Terlingua Teacher: The Remarkable Lessons Taught and Learned in a One-room Texas Schoolhouse

by Trent Jones, Carlton Stowers

A search for a simpler, more rewarding lifestyle brings Trent Jones and his wife Olga to the ghost town of Terlingua, Texas so that Trent can accept the unusual job of teacher/principal/janitor of a one-room schoolhouse. So what if the princely sum of half his current salary would make it impossible for them to afford a telephone, or that they would have to haul drinking water from five miles away. It was a challenge whose rewards far outweighed any inconvenience. The colorful residents, the school children, the beauty of the vast and awsome Trans-Pecos all play their part in making this an unforgettable experience and inspirational triumph. Terlingua Teacher gives us a unique definition of what make a person a "success" and offers an insider's look at our hard-working educators and the sacrifices they often make. In its third printing since original publication in 1978. A afterword has been added to bring the reader up to date on the Jonses and the Terlingua School.

Genres: Nonfiction

171 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing is unpolished and almost conversational, but somehow that helped draw me in. What I liked most: Trent’s obvious caring for his young students and their families, his ingenuity, and a look into the very unique world of Terlingua.

[Andrew Chandler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book before my trip to Terlingua, where I stayed in a property called "The Teachers House"- apparently built from the remains of the original 1 room school in Terlingua. This book is mostly about the struggle of teacher Trent Jones to get the small Terlingua school accredited after the Texas Board of Educator created new rules for Texas schools in the early 1970s and threatened Terlingua schools to merge with neighboring Alpine (which would involve 160 mile daily round trip bus rides for elementary school students). Other topics I anticipated (such as what its like to live virtually inside a National Park, or Jone's ability to inspire kids who could very easily be lost) are only small portions of the book. And the fact that this book was originally written (1978) around the same time that Jones left Terlingua left questions as to the teachers ambitions that are never fully clear and lead an odd taste to the ending of this book. Still, an enjoyable read.

[Ulana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this well written book especially since I have been to Terlingua and Big Bend. I am also a career teacher having taught elementary school for 34 years in Texas so I could relate to Trent's challenges in teaching. His job was even more difficult due to being the only teacher in a one room schoolhouse with little resources. He was resourceful and never gave up. I admire his courage in taking on this job in this remote dry area.

[Marieta Grissom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is unique among the books about one-room schoolhouses with one teacher for 8 grades... this is a "modern" situation, i.e., 1970s and describes how one teacher bucked the trend of consolidating schools, which would have meant students would have to ride a school bus for 160 miles round trip each day and how he eventually gained powerful community support. In the meantime, he was able to provide quality instruction to students who might have been ignored in a larger school setting.

[Johanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simplistic and formulaic, but worth reading for the personal look at life in the West Tex’s desert.

[Lisa Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written true story about a one-room schoolhouse and a teacher who would not give up fighting for children.

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book, especially the parts focusing on the school and the students. Too much time and effort spent dealing with school board problems....

[Jim Leffert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terlingua Teacher is a winning addition to the one-room schoolhouse genre, which memorably includes Ivan Doig’s wonderful novel, The Whistling Season, and somewhat less memorably, To Be and To Have, a heartwarming but also soporific French documentary film. What the novel The Whistling Season, set in the early 1900’s in Montana, and the true-life story Terlingua Teacher, which unfolds in a remote area of Southern Texas in the 1970’s, have in common is a a dedicated, determined individualist in the protagonist. In both books, this idealistic educator transforms the schoolhouse into a vessel for realizing a personal vision of meaningful education and by doing so, alters the lives of children and the community. Also common to both books, the teacher, who cares about, sympathizes with, and manages to reach “at risk” students who flounder in typical school programs, runs into opposition from an implacable state bureaucracy that views the one-room schoolhouse as an antiquated and outdated remnant of the past and that seeks to centralize and standardize the educational program.    

