So one could reasonably say, I think, that with matters of religion and secularity, this country was born in contentiousness, and we haven't looked back since. We've seen the contentiousness in Melville, who basically mistrusted anything that smacked of religion. Thomas Morton openly mocked the Puritans. John Winthrop reminded his listeners in no uncertain terms that if they're going to claim to be Christian, they better behave like it. Hawthorne in typical fashion is more circumspect about all this, but many of his stories, including those we've read, are driven by the clash of the sacred and the secular.
In a previous post I had explained a bit about the religious philosophy that informed the Puritans. In preparation for reading and discussing the poetry of Anne Bradstreet, I'd like us to start thinking about how Puritans perceived children, specifically the religious education of children and the fundamental lessons about the world which the Puritans wished to impart to their children. I had mentioned in an earlier post that literacy was extremely important to the Puritans, and a major reason for that was so the children could read the Bible. (Though also remember that the Puritans generally were well read, and did not shy away from reading secular texts.)
What you'll find below are a few illustrations taken from one of the major sources of education for Puritan children: The New England Primer. What I'd like you to do is take a look at the illustrations, and talk about what seem to be the ways in which the Puritans perceived children and their roles in a universe governed firmly by the hand of God.
It seems to me in these texts that everything is revolving around some basic form of religion, which is just what I expected for Puritan children. They seem to be being taught little life lessons while learning their letters. In the Primer all the Letters are accompanied with little stories I think you could find in the Bible each one a reminder of what could happen if you stray away from the church. They are subtle to the children, but the adults knew what they were doing. In the last book on the left hand side there is a Q&A portion. On this page all eh answers are given for them, there is no room for an individual thought. God is law and he is the way of the Puritan people and they make sure the kids know that in and out.
ReplyDeleteWhat's interesting is that the life lessons often seem to be a bit ... grim. Consider the lessons this text imparts in comparison to more contemporary ways of dealing with children. "Time cuts down all, both great and small." "Xerxes the great did die, and so must you and I." "The idle fool is whipt at school." Can you even imagine a grade school text today calling a student a fool? The Puritan perception of the world--and the role of children in it--is pretty different from our perception, which can make it difficult for us to grasp the Puritans.
ReplyDeleteI would agree that the Puritan's would indeed be considered very harsh by todays standards in their instruction to children. It seems as if they saw them as little more than small adults, not allowing youth to be an excuse for disobedience. I do not know the Puritan's exact religious philosophies, nor the ages of the children the literature was intended for, but perhaps their stringency is attributed to the fact that some believe spirtual autonomy is thought by many to be reached at a young age; I believe twelve. After that, each person is responsible for his or her own fate.
ReplyDeleteUp until the age of modern medicine -- the 20th century -- death was ever-present in Americans’ collective consciousness. Contaminated food and water, disease, poor nutrition, medical practices such as bleeding and purging, all were responsible for a childhood mortality rate that’s unheard-of today. So parents lived with the very real prospect that some, perhaps all, of their children would not survive to adulthood. Young children saw their siblings and friends die. Until the gruesome death’s heads (skulls with wings) were softened into more attractive “soul effigies” (angel-like heads with wings) at the beginning of the 18th century, gravestone images and epitaphs purposely reminded all who passed by that they would suffer the same fate – it was just a matter of time. So it was necessary to prepare children’s minds and more importantly, their souls, for the inevitability of death at an early age. There was no time to be lost in learning to “serve God in spirit and truth,” because a child who was healthy one week might be buried the next, and that child’s soul needed to be ready to meet his or her Maker. It does sound harsh, but it was reality – there was no way to shield a child from death, so better to prepare them from a psychological and religious standpoint.
