One hundred years of education in the City of Brainerd starts
with one teacher in a one-room school trying to teach children
of all ages to read and "figure." Only the fortunate few were
able to attend school. Those living too far from school, those
needed at home to help, those with parents who could not see the
need for schooling or those who were physically handicapped, did
not go to school. School was essentially for the quick learners.
Ten to 20 percent kept on in school; the slow learners dropped
out. Education has come a long way. Today, it is a state law
that all children attend school between the ages of six and 16,
starting with the first grade. Attendance at kindergarten is
optional. The attitude towards education has changed in these
100 years. Education has become all-important in a child's life.
Parents are eager for their children to receive the finest
education possible. They no longer even think of keeping their
children at home to help. School buses are provided for the
children living out-o