McGuffey readers
Jill
>I had a really strong feeling when I got this e-mail. I kind ofhundred-year
revulsion. But I read more and I'm thinking of ordering it, as a souvenir
of
how weird this homeschooling movement could really get. I guess I could
order just the sample, but maybe I want the whole thing.
I bought the McGuffey readers a couple of years and couldn't believe it when
I saw them. I never figured out why so many homeschoolers recommend them.
I tried to read one to the boys but they were bored and so was I. I never
bothered and just figured I was weird and was missing something obvious. I
am relieved to see that someone else wasn't in love with these readers.
I can't imagine I will hold onto these long enough for the new versions to
be valuable as collectors items. Wouldn't it be fun to do a homeschooler's
museum and put things like that in there.
Jill
Fetteroll
on 6/26/02 10:11 PM, Jill at jillmca@... wrote:
discipline and thoroughness. The descriptions at AOBS (American Opinion Book
Service -- a decidedly fundamentalist Christian site) describes them as
"Their popularity is due to the comprehensive nature of their contents and
the disciplined thinking they inspire in the student."
There's a very interesting history -- with some fundamentalist sentiment
thrown in -- at http://aobs-store.com/reviews/mcgr7hb.htm
Here's part:
McGuffey Readers were most popular west of the Alleghenies and in the South.
They were popular for many reasons:
Children liked the Readers. They included simple yet charming stories with
pictures and rural settings with which they could identify. Other readers of
the time, published mainly in Unitarian New England, were written by Boston
Brahmin types. Unlike the McGuffey Readers, the New England readers were
pretentiously aimed at gifted students from privileged families. The
McGuffeyReaders were created specifically for the growing number of new
European emigrants and for the rural American middle class.
Unlike their New England rivals, McGuffey Readers were basically free from
the endless haranguing of social reformers on inflammatory issues such as
slavery. Instead of a frontal assault demanding radical social reform, the
McGuffey Readers employed a more tempered (and more effective) method to
teach children the evils of slavery. In a famous lesson called "The Birds
Set Free," a rich man approaches a boy who is selling caged birds for 50
cents apiece. The man proceeds to buy the entire cageful from the lad. No
sooner is the deal transacted than the man turns the entire stock loose,
explaining to the boy: "I was shut up three years in a French prison, as a
prisoner of war, and I am resolved to never see any thing in prison which I
can make free." Thus, under the guise of teaching kindness to animals, a
powerful yet gentle anti-slavery message is taught.
They were published in Cincinnati, the gateway to the American West at the
time. As a result, in their early editions, the McGuffey Readers were
blatantly "pro-Western." The Readers were written and compiled for rural
Western Americans. During the 19th century America was moving west both
physically and spiritually. There was a tremendous amount of regional pride.
The McGuffey publishers hoped to capitalize on this regional pride by boldly
stating that these were "Western books for Western people." In the 1844
edition, as a response to the growing national reputation and sales of the
McGuffey Readers, they changed their marketing approach. With only minor
changes in the contents, the publisher proclaimed that the revised Readers
contained "no sectional matter."
and
Instead of pointless fluff, McGuffey offered an astonishing anthology of the
greatest English and American literature. The Readers feature Bible
selections, as well as poems by Wordsworth, Byron, Milton, Whittier, Poe,
Emerson, and Shakespeare. In addition, the Readers include prose selections
from the works of Addison and Steele, Macaulay, Parson Weems, James
Fennimore Cooper, Blackstone, Hawthorne, Thackeray, and the great Samuel
Johnson. With all the writers included, it is interesting to note that
Washington Irving was the most featured writer.
and
The basic McGuffey Readers were revised many times through the years.
Neither of the McGuffeys was directly involved with these revisions. New
revised editions were published in 1841, 1844, 1857, 1866, and 1879. Major
changes included a gradual mellowing of the overt religious content of many
of the lessons. Still, in sharp contrast to the totally secular readers in
common use today, even the 1879 edition presented God as the Father and the
Creator.
