Loved this post Adrian! We have a complete set of McGuffey readers which remind me very much of the readers you shared here. I grew up in Switzerland, where kindergarten indeed still remains a place to sing, dance, and play; reading, writing, and math start in primary school. We were merely taught to write our name, and the rest was richly filled with creative games, stories, plays, craft - not a single worksheet :)
I taught my 3 daughters to read using McGuffey readers. With similar topics and excellent results. And Dr. Gaty, please do not be ashamed of promoting pedagogical material coming from Christianity--please (O Canadian) be aware that our whole USA public school system got its start in Boston, 1647 (actually a bit earlier but with less success), with the "Old Deluder Act"--requiring every town of 50 families to render every little boy AND girl literate, so that they could read the Bible and not be misled by 'the Old Deluder' (it was only about 100 years earlier that you got executed for printing in/translating [Tyndale] the Bible into English). Every town of 100 families had to provide an academy (grammar school) to get boys ready for Harvard--then a Congregational seminary.
I accidentally stumbled onto this. Wow! Thank you for writing about this impressive curriculum. I wish I had had it while homeschooling my kids a few years back. I love the intertwining of the disciplines. May our education system be transformed into something like this once again!
"not every page is explicitly about Christianity, I promise." Like Christianity is to be ashamed of and apologized for. Can we not agree many things were better when Christianity was the default position of society. Of course there were problems when Christianity (specifically Protestantism) was the bedrock of public education. But with Christianity banned, how are things better?
Just to clarify, since I know tone is frustratingly hard to convey online, I was being facetious : )
As you can see from my linked piece on the Northwest Ordinance, I definitely am in favor of a Biblical default/bedrock. The joke is that, while too many today mistakenly believe being an American means you can’t mention God in public school, these old public school books are so full of God that I have to work hard to find y’all a non-Biblical excerpt, that’s all : ) I’m sorry I wasn’t clear!
IDK about "mentioning" God in public schools, but I grew up in a country that disallows public bodies from coercing children into religious conformity of one sort of another. People escaping compulsory religious conformity founded our country. Let's hope people like you don't manage to betray their ideals.
Re "... with Christianity banned..." What country do you live in?? Here in the US, a stacked supreme court is set to allow Christian prejudices to overturn decades of progress in civil rights.
Just went hunting for these secondhand - not easy to find them all! I was able to snag 6 of the 8 books. Looking forward to adding these to Maddox’s shelves :)
Fabulous article Sir!! I love the old school books along with their beautiful works of art. I had two aunts who were teachers, one born in 1897 and the other in 1901. Some of the books they were taught from and with still remain in the house where I live and from which they predominantly grew up in. Thank you so much for another wonderful and enlightening article.
Re "The truth is that 100% of universities passed down classical education until about 50 years ago when many universities went insane." I.e. when they began to crack open their doors and their teaching to the experience of blacks and women, which they had previously shutout as non-canonical.
Yes, that opening was a challenge to white male privilege found in jobs, media, and education--b/c the experience of blacks and women began to be grudgingly treated as more than a footnote to the history and experience of white males. But an effective education must be about meeting social/intellectual challenges, not about burying challenges in pedagogical rationalizations and evasions. An education in critical thinking empowers students to see through the self-serving narratives of the powerful. It certainly doesn't adopt those narratives as holy writ.
Loved this post Adrian! We have a complete set of McGuffey readers which remind me very much of the readers you shared here. I grew up in Switzerland, where kindergarten indeed still remains a place to sing, dance, and play; reading, writing, and math start in primary school. We were merely taught to write our name, and the rest was richly filled with creative games, stories, plays, craft - not a single worksheet :)
Came here to mention McGuffy as well!
I taught my 3 daughters to read using McGuffey readers. With similar topics and excellent results. And Dr. Gaty, please do not be ashamed of promoting pedagogical material coming from Christianity--please (O Canadian) be aware that our whole USA public school system got its start in Boston, 1647 (actually a bit earlier but with less success), with the "Old Deluder Act"--requiring every town of 50 families to render every little boy AND girl literate, so that they could read the Bible and not be misled by 'the Old Deluder' (it was only about 100 years earlier that you got executed for printing in/translating [Tyndale] the Bible into English). Every town of 100 families had to provide an academy (grammar school) to get boys ready for Harvard--then a Congregational seminary.
Google Books has scanned and made available to read Book 8 of the series:
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Great_Pictures_and_Their_Stories/9agWAQAAMAAJ
Thank you!
I should have added that you can also download a (text searchable) pdf of the book.
In fact, you can download pdfs for over 10 million books that have been scanned by Google.
How wonderful it would be if these were republished.
Maybe we could start a movement to get them republished?!?!
Heartbreaking what education has come to now.
I accidentally stumbled onto this. Wow! Thank you for writing about this impressive curriculum. I wish I had had it while homeschooling my kids a few years back. I love the intertwining of the disciplines. May our education system be transformed into something like this once again!
"not every page is explicitly about Christianity, I promise." Like Christianity is to be ashamed of and apologized for. Can we not agree many things were better when Christianity was the default position of society. Of course there were problems when Christianity (specifically Protestantism) was the bedrock of public education. But with Christianity banned, how are things better?
Just to clarify, since I know tone is frustratingly hard to convey online, I was being facetious : )
As you can see from my linked piece on the Northwest Ordinance, I definitely am in favor of a Biblical default/bedrock. The joke is that, while too many today mistakenly believe being an American means you can’t mention God in public school, these old public school books are so full of God that I have to work hard to find y’all a non-Biblical excerpt, that’s all : ) I’m sorry I wasn’t clear!
IDK about "mentioning" God in public schools, but I grew up in a country that disallows public bodies from coercing children into religious conformity of one sort of another. People escaping compulsory religious conformity founded our country. Let's hope people like you don't manage to betray their ideals.
Re "... with Christianity banned..." What country do you live in?? Here in the US, a stacked supreme court is set to allow Christian prejudices to overturn decades of progress in civil rights.
And I just paid $20 for one!!
Just went hunting for these secondhand - not easy to find them all! I was able to snag 6 of the 8 books. Looking forward to adding these to Maddox’s shelves :)
Where?
Mostly eBay, some from Thriftbooks, one from Amazon alternative sellers. I’m still keeping my eye out for number 6!
Can you please 🙏 share what you entered in the SEARCH ENGINE when looking for them.
Thank 😊 you.
I think I searched for title&author
I must not have the correct information.
All I get in my search are books on COSTUMES & CLAY?!?!?
Please give me the TITLE & AUTHOR. Thank 😊 you.
There seem to be a couple still on eBay if you search “Lester great pictures”
Fabulous article Sir!! I love the old school books along with their beautiful works of art. I had two aunts who were teachers, one born in 1897 and the other in 1901. Some of the books they were taught from and with still remain in the house where I live and from which they predominantly grew up in. Thank you so much for another wonderful and enlightening article.
God bless you and yours Sir!!
Fascinating. What a beautiful read.
That should be "Mrs. Lester," thank you!
Re "The truth is that 100% of universities passed down classical education until about 50 years ago when many universities went insane." I.e. when they began to crack open their doors and their teaching to the experience of blacks and women, which they had previously shutout as non-canonical.
Yes, that opening was a challenge to white male privilege found in jobs, media, and education--b/c the experience of blacks and women began to be grudgingly treated as more than a footnote to the history and experience of white males. But an effective education must be about meeting social/intellectual challenges, not about burying challenges in pedagogical rationalizations and evasions. An education in critical thinking empowers students to see through the self-serving narratives of the powerful. It certainly doesn't adopt those narratives as holy writ.