Chapter 7: If You Can Read This, You’re Special!
Chapter Seven
If You Can Read This, You’re Special!
You’re special if you can read this: many adults in the United States cannot read. The National Institute for Literacy says that 20% of adults read at or below the fifth grade level. This is far below the level needed to earn a living wage!
The National Adult Literacy Survey says that 42 million Americans over the age of sixteen cannot read. Some can write their names on Social Security cards and fill in height, weight, and birth date on application forms.
Fifty-five to sixty million are limited to sixth, seventh, and eighth grade reading. They could not figure the cost per ounce of peanut butter in a twenty ounce jar costing $1.99. Not even when they were told they could round the price to an even $2.00!
What is frightening about those numbers is that these are not citizens in some third world country! These are citizens of the United States. What are the implications? Families headed by an adult who cannot read are more likely to be poor. Many of the people represented by those statistics cannot fill out an employment application. Or, think about this: some of those people cannot read and understand directions on prescription bottles. How do they know how to take medication properly?
“I have to teach to the test. I have no choice. My job, the rating of my school, and the school district, depend on it. So I take two weeks out of students actually learning something so they can pass the test. I hate it, and I think it’s disastrous for learning, but there’s no choice.” (A composite based on conversations with some six to eight teachers in different school districts.) The tension here is between accountability and learning.
A major political debate continues around the question of school vouchers. Proponents argue that vouchers give parents the choice of taking their children out of failing schools and putting them in schools that are succeeding. Opponents argue that vouchers will not solve the problems we find in public schools, but only make them worse. The political argument about vouchers dances around the root problems of education, but does not seem to address them directly.
Education in Wesley’s England
In the England of the eighteenth century, there was no uniform system of education. There were Latin schools, church schools, schools founded by factory owners, rural landlords, and even individuals. Latin schools were rich in tradition, but often failed to teach very much. The “public” schools were really private schools that were open only to the children of the wealthy. Their curriculum was based on the humanities. Schools operated by dissenters (Quakers, Presbyterians, Baptists, and so on) focused on the natural sciences and languages. In rural areas there were private schools that taught reading, writing, and arithmetic (for a small fee). At least two of Wesley’s sisters taught in these schools for a time. Most children, because their parents could not afford to pay for schooling, had no formal instruction at all. Wesley’s mother, Susannah, taught her children at home, because there was no school in Epworth. The Wesley children were fortunate that Susannah was a highly educated woman for her day, and that their father, Samuel, was available to teach them languages. So Samuel Jr., John, and Charles were well prepared for prep school and Oxford.
Founding Schools
Who would have thought that one man’s quest for holy living would lead to radical social change in unexpected places? Wesley was able to move England toward a system of basic elementary education for all children because he believed so strongly that all persons are children of God and therefore of equal worth in the world. If all children are of equal worth, why should only some receive the privilege of an education? Should not all children have the right to learn? Are not literacy and numeracy basic human rights? Wesley might not have used that language, but the language does echo his thoughts about education. Education was an important part of Wesley’s program of social action.
Wesley began promoting education early in his adult life. While Wesley was on staff at Lincoln College, he and his younger brother, Charles, met with other students at Oxford for prayer, Bible study, and religious conversation. This group would later be known as the “Holy Club.” The Holy Club at Oxford helped support teachers for poor children. In Georgia he tried to teach the children of his parish. But it was only after the beginning of the Revival that education took a prominent place in his social agenda.
In 1739, Wesley began building the first school at Kingswood, near Bristol. This was for the coal miners of the area, adults who had had no opportunity for formal schooling. The school came out of a deep religious conviction. Wesley believed that the miners were worthy in God’s sight and should have the opportunity to become full human beings, and develop a sense of self-worth. He started other schools for the poor in Bristol, London, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The adult students in these schools learned reading, writing, and the Christian faith.
Wesley taught the same basic subjects to children. Children were educated free of charge if their parents could not afford to pay anything for education. Needy children were also given clothing and meals. The money for all these activities came from gifts from the Methodist societies and philanthropic nobles. Wesley turned the money over to administrators, who oversaw the day-to-day operations of the schools.
