Off the Beaten Path...What Can We Do to Breathe New Life into Our Small, Rural Communities?

As an effort to promote problem-solving skills and encourage students to think outside the box, our daily bell ringer focused on the question "What can we do to breathe new life into our small, rural communities?"

Unfortunately, many small towns in Iowa are facing slowed population growth or are even declining. As young citizens, it is important for students to think about what this means for our area. Because students are filled with energy and inventiveness, it makes perfect sense to ask them to generate ideas about why the problem exists and what may help off-set or even solve the problems our communities face.

We talked of some of the advantages and disadvantages of living where we do.

Each student thought of three reasons population may have declined in our area.

Each student then brainstormed for a few minutes to generate ideas to bring people to our towns and to promote all the great things we do in Latimer, Coulter, and Alexander.

Students then worked in pairs and small groups to compile ideas and piggy back of each other. The ideas will be forwarded to city councils, the school board, and other businesses and organizations. You can view these ideas in the comments section below.