The Cost of Teaching? Two toes? A finger? (Be a Hero. Teach a child to read, #3)

“The alphabet is an abolitionist.

If you would keep a people enslaved, refuse to teach them to read.”

(Harper’s Weekly, Nov. 9, 1867, quoted from “Literacy as Freedom” in the Smithsonian)

Nat Turner’s Rebellion and Laws against Reading Instruction

In 1831 several slaves, under the leadership of Nat Turner, rebelled against their owners. In only two days between 55 and 60 whites were massacred in their homes. The retaliation was also horrible. Since some of these men had forged their own passes (to leave their plantations for a specified length of time), it was decided that reading instruction was to blame. Several states adopted codes which made it illegal to teach a black man to read. Punishments included excessive fines, imprisonment, and whippings.

The book “Nightjohn” by Gary Paulsen (1993) gives a fictionalized account of a slave who had gained his freedom, but risked that freedom by sneaking into cabins at night and teaching other slaves to read. When Nightjohn was found out, his punishment was the chopping-off of two of his toes. (A movie by the same name chose the punishment to be the chopping-off of a finger.)

Was this dismemberment a real thing?

In an interview with TeachingBooks.net (2010) Paulsen explained that he had read the Slave Chronicles in the Library of Congress. He “read interviews with freed slaves and learned that in captivity they had wanted to learn to read to help them become free.” His book was a compilation of their stories.

James Fisher of Nashville, Tennessee (former slave) wrote this: “I . . . thought it wise to learn to write, in case opportunity should offer to write myself a pass. I copied every scrap of writing I could find, and thus learned to write a tolerable hand before I knew what the words were that I was copying. At last, I found an old man who, for the sake of money to buy whisky, agreed to teach me the writing alphabet, and set up copying. I spent a good deal of time trying to improve myself; secretly, of course. One day, my mistress happened to come into my room, when my materials were about; and she told her father… that I was learning to write. He replied, that if I belonged to him, he would cut my right hand off.”

Reading became known as the means to freedom. The skill was so highly valued that many would put themselves into great danger in order to learn it. Those who learned took further risks when they chose to teach others.

How did they learn with such scarce resources?

Many ex-slaves tell of learning the alphabet and going forward from there. Once they learned the alphabet code, they would study any written word they could find. Sometimes they used Bibles or Hymnbooks, or even newspapers and posted notices.

They searched for clues and studied them, slowly learning to interpret written words.

My hope is that this same dedication will continue in American children today. With the help of teachers, like you and me, they too can learn.

So, be a hero.

Teach a child to read.

by Meg (homeschooling mom of 9)