Question

From The Beginnings of a Mississippi School

I had been unable to get permission to teach in the little church, so I started my school in the open air. We were out under the big trees amidst the shrubbery. This would have made a very good schoolhouse but for its size. In such a schoolhouse one could get along very well, if he could keep his pupils close enough to him, but the chances are, as I have found, that they will put bugs down one another's collars, and while you are hearing one class the other children will chase one another about. Their buoyant spirits will not permit them to keep quiet while they are in the open. It is pretty hard to hear a class reciting and at the same time to witness a boxing-match, but those who teach in the open air must be prepared for such performances. These annoyances were accentuated by the fact that some of my pupils were forty years old while others were six. Which detail from the passage best supports the conclusion the author draws about teaching in the outdoors?


1. I had been unable to get permission to teach in the little church, so I started my school in the open air." 2. "We were out under the big trees amidst the shrubbery." 3. "Their buoyant spirits will not permit them to keep quiet while they are in the open." 4. "These annoyances were accentuated by the fact that some of my pupils were forty years old while others were six."​

Answer 1

The detail from the passage that best supports the conclusion the author draws about teaching in the outdoors is "Their buoyant spirits will not permit them to keep quiet while they are in the open." This implies that teaching in the open air presents a unique challenge because the students are more lively and have difficulty staying focused and quiet. The author goes on to describe the distractions and disruptions that occur when teaching in the open air, such as bugs down collars and boxing matches, which further support the idea that it is more difficult to maintain control and discipline in an outdoor classroom setting.