A-b-c-darian
Encyclopedia
A-B-C-darians, ABC-darians, or abecedarians were the youngest students (then called scholars) in the typical one-room school
of 19th-century America, so-called because they were just learning their “a-b-cs.” It could also refer to someone teaching the alphabet.
Many young children were simply sent along with other siblings in order to get them out of their mothers’ way. Noah Webster
’s early school dictionary contains the following entry for abecedarian: A-be-ce-da'-ri-an, n. One who teaches or is learning the alphabet.
(a.k.a. "Peter Parley")attended a district school around 1810 in which “The larger scholars were ranged on the outer sides, at the desks; the smaller fry of a-b-c-darians were seated in the center.”
Warren Burton also noted that "next to the spelling floor, were low, narrow seats for abecedarians and others near that rank. In general, the older the scholar the
further from the front was his location."
recalled that “I was sent to the old brick schoolhouse when I was four years old. Two or three others entered school at the same A-B-C time. We sat on the low seat facing the open Class floor—the boys on one side and the girls on the other. We had nothing to do but to look on and thus cultivate our powers of observation. With all the classes of an ungraded school
to teach, of course the teacher could give but a few minutes to the three A-B-C darians, who had just entered the school. Twice a day we were called up and took our places at the teacher's knee. Here we received our first lessons in learning to read; and this reading lesson of five minutes in the forenoon and five minutes in the afternoon was all we had to do."
shared in the American Journal of Education(Volume XII, 1863. p. 597) that "Basedow at Magdeburg Johann Bernhard Basedow
, adopted a constructive method of teaching the letters, by presenting them made in gingerbread—then rewarding success in remembering the name by gift of the substance. This founder of Philanthropinism should be held in everlasting and grateful remembrance by A-b-c-darians."
In the 1850s it was reported that in some, modifications had already taken place: “The A B C darians are each in a separate class, and are instructed in a very uniform style.”
By contrast, New York educators continued to complain of poor methods for the younger students into the 1860s. “The habit of requiring the children of the alphabet class to give formal definitions to words which are far more simple than those used to define them, is a practice which I have endeavored to discourage. For instance, such words as father, mother, brother, sister, boy, girl, etc., it is not uncommon to hear defined by these little A-B-C-darians, in this manner:—" Mother—a female parent; brother—a male child born of the same parents; girl—a female child; cat— a domestic animal; cow—a domestic animal," &c."
declared in 1898 that “The days of the A-B-C-darians, and the three R's— all! ah! and alas! —have happily gone by, and hard after them are following those to whom the ability to trace with index-linger, word by word, and line by line, the pupil's progress down the page of the text-book, was enough.
One-room school
One-room schools were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In most rural and small town schools, all of the students met in a single room...
of 19th-century America, so-called because they were just learning their “a-b-cs.” It could also refer to someone teaching the alphabet.
Early references
In his autobiographical reminiscences on his school days, Warren Burton recounted that he “was three years and a half old when I first entered the Old School-house as an abecedarian.”Many young children were simply sent along with other siblings in order to get them out of their mothers’ way. Noah Webster
Noah Webster
Noah Webster was an American educator, lexicographer, textbook pioneer, English spelling reformer, political writer, editor, and prolific author...
’s early school dictionary contains the following entry for abecedarian: A-be-ce-da'-ri-an, n. One who teaches or is learning the alphabet.
Front row seats
In the district schools of the early 19th century, the youngest scholars were seated on the front benches in a room that typically had floors that sloped up from the center on three sides like a small amphitheater. The entrance door(s) and the teacher’s desk were located on the unsloped side. The desks accommodated two or more scholars and were arranged up the ramps around a center space, the front of each desk providing the seat for the desk before it, with the front rows consisting only of the benches attached to the desks of the second row where the youngest children sat. Samuel Griswold GoodrichSamuel Griswold Goodrich
Samuel Griswold Goodrich was an American author, better known under the pseudonym Peter Parley.-Biography:Goodrich was born at Ridgefield, Connecticut as the son of a Congregational minister...
