Why Anyone Can Teach: Recovering the Simplicity and Power of Early American Education 

Learning is not complicated; it is simple and obvious. 

Anyone can teach. All it takes is love, understanding, patience, and enthusiasm. It also includes self-discipline and hard work on the part of the learner, which makes the entire exercise an intimate experience dependent on the student.  

Knowing how to balance the joy of learning with the work of learning is not academic but intuitive. There have been many successful teachers, but the essence of their genius has never been captured in a way which could be replicated and distributed. 

This was obvious at the founding of our country and so we didn’t make much of it. We enjoyed the type of freedom that allowed for the basics to be taught in whatever way worked. Then the student was set free to make the most of the basics; whether to become a scholar or take another path.  

What resulted was the near perfect blending of close instruction with personal responsibility.  

This educational practice, not really a philosophy, led to the nearly 100% literacy rate we enjoyed at that time, at least before the so-called reformer Horace Mann and his Common School vision gradually took over. 

Of course, the underlying reason for all of this was Jesus. It was His work through His Word that gave the teachers and the children the want to learn truth and apply it to life. This was evident in the use of the Bible as the main textbook, along with the New England Primer, and then Noah Webster’s speller.  

This meant even the least religious of the founding fathers were well acquainted with God’s word, as is reflected in their speeches and their correspondence. This is easily proven by reading their original words on sites such as wallbuilders.com. 

Then, shortly after the Second Great Awakening, two men arrived on the scene who greatly affected education in the United States for the next century and beyond: William Holmes McGuffey and Horace Mann. 

Both men were born within two years of each other at the turn of the 19^th century, so they were not witnesses of the War of Independence, but they did hear the first-hand stories of that era from their parents, etc. Both were concerned with the state of education, wanting to make sure it was available to all. 

Other than that, they were quite different in viewpoint and practice. 

Now, we are going to have a tiny bit of a history lesson right here at the start. This is because, when you go searching for the terrific vintage books I have been advocating, you are going to run across this phrase: 

For Use in Common Schools 

…and you are going to wonder just what it means and where it came from.  

I hope to give you some insight that will help you keep away from “twaddle” so you can take advantage of the best and throw the rest to the side. In order to do this, I must introduce you to one dubious figure and contrast him with our beloved McGuffey.  

Then I hope to give you a more in-depth understanding of the McGuffey readers, and others that were like them. I will be making recommendations as to how to use them, perhaps even give you just a few sources as to where to find them.  

Now to our history lesson: 

Horace Mann, which I mentioned previously, was a crusader of sorts who thought it his responsibility to take care of everyone else’s children “for the good of society.” Some have labeled him a “crusader” and upon his death his wife referred to him as a martyr. 

Others considered him a worrisome meddler, and I’m inclined to agree. 

Ahem.  

Although he gave lip-service to Christianity and the Bible, Mann’s preoccupation was elsewhere. He was more interested in phrenology, which was the pseudo-scientific idea that the shape of and bumps on a person’s skull determined his intellectual ability and moral character. This was not a passing fancy. As Massachusetts Secretary of Education Mann suggested the practice of phrenology be used in classrooms to determine which children should be taught well and which ones should be dumbed down. 

He also advocated for whole-word instead of phonics-based reading instruction (partially based on the idea that insanity might be caused by reading too many books, so it was socially conscious to discourage too much reading). This practice has led to our current literacy crisis. 

It is important to note that Horace Mann faced fierce opposition. The schoolmasters of the time spoke vehemently against his ideas, especially since he was so influenced by Europeans, namely, the Prussians. These teachers felt so strongly they published a scathing pamphlet entitled: 

Penitential Tears: or A Cry From the Dust by The Thirty-One Prostrated and Pulverized by the Hand of Horace Mann. 

Here is just one excerpt from that pamphlet: 

Education is a great concern; it has often been tampered with by vain theorists; it has suffered from the stupid folly and the delusive wisdom of its treacherous friends; and we hardly know which have injured it most. Our conviction is that it has much more to hope from the collected wisdom and common prudence of the community than from the suggestions of the individual. Locke injured it by his theories, and so did Rousseau, and so did Milton. All their plans were too splendid to be true. It is to be advanced by conceptions, neither soaring above the clouds, nor groveling on the earth — but by those plain, gradual, productive, common-sense improvements, which use may encourage and experience suggest. We are in favor of advancement, provided it be towards usefulness…. We love the secretary but we hate his theories. They stand in the way of substantial education. It is impossible for a sound mind not to hate them. 

There is so much that needs to be said about Horace Mann, and I could talk about him and educational philosophers another time, but for this podcast we are including him only to help explain the different vintage materials and their label of being for “common schools.” While there is still a lot of the American Education genius left in these materials, the closer their publish date is to the 20^th century, the farther they drift from the intentions of the founding fathers of our country, since they move farther and farther away from the Bible. 

McGuffey, as we have discussed in earlier posts, was also concerned with education in the newly formed and expanding United States. He even went so far as to advocate for the creation of Common Schools, but his viewpoint was quite different.  

For one thing, McGuffey was an actual believer and Minister. He not only gave honor to The Bible, but he thought it should be the foundation for educational instruction.  

Also, when he composed his readers in the early 1830’s, he didn’t give a fig about educational philosophies. He wasn’t interested in discussing what someone may have thought up in their heads, he wanted to focus on what worked.  

He formulated his readers by spending time with children in his neighborhood and seeing how they responded. And so, in his books you will find some whole-word learning right along-side phonetic learning. It wasn’t either-or, it was both.  

Of course, with his Biblical worldview, phrenology was never even entertained. McGuffey considered intelligence to be universal and morality to be a matter of choice, not the result of brain bumps. 

