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Butch Says Bring Back McGuffey!
How would you judge the reading skills of grade school children today compared to the past? And what about character and morals? Well, I can attest that many of today’s kids have fewer reading skills, primarily because they don’t read as much. Why not? Video games, TV, phones, computers, etc. Now as far as character and morals, the majority of children are doing just fine. But then there are those who leave a lot to be desired and are destined for trouble when they’re older.
The McGuffey Eclectic readers were textbooks widely used in grades one through six from the 1830s to the 1920s. The first two readers taught students the letters of the alphabet, phonics and sentence structure. The third grade reader taught the definition of words through vivid stories and lessons that children would remember, and were written at what is considered today the 5th and 6th grade levels. In those days the goal of public schools was not just academics, but also the teaching of morals, American values and Christian religious beliefs. The following is an example of a lesson from a McGuffey third grade reader. The lesson is entitled, “When to Say No.”….
“Though ‘No’ is a very little word, it is not always easy to say it; and in the not doing so, often causes trouble. When we are asked to stay away from school, and spend in idleness or mischief the time which ought to be spent in study, we should at once say ‘No.’ When some schoolmate wishes us to whisper or play in the schoolroom, we should say ‘No.'”
“When we are tempted to use angry or wicked words, we should remember that the eye of God is always upon us, and we should say ‘No.’ When we have done anything wrong, and are tempted to conceal it by falsehood, we should say ‘No, we cannot tell a lie; it is wicked and cowardly.’ If we are asked to do anything which we know to be wrong, we should not fear to say ‘No.’ If we thus learn to say ‘No,’ we shall avoid trouble, and be always safe.”
No child is perfect. Kids are going to make mistakes. That is just part of growing up. As a former teacher and police officer, I can tell you that the majority of children who get in trouble end up in that predicament because they refuse to say “No” when tempted by their peers. School suspension, underage drinking, drug use, vandalism and stealing . . . all of these and more . . . could have been avoided if they had been taught to stand up to the troublemakers and have the courage to say “No.”
The McGuffey readers were used during a time in our country in which society was composed of a relatively homogenous Christian population. America today is a pluralistic society of many religious beliefs and values. But don’t you think that such a lesson as the one above would serve our young students well? The peer pressure that children face is constant and unrelenting, much more so today than in the past, because of social media and TV, and it starts at a young age.
These readers developed advanced reading skills at an early age. And the stories in these early grade school books also taught other good personal habits, such as work ethic, honesty, civic duty, wise use of time, kindness to others, respect to elders, polite manners and trust . . . just to name a few. Since fewer children today attend church or Sunday school, perhaps it is time that the McGuffey reader’s stories and lessons, or similar ones, be incorporated into the educational process. We owe it to our children. We owe it to society.
John “Butch” Dale is a retired teacher and County Sheriff. He has also been the librarian at Darlington the past 36 years, and is a well-known artist and author of local history.