ReplyDeleteI would also add that the references to the harshness of nature--the slaying cat and the biting dog, both domestic animals that retain violent impulses--help establish death and violence as part of the natural order of things. Again, this message may have trouble resonating in our super-protective world of hand sanitizers and bicycle helmets, but for the Puritans it was essential that children understand that the world is a brutal place, AND that brutality is in our nature. (Remember, Puritans believed humans were fundamentally depraved.) If you're wondering how they could reconcile a loving God with such a harsh view of the world, well, the problem wasn't God's indifference to our condition (that would be reserved for Deists such as Jefferson, Paine and Franklin); the problem was our arrogance in assuming we somehow were too special.
ReplyDeleteGreat pains were taken to warn their members and especially their children of the dangers of the world. Religiously motivated, they were exceptional in their time for their interest in the education of their children. Reading of the Bible was necessary to living a pious life. The education of the next generation was important to further "purify" the church and perfect social living.
ReplyDeleteThe Bible stimulated their intellect by promoting discussions of literature. Greek classics of Cicero, Virgil, Terence and Ovid were taught, as well as poetry and Latin verse. They were encouraged to create their own poetry, always religious in content.
For the first time in history, free schooling was offered for all children. Puritans formed the first formal school in 1635, called the Roxbury Latin School. Four years later, the first American College was established; Harvard in Cambridge (how would they react to its teachings today?!). Children aged 6-8 attended a "Dame school" where the teacher, who was usually a widow, taught reading. "Ciphering" (math) and writing were low on the academic agenda.
The large number of people who ascribed to the lifestyle of the Puritans did much to firmly establish a presence on American soil. Bound together, they established a community that maintained a healthy economy, established a school system, and focused an efficient eye on political concerns. The moral character of England and America were shaped in part by the words and actions of this strong group of Christian believers called the Puritans.
Puritans were deeply committed to the community and raised their children to continue their traditions. The educational materials actually appear more like “Scared Straight – Puritan Style”, designed to keep the children in line with Puritan religion.
ReplyDeleteI like how Tia referred to the Puritan children as “little adults.” Both the content and illustrations seem a bit intense for children to be learning. This idea is very different from the way we treat and educate children today. I feel that many parents in the 21st century are very over-protective of their children, wondering when and how to expose their children to a more mature society. Some of the images in the illustrations were rather alarming for me, as a 22-year-old college student. I would never want to worry about dying in fourth grade. Some of the text leaves the reader feeling a little down with all this talk about dying, getting whipped, suffering from Adam’s sin, etc. It’s a pretty negative message to send to children! I also noticed that the last image had a question and answer section of the text, as if the children couldn’t form thoughts and opinions on their own. They had to regurgitate information exactly alike to function as a Puritan. Today’s teachers encourage exactly the opposite from their students.
ReplyDeleteToday some of the first things a child learns are their numbers, the alphabet, colors, and shapes. They don't learn about dying and sins until later on in their lives when they are old enough to understand what is going on. Today medicines and technology have come a long way and improved people's lives which make them able to live longer. Back in the time of the Puritans they did not live as long as we do today so they might have needed to teach their children these things earlier than we do today. I couldn't imagine learning some of these things so early in life.
ReplyDeleteIf there is anything that I picked up from looking at the pictures, it's that there is clearly some form of religion. Also, the Puritans are a very religious group of people and it's not secret to tell with the way the pictures looked. I noticed that the tree in a couple of the pictures that I could make a reference to Adam and Eve and the apple falling from the tree. I also believe that the Puritans' views of religion can be considered very harsh, severe, and strict, but that also contributes to a strong government and society. I also noticed that the pictures could have been a way of teaching the young children. The pictures would represent the letters of the alphabet, the number system, and anything else that would be considered important to the Puritans that they believed their children should learn.
ReplyDeleteAll of these phrases next to the pictures rhymes, which makes it more musical and fun, which I thought was odd for the puritans. The pictures and phrases teach children that if they do something wrong, they will be punished by God. Not that God would come down and personally punish them, but that bad things would happen to them because they would deserve it after being wrong. They teach that everyone sins and even the best people have sinned and the best will also die. No one is above God and when God instructs a person to do something, he or she must do it.
ReplyDelete