McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader (1879): Revised Edition

William Holmes McGuffey (1800-1873) McGuffey was an American theologian and Professor of Moral Philosophy, Greek, and Latin who was described as "rich in pungent phrase and anecdote, apt in citation from history, literature, and life, skillful in analogy" (William Holmes McGuffey and his Readers, 145) He believed education should include spiritual and moral training, and was mindful of the practical and budgetary issues of teaching in the one-room schoolhouse on the frontier. His Readers were often the only books that children had access to, and according to an article in the History and Culture newsletter of the National Park Service, "Most prominent post-Civil War and turn-of-the-century American figures credited their initial success in learning to the Readers" (NPS).McGuffey's goal was to create a curriculum that even untrained teachers could use to provide practical instruction in communication skills through memorable stories and poems. The upper-level Readers introduce students to many classic works, though McGuffey did not see them as a replacement for full-length classic literature. He understood that many of his readers would not have access to a library, but wished to impart as rich an education as was possible with the limited time and resources available in nineteenth-century schools. He is credited with "creating a generation of gifted orators and readers" (NPS). Over a million copies of his books have been sold since they were first published, and they are still used in some schools and home schools.