(a.k.a. "Peter Parley")attended a district school around 1810 in which “The larger scholars were ranged on the outer sides, at the desks; the smaller fry of a-b-c-darians were seated in the center.”
Warren Burton also noted that "next to the spelling floor, were low, narrow seats for abecedarians and others near that rank. In general, the older the scholar the
further from the front was his location."
A day in the life of an a-b-c-darian
A-b-c-darians in unreformed schools were drilled in their letters two or three times a day, then spent the rest of the school day on their own trying to recall the names of letters, and probably watching the recitations of older scholars who were called to the middle of the room to show what they had learned for the schoolmaster. Educator William Augustus MowryWilliam Augustus Mowry
William Augustus Mowry was an American educator and historical writer, born at Uxbridge, Massachusetts.-Family:William Augustus was an eighth-generation descendent of the Mowry family that immigrated from England to Providence in 1666. He was born to Johnathan Mowry and Hannah Mowry. His mother...
recalled that “I was sent to the old brick schoolhouse when I was four years old. Two or three others entered school at the same A-B-C time. We sat on the low seat facing the open Class floor—the boys on one side and the girls on the other. We had nothing to do but to look on and thus cultivate our powers of observation. With all the classes of an ungraded school
Ungraded school
An ungraded school is a school that does not formally organize students according to age-based grade levels. Students' achievements are assessed by teachers, and each student is individually assigned to one of several fluid groups, according to what the student needs to learn next.Typically,...
to teach, of course the teacher could give but a few minutes to the three A-B-C darians, who had just entered the school. Twice a day we were called up and took our places at the teacher's knee. Here we received our first lessons in learning to read; and this reading lesson of five minutes in the forenoon and five minutes in the afternoon was all we had to do."
Reform
Beginning in the 1830s, education reform included consideration of how to improve instruction for all students, including the a-b-c-darians. Education reformer Henry BarnardHenry Barnard
Henry Barnard was an American educationalist and reformer.-Biography:...
shared in the American Journal of Education(Volume XII, 1863. p. 597) that "Basedow at Magdeburg Johann Bernhard Basedow
Johann Bernhard Basedow
Johann Bernhard Basedow was a German educational reformer, teacher and writer. He founded the Philanthropinum, a short-lived but influential progressive school in Dessau, and was the author of "Elementarwerk", a popular illustrated textbook for children.-Early years:Basedow was born in Hamburg,...
, adopted a constructive method of teaching the letters, by presenting them made in gingerbread—then rewarding success in remembering the name by gift of the substance. This founder of Philanthropinism should be held in everlasting and grateful remembrance by A-b-c-darians."
In the 1850s it was reported that in some, modifications had already taken place: “The A B C darians are each in a separate class, and are instructed in a very uniform style.”
By contrast, New York educators continued to complain of poor methods for the younger students into the 1860s. “The habit of requiring the children of the alphabet class to give formal definitions to words which are far more simple than those used to define them, is a practice which I have endeavored to discourage. For instance, such words as father, mother, brother, sister, boy, girl, etc., it is not uncommon to hear defined by these little A-B-C-darians, in this manner:—" Mother—a female parent; brother—a male child born of the same parents; girl—a female child; cat— a domestic animal; cow—a domestic animal," &c."
Obsolescence
By the end of the 19th century the mere use of the term represented a bygone era of the one-room schoolhouse. George Howland, superintendent of the Chicago Public SchoolsChicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools, commonly abbreviated as CPS by local residents and politicians and officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, is a large school district that manages over 600 public elementary and high schools in Chicago, Illinois...
declared in 1898 that “The days of the A-B-C-darians, and the three R's— all! ah! and alas! —have happily gone by, and hard after them are following those to whom the ability to trace with index-linger, word by word, and line by line, the pupil's progress down the page of the text-book, was enough.