The first public school kindergarten class in Maryville (and probably Nodaway County) and was held in the Administration — creating a situation where Maryville students could attend all classes from Kindergarten through college bachelors degree in one building.
The teacher was Alice Almira Martin who in 1908 started teaching kindergarten at the office of her father Dr. Francis Marion Martin (who was married to Sarah Salome Westfall Martin) at 306 South Main. I do not see the 306 South Main listed as address now.
She married Phil Ridgeway Smiley of Maryville in 1913 and they moved to California. She died on May 14, 1963 and is buried at Forest Lawn Park in Glendale, California. Her parents are buried at Miriam Cemetery in Maryville. Phil was buried in Glendale, but his parents were buried at Oak Hill, Maryville.
Maryville College Kindergarten – Nodaway Countians in History
The Maryville Daily Forum, June 5, 1972, Page 2. via Newspapers.com https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-maryville-daily-forum-first-kinderga/200069355/
Mrs. Joseph Phipps, Maryville, contributed this photograph of the first kindergarten class held at Maryville College in 1911.
The college was then called the State Normal. Front row, Donna Wrizlet, “Sunny” Moore, Margaret Louise Hasmer Stanley, Orrel Anderson, Donald Bellows, Burdette Yeo, Genevieve Todd Rickman, back row, Mayme Elizabeth Greme Phipps, Harold Miller, Harold Warner, the teacher, Miss Alice Martin (Mrs. Phil Smiley), Ida Masters, Forrest Martin, Forrest Smith, Lambert Pinnell and Homer Ogden.
WHERE LITTLE TOTS STUDY
The Maryville Daily Forum, October 5, 1908, Page 4. via Newspapers.com https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-maryville-daily-forum-alice-martins/200227352/
Only a few people in Maryville, outside of the patrons, know there such a thing as a kindergarten school in the very heart of the city. The school opened a week ago at 306 South Main with fifteen pupils and with Miss Alice Martin as teacher.
The pupils are in attendance from 9 until 12 o’clock a. m. each day and are from 3 to 6 years of age. Miss Martin’s room is attractively and comfortably furnished for the little folks. Miss Martin’s sister, Miss Mabel Martin, is present each day to play the piano for the songs, marches, and games. As each little tot arrives, Miss Alice Martin shakes hands, calls them by name in the good morning greeting, hangs their wraps in the hall, takes them by the hand and escorts them to a miniature chair by the fire, talking all the while in a friendly manner, making the little one feel perfectly free and happy with his or her surroundings. When the study hour arrives.
The pupils sit in a circle, their feet properly placed, their hands folded. and listen to quiet music. All join in an audible prayer after this manner:
“Now, before we work today, let us not forget to pray to God who kept us through the night and brought us to the morning light. Help us, Lord, to love thee more than we ever loved before, our work and in our play grow more loving every day.”
This is followed by some of the songs written by Jessie L. Gaynor, Eleanor Smith, Patty Hill, or Susan Blow. A favorite song sung by Miss Martin’s class has the words, “Father, we thank thee for the night.” The twenty-minute march to music includes running and skipping steps.
Miss Martin engages her little folks in conversations about their own families, the bird family, and other related subjects, during which many interesting things are shared by the members of the class, and questions are asked and answered. The children bring leaves, pictures, or anything they like to talk about, and the walls are decorated with their little offerings. Miss Martin’s recent offering to the wall decorations is a 12-inch-wide border of her own animal designs in silhouette work, quite artistically done. The pupils are permitted to celebrate their birthdays in the school room and properly observe the national holiday. On Thursday, little Justine Marie Fraser’s fifth birthday was celebrated, with five candles burned in her honor and good wishes offered as the flames were extinguished. On Thursday, the class carried home their cardboard squares, on which they had designed the sky and earth, with a horizontal line drawn by the teacher as a starting point.
History of Kindergartens
Kindergarten was invented to provide a nurturing, play-based educational environment for young children. Created in 1837 by German educator Friedrich Fröbel, the concept literally translates to “garden of children”. Fröbel’s goal was to treat young minds like plants in a garden, allowing them to flourish through self-directed play, creativity, and exploration. [1, 2, 3]
The Driving Philosophy
Before Fröbel’s innovation, young children were largely excluded from formal education and were frequently viewed merely as miniature adults in need of strict discipline. Fröbel revolutionized early education by focusing on “the whole child,” championing several core concepts: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
- Play as Learning: He believed children learn vital lessons in logic, physics, and resilience through seemingly simple play. [1, 2]
- “Fröbel Gifts”: He designed a specific set of 20 educational toys (such as balls, blocks, and geometric shapes) to help children recognize and appreciate patterns and structures in the world. [1, 2]
- Connection to Nature: Gardening and interacting with nature were central to the curriculum, teaching children to observe, nurture, and discover. [1, 2]
The Social & Historical Impact
The concept quickly spread across the globe—evolving to meet different social needs as it traveled: [1, 2]
- In Europe: Industrialization created a high demand for childcare, but Fröbel’s focus remained on providing a gentle transition between the home and the outside world. [1, 2]
- In the United States: The Smithsonian Magazine highlights how German immigrants originally brought the concept to the U.S. in the 1850s to educate their own children. By the late 1800s, charities and public school districts adopted the kindergarten model, specifically using it in large cities to help the children of immigrants assimilate, learn English, and develop social and cognitive skills before entering first grade. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Missouri was the first state to have publicly funded Kindergartens, but doesn’t Require Parents to enroll
Kindergartens have never been legally required for students in Missouri. State law only mandates that children be formally enrolled in a school by the age of 7, meaning families can legally opt out of kindergarten entirely. [1, 2]
Though never a mandatory requirement, Missouri actually established the first publicly funded, free public school kindergarten in the United States. Educator Susan Blow opened the historic program in 1873 at the Des Peres School in Carondelet (St. Louis). [1, 2, 3]
While a large majority of children enroll , districts are simply required to admit age-eligible children. You can read more about state eligibility standards via the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) or learn about the historical roots of America’s First Kindergarten. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Why Would Parents Not Want to Enroll Students in Kindergarten?