It’s also important to note that, when folks speak of McGuffey they mention Common Schools, but when they speak of Horace Mann they never mention McGuffey, even though McGuffey’s readers are the highest-selling books in US history, after the Bible and Noah Webster’s spelling book (122 million copies sold by 1920). 

The McGuffey readers, as McGuffey originally intended them, are some of the best textbooks ever published, and here are some reasons why: 

• They were formulated by an actual teacher who wasn’t concerned with theories, just love and the enjoyment of helping children to become literate so they could enjoy the Bible and live moral lives. 
• They are compact but powerful. Each lesson has a purpose, and only the best is included. 
• They are adaptable to almost any situation. If all you have is a McGuffey reader, something to write on (it could even be a stick and some dirt), and enthusiasm, you can effectively teach your child to read, write, and spell with these readers. This is because these books were meant to be used on the frontiers of America. 

McGuffey, and the other schoolmasters like him, were among those who understood the genius of balancing the delight of learning with the work of learning. In using his materials, along with those who are like them in spirit and intent, you can discover this same genius in your little school at home. 

So, as you are going through all the different videos and websites trying to make decisions as to what to use with your own children, keep some basic ideas in mind: 

1. Is this necessary?  

2. Will this material help my child develop a love of learning? 

3. Will this material take up too much time for too little return? 

We are going to explore the above criteria in more detail, but first I would like to remind you of some of the basics of successful homeschooling: 

First, it’s: 

• Observe 

• Think 

• Do 

Children need to be able to take information in, think about it, then take action on it. This is the normal way we all learn, based on Proverbs 6:6–”Go to the ant, thou sluggard…” 

Secondly, it’s the Four Elements: 

1. Gaining favor with God and man 

2. Tools of learning 

3. Content 

4. Life application 

Now let’s tackle the criteria for making decisions on the materials you will want to use: 

#1. Is this necessary? 

This takes some thought. What is truly necessary for your child to become “educated”? For this exercise, it’s a good idea to throw out modern thoughts, or theoretical ones, even if they do come from some trusted sages of times past.  

The question is this: what do you consider a well-education person? It may help to consider a person or persons you have admired, whether they have lived in modern times or times of the past.  

What is it about these people you admire? What sorts of things did they learn which made them successful, loveable, helpful to others?  

Now consider this: what sorts of values, skills, and information would your child need to become like those you admire? 

Now look at the materials you are considering for homeschooling. Do they contain, or do they encourage, the knowledge and character traits you are seeking?  

#2. Will this material help my child develop a love of learning? 

I know what the advertisers try and tell us: make it visually appealing, or “fun,” and children will love learning with it! Right?  

Wrong. 

I have a cousin who was born to a selfish couple. In their laziness, they rarely fed him nourishing food. If he cried in hunger, they handed him candy to shut him up.  

The results were a severely malnourished child with teeth rotted into his gums. When he was four years old he was bitten by a neighborhood dog and needed minor surgery which would have required anesthesia, but the doctors could not put him under because he was little body was so weak. 

A dear relative gained custody of him and nursed him back to health. He was given meals with meat, potatoes, and all the good things to heal and help his body. At first the food had to be practically forced down because the little guy was not used to the taste of healthy things, but with persistence his appetite changed. 

As a result, he developed a great aversion to sugar in any form. While other children became excited about all the candy they received at Halloween, he threw his away.  

The point? When all we feed our children is educational “candy,” we are not nourishing their souls, and we are causing them great damage.  

Yes, it takes more work, both on the part of the teacher and the student, to take in nourishing food, but it is worth the effort. After enjoying the rich, delicious taste of roast-beef education, our children will find it hard to settle for anything less and will actually crave it. 

So, get rid of the flashy and the fluffy, and go for the meat. This goes for the vintage and the modern as well. 

#3. Will this material take up too much time for too little return?  

Just because something is meaty doesn’t mean it is well thought out. Both vintage and modern texts can meander around and include erroneous information which is not essential, as I am sure you experienced in your own conventional schooling. Also, it’s not so much whether the information is not essential to everyone, but is it essential to your particular child? 

For instance, if you are rearing a child who is destined to become a great athlete, with amazing coordination and the ability to think and act quickly, do you really want to bog him down by teaching him things he is not interested in and will never be able to use?  

We had a dear, dear friend who was an amazing minister and loved others deeply. Everywhere he went people felt loved and wanted to be closer to Jesus.  

However, his father had built a lively drugstore business in a rural area in the Midwest and his dream was that his son would go to college to become a pharmacist to work in that drugstore.  

But our dear friend had a different calling on his life. When attending classes during the day, he would develop a huge headache, but after school time, when he was involved in Bible studies and preaching, he was headache free.  

Eventually, he quit school and became a full-time minister, much to the disappointment of his father who never quite forgave him, but to the blessing of so many others. 

This takes careful consideration. We need to seek the Lord for leading and provision on this one. While we want to give our children a well-rounded education, we also don’t want to waste their time with unnecessary training and information.  

Also, the materials we choose must be with this in mind. If a curriculum or activity is filled with things a child is supposed to know but may never again remember or use, we need to reconsider it. 

This goes for both modern and vintage materials. 

I think it’s important here to reiterate the ideas which made early American education so great: 

1. Their emphasis on the Word of God. 

2. Their pragmatic approach vs. The tendency to theorize education. 

Remember, anyone can teach. It doesn’t take an expert with a degree; it only takes someone with a heart to help another person gain skill and understanding.  

If you have clear goals, the right materials, and enthusiasm, you can teach your child successfully. 

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