Terlingua Teacher is vividly written and moreover, takes place in the isolated and dramatic desert landscape near the Big Bend National Park, by the Rio Grande in southern Texas, an area that my wife and I recently visited. Much of Terlingua consists of a ghost town, remnant of a former cinnabar (mercury) mining operation. Trent Jones moved there in the mid-1970’s, together with his wife and daughters, to realize a dream of leaving civilization and school district politics behind, only to find himself ensnared in microscopic local politics that are every bit as difficult. Meanwhile, newly promulgated state accreditation regulations hang over the tiny school like the sword of Damocles.

Will the one room schoolhouse have to close, leaving children of Terlingua to have to travel 80 miles each way to a school up in Alpine? Jones and co-author Stowers do a wonderful job of recounting the twists and turns of the story, depicting the setting, and introducing us to the closeknit community that inhabits this rugged area.

[Susan Eubank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here are the questions discussed at the Reading the Western Landscape Community Book Discussion on Zoom on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. PDT.

Icebreaker: Who was your favorite teacher/instructor/professor and why? And/or Tell us about an isolated place you visited or lived at and what was the most astonishing thing about trying to visit and or live there.
How would this book be different if it was written today?
Who was your favorite character and why? Least favorite? Why?
Do you believe the story? Why? Why not?
Why do you think he was compelled to write the book?
What did you think of the writing style?
What did you think of his landscape descriptions? Teaching descriptions? Town description? And why?
Do you think he explained what happened sufficiently? Why? Why not?
Do you perceive the story as idyllic, hardscrabble, or something else? Why?
Why do you think he wrote this book?
What did you think of the chapter beginnings?
Why do you think Playboy Press published it?
Was it a satisfying read? Why? Why not?
Any ambiguities we need to clear up?
Favorite line image or passage?

[Rebecca Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book for its glimpse into life in the trans-pecos region of texas. we are about the same age as the young school teacher, mr. jones, and having been teachers ourselves, though never in a situation like Terlingua's one room school in the far corners of Texas, we can relate on many levels....children, parents, community, school boards and arbitrary rules handed down by government boards far from classrooms and reality. we so admired this tough, determined, creative, intelligent and warm young family. having just visited Big Bend and even Terlingua it made the region come to life. the harsh, inhospitable, vast landscape had already won a warm spot in my heart, this book made it even warmer. we enjoyed this book, my husband and I, as a read-aloud. it was well suited for that in its story-teller around a fire or kitchen table style.

[Leslie Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just went on vacation to The Big Bend area and drove through Terlingua. While looking around this little ghost town we saw a school and an adult leading a small group of children along a dusty path beside the school. The baseball diamond and soccer fields nearby were primitive and dusty. I felt kind of sad for those kids. I later saw this book in a gift shop and being a teacher myself wanted to read it. Very interesting read and I was so impressed by the hard working and ever persevering solo teacher of this one room school house. He taught so many children who had given up on learning to enjoy school and have a desire to learn more. I hope and pray the children of Terlingua are still being given an education they deserve by a teacher who genuinely cares about the students. We need teachers like Trent Jones who never give up on their students and have a true passion for teaching!

[Kristin Traylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this Christmas gift from Molly with fascination to see what life in an area this rugged would be like, and I sure did. The high school kids had what was thought to be the longest bus ride to their school in the world - 1,000 miles each week. The teacher not only taught, he was the custodian, plumber, carpenter, principal, etc, and had to battle a school board that met occasionally at a coffee shop by a gas station. I really enjoyed learning about the setting, but I don't get too caught up in the teacher/sob story approach, especially since the author quickly changed his career to real estate.

[Kathleen Seal · Rating 3 out of 5]

More about teaching and the Texas school accredidation system than living in the Trans-Pecos (as I had hoped), although it did keep the desert life theme throughout with reminders of the remoteness of the town as well as the rugged character (and charm) of Terlingua residents.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a pretty good book so far.

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even if you're not from Texas and didn't grow up visiting the Big Bend area like I did, I think you'd find this different and inspiring.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring. Really gave me a great deal of perspective when I was struggling my first year of teaching.