Parents may choose to delay or avoid kindergarten for a variety of valid reasons. The most common factors include: [1]
- Child Development & “Redshirting”: Some parents feel their child is not yet emotionally or socially ready , preferring to wait a year so their child can gain maturity, self-regulation, and better impulse control. [1, 2, 3]
- Financial Costs & Childcare: Public kindergarten is often not a full-day program, creating a hardship for working parents. Some families opt to keep children in existing full-day daycares or private preschools to maintain their schedules. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
- Alternative Schooling: A rising number of parents are opting to homeschool or choose alternative early-learning models rather than enter the traditional public school system . [1, 2]
- Academic Pressures: Parents may worry that the increasingly academic expectations of modern kindergarten will cause undue stress or lead to a negative attitude toward learning at a young age. [1, 2]
While some parents believe holding a child back gives them an advantage , many experts and researchers note that delayed enrollment can sometimes lead to disengagement later in high school. If you are weighing the pros and cons of delaying enrollment, consider consulting research on Opportunity Deferred or Opportunity Taken? to see how it impacts developmental milestones , or review studies on Delaying Kindergarten published by education reporting networks . [1, 2, 3, 4]
Jokes About Going from Kindergaten to College in Same Building
- “At Maryville’s Northwest Administration Building you can go from crayons to cap and gown without changing buildings—talk about cutting down on locker fees!”
- “They say the building has seen every stage of my education: fingerpaint, awkward braces, and student loan forms.”
- “Same hallway, different diplomas—kindergarten to bachelor’s in one building. That’s efficiency or extreme school spirit, I can’t tell.”
- “Attendance policy finally fixed: one building, one student, 20 years of perfect attendance… give or take a few naps.”
- “I started in the nap corner and graduated in the lecture hall—same building, upgraded seat cushions.”
- “Why move? At Maryville you get continuity, loyalty, and a personalized relationship with the vending machine.”
- “I asked admissions if I qualify as an alumni yet—technically I’m still in the building, but the diploma says yes.”
- “From show-and-tell to senior thesis—same building, same roof, wildly different lunchboxes.”
- “They told my parents it was a great investment—one tuition, multiple eras of questionable haircuts.”
- “The building’s seen my entire academic career. If walls could talk, these ones would remind me about overdue library books.”
Jokes About Life Before Kindergarten Was An Option
- “Before kindergarten, parents’ idea of preschool was ‘Watch your little brother—he’s learning by osmosis.’”
- “No kindergarten? Fine—mom taught the alphabet with Cheerios. Snack-based phonics: highly effective, slightly messy.”
- “Before group classes, playdates were ‘come over and the older kids will babysit and call it socialization.’”
- “Parents before kindergarten invented homeschooling—also known as ‘You sit at the kitchen table until you stop crying.’”
- “If you missed kindergarten, your teacher was Mrs. Wilson next door—she charged tuition in cookies.”
- “Before classes, daycare was apprenticeship: ‘You want to learn numbers? Help me count these chickens.’”
- “No kindergarten? No problem—parents enrolled kids in the Church of ‘Sit quietly and color while adults talk.’”
- “Before official preschool, ‘organized learning’ meant Sunday school and memorizing the order of snacks.”
- “Parents relied on the sibling educational system: Kindergartner 101 taught by a 13-year-old with limited patience and infinite attitude.”
- “Before classes, early education was a choose-your-own-adventure: farm chores, piano lessons, or strict interpretive play called ‘put the cat in the hat.’”
Jokes About Maryville First Kindergarten Teacher Living Out Her Life In Hollywood
- “Maryville’s first kindergarten teacher moved to Hollywood—turns out she wanted dramatic nap-time performances.”
- “She left Maryville for Hollywood and now directs blockbusters called ‘The Day the Glue Sticks Revolted.’”
- “From fingerpaint to film sets—she traded glitter glue for glittering premieres.”
- “In Maryville she taught ABCs; in Hollywood she teaches actors how to say ‘Scene!’ with proper snack-time etiquette.”
- “Her Hollywood bio reads: ‘Pioneer of circle time, now pioneer of red carpet circle photos.’”
- “She used to calm tantrums with lullabies; now she calms diva breakdowns with the same technique—works every time.”
- “First role in Hollywood? Kindergarten teacher in a blockbuster—typecast and proud.”
- “She taught sharing in class and now shares the spotlight—occasionally with a toddler’s juice box.”
- “Maryville remembers her for nap mats; Hollywood remembers her for making naps look cinematic.”
- “She always wanted her students to reach for the stars—turns out she was aiming for them too.”