[And that last is a big selling point for the Christian fundamentlists.]
Joyce
> I never figured out why so many homeschoolers recommend them.Interesting isn't the motive for using them. ;-) It's the promise of
> I tried to read one to the boys but they were bored and so was I.
discipline and thoroughness. The descriptions at AOBS (American Opinion Book
Service -- a decidedly fundamentalist Christian site) describes them as
"Their popularity is due to the comprehensive nature of their contents and
the disciplined thinking they inspire in the student."
There's a very interesting history -- with some fundamentalist sentiment
thrown in -- at http://aobs-store.com/reviews/mcgr7hb.htm
Here's part:
McGuffey Readers were most popular west of the Alleghenies and in the South.
They were popular for many reasons:
Children liked the Readers. They included simple yet charming stories with
pictures and rural settings with which they could identify. Other readers of
the time, published mainly in Unitarian New England, were written by Boston
Brahmin types. Unlike the McGuffey Readers, the New England readers were
pretentiously aimed at gifted students from privileged families. The
McGuffeyReaders were created specifically for the growing number of new
European emigrants and for the rural American middle class.
Unlike their New England rivals, McGuffey Readers were basically free from
the endless haranguing of social reformers on inflammatory issues such as
slavery. Instead of a frontal assault demanding radical social reform, the
McGuffey Readers employed a more tempered (and more effective) method to
teach children the evils of slavery. In a famous lesson called "The Birds
Set Free," a rich man approaches a boy who is selling caged birds for 50
cents apiece. The man proceeds to buy the entire cageful from the lad. No
sooner is the deal transacted than the man turns the entire stock loose,
explaining to the boy: "I was shut up three years in a French prison, as a
prisoner of war, and I am resolved to never see any thing in prison which I
can make free." Thus, under the guise of teaching kindness to animals, a
powerful yet gentle anti-slavery message is taught.
They were published in Cincinnati, the gateway to the American West at the
time. As a result, in their early editions, the McGuffey Readers were
blatantly "pro-Western." The Readers were written and compiled for rural
Western Americans. During the 19th century America was moving west both
physically and spiritually. There was a tremendous amount of regional pride.
The McGuffey publishers hoped to capitalize on this regional pride by boldly
stating that these were "Western books for Western people." In the 1844
edition, as a response to the growing national reputation and sales of the
McGuffey Readers, they changed their marketing approach. With only minor
changes in the contents, the publisher proclaimed that the revised Readers
contained "no sectional matter."
and
Instead of pointless fluff, McGuffey offered an astonishing anthology of the
greatest English and American literature. The Readers feature Bible
selections, as well as poems by Wordsworth, Byron, Milton, Whittier, Poe,
Emerson, and Shakespeare. In addition, the Readers include prose selections
from the works of Addison and Steele, Macaulay, Parson Weems, James
Fennimore Cooper, Blackstone, Hawthorne, Thackeray, and the great Samuel
Johnson. With all the writers included, it is interesting to note that
Washington Irving was the most featured writer.
and
The basic McGuffey Readers were revised many times through the years.
Neither of the McGuffeys was directly involved with these revisions. New
revised editions were published in 1841, 1844, 1857, 1866, and 1879. Major
changes included a gradual mellowing of the overt religious content of many
of the lessons. Still, in sharp contrast to the totally secular readers in
common use today, even the 1879 edition presented God as the Father and the
Creator.
[And that last is a big selling point for the Christian fundamentlists.]
Joyce
[email protected]
THANK YOU, Joyce!!
You're the best internet librarian and summarizer/teacher ever!!!
You're the best internet librarian and summarizer/teacher ever!!!
Fetteroll
on 6/27/02 10:06 AM, SandraDodd@... at SandraDodd@... wrote:
Well, Google can make anyone look brilliant! :-)
Joyce
> THANK YOU, Joyce!!:::: blushin! ::::
>
> You're the best internet librarian and summarizer/teacher ever!!!
Well, Google can make anyone look brilliant! :-)
Joyce