In 1748, Wesley began the project that was always dear to his heart—the Kingswood School for children. In 1749, there were four Methodist schools in Kingswood. There was a day school for boys, a day school for girls, an orphan school for girls, and the “new House” as Wesley called the 1748 project. Wesley had a clear plan for the schools, based on both his own religious conviction of the need for equal educational opportunities and his criticism of the existing schools and their educational methods. Henry Rack points out that Wesley had four criticisms of the existing schools:
they were mostly near to large towns and therefore near to diversion and corrupting company:
all sorts were admitted;
most of the masters had no more religion than the scholars;
the instruction was poorly planned. Latin and Greek predominated, at the expense of more elementary work. (Rack, p. 355)
Wesley lived in a day when free public education was totally unknown, and his “options” were either inferior private schools or no education at all for the poor. Wesley clearly saw himself as an educational as well as a religious reformer. He planned the Kingswood schools so they would be set apart in the countryside, yet close enough to Bristol to easily obtain supplies. He took only select students, and they boarded. It was important to Wesley that his students stay at school to avoid interference from parents (usually in the form of poor moral examples). The purpose of the school was “forming their minds, through the help of God, to wisdom and holiness, by instilling the principles of true religion, speculative and practical, and training them up in the ancient way, that they might be rational, scriptural Christians.” (quoted in Rack, p. 356) Notice that he was concerned with both Scripture and reason. He wanted his students to be grounded in Scripture, but he also wanted them to be critical thinkers. This is an important reminder for our day, when we often separate critical thought and biblical knowledge. Wesley seemed to believe that critical thought would enhance faith, not destroy it.
Wesley’s educational theory, if we can call it that, was based on his own childhood and Susannah’s practice. He thought it was important to “break the will” of a child, who would then be more willing to learn. He had no use for what we would call “child-centered education.” He said, “Religion should be instilled as soon as possible because Scripture, reason and experience show that the corruption of human nature should be curbed from the first . . . . This should be done by ‘mildness’ where this is possible, but by ‘kind severity’ where it is not. The purpose is to move children from the love of the world to love of God.” (Rack, p. 354)
The students at Kingswood followed a strict regimen, based on Wesley’s own practice, though he did allow children more time for sleeping. The curriculum included reading, writing, arithmetic, English, French, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, history, geography, chronology, rhetoric, logic, ethics, geometry, algebra, physics, and music. In practice, French, algebra, and music were neglected. In fact, Wesley had a fairly low opinion of French as a language. Note these courses were for children ages six to twelve! Wesley also wanted to found a four-year academy to teach the classics, modern science, history, and literature. This dream did not come true until the 1760s, when Oxford blocked Methodist students from attending there. Oxford’ action resulted in an academy that Wesley suggested gave young adults a better education than Oxford could. One suspects this statement came from some deep hurt Wesley felt because the college he loved rejected the students he loved.
Educating the Preachers
Wesley was always concerned for educating his preachers. Some of them, of course, were ordained, and had degrees from Oxford or Cambridge. But the lay preachers had little or no formal schooling in theology and the arts. So, beginning in 1745, Wesley began working on a list of books for the preachers to read. These included works in natural philosophy(science), history, poetry, divinity, and the classics. Wesley wanted to be, in his words, homo unius libri, a “man of one book,” meaning the Bible. It is clear, however, that his intellectual interests ranged widely and he wanted his preachers to engage in dialogue between the Bible and other books. It seems plausible that Wesley wanted his preachers to be in touch with the best learning of his day so that they could, in turn, witness to the gospel to those who were specialists in particular fields.
One of Wesley’s great educational projects was The Christian Library, a series of books for his preachers (primarily) to read. These were carefully edited and condensed religious classics. Wesley was interested in a wide range of reading and thought but he also didn’t want his preachers to be “infected” by what he felt were false doctrines. So the Bible remained the foundation for theological education and Christian spiritual formation.
Education and the Societies
Wesley did not do all this education work alone. He regularly preached and taught on the education of children. He checked on the schools he started, to be sure that the instructors were being faithful to their tasks. He talked with the children, taught them the faith, told them stories. He taught, from time to time, in the schools, he wrote school books(!), outlined the basic plan of instruction, talked to parents about raising their children as Christians. All this, in addition to everything else he was doing!
In addition, he required the preachers to preach on topics about child-rearing and the importance of education. They were to report to the congregations on the work of the schools and to take offerings for the schools.
Methodist societies emphasized holiness of heart and reading gave people a way to better seek such holiness. The audience was primarily people who had not attended school and who may have learned to read as adults. Wesley felt that reading Christians were more secure in their faith. A systematic program of reading encouraged Methodists to think about basic issues of life and faith. Wesley wanted them to read and to talk to each other about what they read. The reading programs developed by United Methodist Women today are an echo of Wesley’s concern for educated Christians, although most United Methodist Women are more than able to read. Wesley felt that uneducated people should not be excluded from the joys and benefits of reading. He wanted them to learn to read; he wanted them to read the materials he provided for them.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the duty towards education that Wesley instilled in the societies was a key to changing the educational system in England.
