Composition: History & Theory: 1800 - 1865
A Brief Overview: Schultz’s 19th Century Textbooks (1838-1855)
Description
Lucille Schultz’s “Elaborating Our History: A Look at Mid-19th Century First Books of Composition” focuses on identifying the main textbook pedagogies of 1838-1855. John Walker’s The Teacher’s Assistant, a well-known and guiding force in pedagogy presents the three main tenets of one of these schools:
1. “Students learn to write by learning rules”
a. Leaving rote memorization the primary form of learning how to write
2. “Young writers are not capable of inventing their own subject matter”
a. The memory of youth is of principle importance
3. “Students learn by writing about general, abstract topics, not about their own personal experiences”
a. Learning by copying a text over and over again
Walker’s teachings were moralistic, and largely responsible for making the distinction between persuasive writing and explanatory writing.
Marginalized authors that opposed Walker’s methods at the time are actually those whose practices resemble current pedagogical practices. Charles Morley allowed students to access the texts they read in class and come to their own conclusions about meaning. Similar in practice, John Frost wished to give students the liberty to begin learning with simply writing and not stringent rules and grammar. Frost also utilized student’s personal experiences as opposed to general experiences to develop stylistic writing.
Author
Claudia Auger
Date of Upload
4/19/11