States.

The history of Arizona public schooling had a modest beginning in 1864 when the first Territorial Legislature allotted $1,500 to five existing mission schools. The third territorial governor, Anson P. K. Safford, launched a crusade to establish public schools, and by 1877 there were 28. The 1885 Legislature authorized the founding of a Territorial Normal School at Tempe and a university at Tuscon. By 1900 Arizona had 428 public schools. The major accomplishment of the early 1900s was the establishment of high schools. During the 1920s and 1930s the first junior colleges were founded, and school consolidation halved the number of one-teacher schools in the state. After World War II, Arizona experienced tremendous growth, and the sudden influx of students created new problems for boards of education. Between 1960 and 1985, federal monies became a factor in local school district funding, and the number of schools continued to grow, reaching 861 public schools and 484 private schools and preschools by 1980. This collection contains historical overviews, many old photographs, and 114 personal reminiscences about memorable educators, teaching and education experiences in small rural schools, the inauguration of "modern" schools and educational innovations, and the particular experiences of pioneers, Blacks, Mexican-Americans, and Japanese American World War II internees. (SV)