Even today, when United Methodist ministers become full members of the annual conference, they are asked, among other historic questions, “Will you diligently instruct the children in every place?” (Book of Discipline, ¶ 327) This is one of the questions Wesley asked his preachers, and his concern for educating children continues to our day.
The Sunday School
The first Methodist Sunday School was established in 1769 by Hannah Ball, in High Wycombe. It was intended primarily for those children who had to work the other six days of the week. Since their parents often worked seven days a week, having a Sunday School was a service to the family, since it kept young children from being unsupervised that day. The schools taught reading, writing, and the most important parts of the catechism. In some places, the children also learned arithmetic. Their basic text was the Bible, as it was in most schools of the day. Though Wesley was not a leader in starting Sunday Schools, he approved of them and promoted them whenever possible. Out of his deep social concern, he saw the Sunday School as one more way to help the poor.
Literature and Printing
Educating the poor was left entirely to voluntary organizations, and the need was greater than they could meet. Wesley began to provide inexpensive literature for the schools and also for individual reading. The Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge was his model and ally in this part of his ministry. He saw his writing as a way to spread the Gospel, and to deepen the faith of Christians. In addition, writing was a way of carrying on theological discussions with his opponents. Some of his most famous “letters” were really tracts, designed for theological debate with Roman Catholics, Calvinists, and others. When these tracts were printed and circulated, they became another tool for educating both the people called Methodists, and the wider public.
Wesley used the most modern technology of his day to provide the poor with books. Though this is not the same as using power point in worship, Wesley’s aim was to offer salvation and educate the poor, and help them grow in the faith, totally outside the worship experience. He wrote on a wide variety of subjects—religion, practical issues, biography, travel, poetry, and philosophy. He printed his Journal, and it went through many editions in his lifetime. His Sermons also went through many editions. He charged only minimal prices for his writings, because he wanted the poor to be able to afford them. If anyone could not pay, the books were to be given away.
One of his books, called Primitive Physic, was a major best seller in England and in America. It was a collection of remedies for various illnesses. The primary purpose of Primitive Physic was Wesley’s wholistic concern for people’s needs, particularly salvation. He believed that God cared for bodies as well as souls. Some of his suggested remedies were serious helps for illnesses, others were folk remedies that we would find only amusing. In 1778, Wesley began the Arminian Magazine as a response to the Calvinist magazines circulating in England.
What Can We Learn From Wesley?
Wesley read everything he could get his hands on, and applied most of his reading to his preaching and writing. That suggests that we also need to be well-read, particularly on key controversial topics. If we are, as Christians, going to weigh in on moral arguments about such topics as cloning, stem-cell research, abortion, homosexuality, evolution, and a host of other topics, then we need to know as much about those topics as possible. It’s hard to discuss the ethics of stem-cell research, for example, if we don’t know what the science, the possibilities and the negatives of stem-cell research are. It is not enough simply to say that this research (or any other) is wrong, just because we feel that way in our “gut.” If we want to have any influence in the public arena, we need to be informed.
Second, in our language, learning is more important than teaching for the results of the test. Wesley wanted his followers to master knowledge, to know how to apply knowledge to life, and to think critically.
Third, Wesley was committed to using the most modern technology to promote education. In his day, that technology was the printing press. What is the most effective technology we can use today to promote learning? That seems obvious, correct? The most effective technology clearly is the computer and the Internet. But, (see the next paragraph) the most effective technology is out of the reach of the poor, and the gap in educational opportunity and quality grows wider. How do we, as the people of God, make it possible for the poor to have access to the most modern technology available, so that they don’t fall farther behind?
Fourth, Wesley was committed to education for the poor. His commitment ranged from starting free schools for the poor to providing reading materials. Given the rate of illiteracy in the United States, and the connection between illiteracy and poverty, what steps should United Methodists be taking to minister in practical ways to this segment of our population?
Finally, Wesley started a grand tradition for Methodists. We call it “you don’t have to check your brains at the door.” We United Methodists are invited to think for ourselves, to raise questions, and debate answers. We don’t have to blindly follow anyone in a leadership position, but are set free by God (as Wesley would say) to learn and think for ourselves. We certainly expect those in authority over us to challenge us, stir us to learning and action, and stretch our minds. But we are free to think for ourselves.
Questions for Reflection