A Historical Perspective

Two hundred years ago, as books became available to the masses, there was a major drive for literacy and churches and faith-based institutions were the major force behind that drive. Even the term "Sunday School" originally referred to literacy classes that were taught by Christians using the Bible, and only more recently has the term been more applied to classes focused only on religious teaching.  The first Sunday School was established at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1780 by Robert Raikes in his home to teach street children in London how to read.

Now computers are being made available to the masses, and there is a new major social issue in spreading computer literacy. Historically, churches and faith-based organizations have been some of strongest institutions in the inner-city.  Because of this, the church has a major role to play in helping to address the "digital divide" separating those with computer literacy from those without.  AC4 has already identified over 200 Christian organizations that are a part of this movement to address computer literacy. 

The following are some quotes from books that examined this literacy movement to provide historical perspective:

• Methodist Sunday schools were begun in America in 1790, just six years after the Methodist Church was established as a separate body.  These schools were, according to Francis Asbury the first American bishop, for "poor children, white and black" and were supplied with a "proper school book, to teach them learning and piety."
• To reinforce the ideas and values taught at school, religious educators formed libraries which disseminated evangelical children's literature. These libraries grew out of the schools' early role in literacy training. With the introduction of reward tickets for attendance, punctuality, and memorization came the practice of giving books as premiums. Instead of rewarding children with individual books, the union suggested that library privileges be extended to well-behaved and punctual scholars. By 1832 more than three-quarters of affiliated schools had libraries and the average size had grown to approximately 91 books. There were, of course, great variations among schools. The New-York Sunday School Union counted 15,162 volumes in the libraries of 53 of its schools in 1831, or 292 volumes in each school, whereas some frontier school libraries consisted of little more than a Bible and a hymnbook.  [The] advantage [was] not only of spreading 'wholesome' children's literature and evangelical beliefs but also of helping large and small communities to acquire libraries at a time when few public facilities were available. Libraries did more than provide reading material; their very presence attracted students and their parents." -- From Ann Boylan, Sunday School: The Formation of an American Institution, 1790-1880. Yale UP: New Haven and London, 1988.