As we see God and prayer being removed from our schools every day, we should be reminded that in early American schools, the curriculum was greatly influenced by the Bible’s texts and teachings.
Frederick A. Packard, an educator, wrote, “No child should leave a daily public school in our country ignorant of the generally received principles of the Christian faith.”
Horace Mann said, “Our system earnestly inculcates all Christian morals and welcomes the religion of the Bible.” He went on to report that the Bible was used “in almost all the schools, either as a devotional or as a reading book.”
Before the public schools were made commonplace, children would meet in churches to get an education.  The use of the Bible as a text in the classroom was a natural progression for many teachers.
The great desire to read the Bible was the reason many parents wanted to learn to read and it was very important to them that they teach their children to read. It also shaped the way in which reading was taught in America.
In the 1680’s, the earliest English settlers in America used schoolbooks that they had brought from England. An early example of this was the “New England Primer.” It was successfully used as an educational textbook and throughout this primer; it referred to God with reference to stories in the Bible.
It was continued to be used through the 1700’s as it taught the basics of a classical education as well as Christian character and Bible reading. Scholars estimate that two to three million copies of the primer were sold over the course of 150 years. Various versions of this primer also included Bible passages from the King James Version of the “Lord’s Prayer” from Matthew 6: 9-13. This “New England Primer” gives us a glimpse inside early colonial schoolhouses and shows us how deeply the Bible was embedded in American education.
It was continued to be used through the 1700’s as it taught the basics of a classical education as well as Christian character and Bible reading. Scholars estimate that two to three million copies of the primer were sold over the course of 150 years. This “New England Primer” gives us a glimpse inside early colonial schoolhouses and shows us how deeply the Bible was embedded in American education.
Sadly, in two landmark decisions, Engel v. Vitale on June 25, 1962, and Abington School District v. Schempp on June 17, 1963, the Supreme Court declared school-sponsored prayer and Bible readings unconstitutional. They said it violated the First Amendment because it represented establishment of religion.
We now see the results of this decision in our society today. As Christian parents, sometimes we look at the teenagers today and ask ourselves, “What happened?”
Just remember what the Bible says in Proverbs 22:6 (KJV), “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
PITN