Background
Reliable information as to Dock's family, early education, and the place and date of his birth is lacking.
(Mennonite schoolmaster Christopher Dock first published h...)
Mennonite schoolmaster Christopher Dock first published his A Hundred Necessary Rules of Conduct for Children in 1764. It instructed children how to keep their belongings tidy, behave in public and stay awake in church. While even the best-behaved Mennonite boy couldn't resist the allure of a well-placed puddle, the schoolmaster laid out helpful guidelines. Schoolteacher Paul Breon brings the rules into context for today's children and parents in Necessary Rules for Children in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, with charming period photography by Tonya Wilhelm. Rediscover timeless wisdom in the first guide to etiquette published in the American colonies.
https://www.amazon.com/Necessary-Rules-Children-Pennsylvania-Country-ebook/dp/B01164ULKW?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B01164ULKW
Reliable information as to Dock's family, early education, and the place and date of his birth is lacking.
Drawn from Germany to Pennsylvania by the religious freedom accorded Mennonites, Dock opened a school at Skippack about the year 1718. After teaching ten years, he devoted his time chiefly to farming till 1738, when, praying that the Lord might "graciously overlook my neglect of youth" for the time past, he returned to the profession of schoolmaster until his death. Two schools, one at Skippack, the other at Salford, now claimed his attention, three days each in turn. His fame spread, and Christopher Saur of Germantown sought a description of his methods (1749) as a guide for other less skilful teachers. The latter refused, fearing it would appear as an "unsavory monument" to himself and deserve "before God and all pious, Christian people, not honor but rather ridicule and shame. " Finally Saur wrote certain questions to a mutual friend, Dielman Kolb, who drew the answers from Dock, the latter stipulating that they should not be published in his lifetime. These answers make up his famous Schulordnung, the earliest treatise in America on schoolkeeping thus far discovered. The manuscript was completed on August 8, 1750.
Meantime, at the solicitation of Saur, Dock prepared a few articles, in 1764, for the Geistliches Magazien and this probably prepared the way for publication of the Schulordnung before its author's death. The first and second editions of the latter appeared in 1770, and a third in 1861. The best known of the articles were "A Hundred Necessary Rules of Conduct for Children" and "A Hundred Christian Rules for Children. " These rules give an insight into the early German family life much as the Schulordnung pictures Dock's school. He also composed a number of hymns, some of which are used to-day. The fame of the pious schoolmaster rests not wholly upon the early date of his publication on schoolkeeping but upon the modernity of much of his practice. Constructive writing and composition exercises were secured by an interchange of pupils' letters from one school to the other; use of gentle persuasion superseded harsh discipline; rewards were given for good work, social disapproval for the lazy and disobedient; and investigation sought to find the reason for swearing, lying, stealing and quarreling, punishment being varied to suit the individual case. Understanding love was the chief principle of discipline; and simplicity and directness, the chief virtues of his instruction. Each evening, with the roll before him, he prayed that his injustice or neglect of any be forgiven; that on the morrow he might do the best for each and all. Late in 1771 he failed to return from school. There he was found, on his knees, dead.
Dock's teaching methods gave rise to publication of the first known book dealing with education in America. These techniques stood in contrast to the norm of the day, and emphasized character building and discussion in lieu of physical punishment. The Christopher Dock Mennonite High School, in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, is named for him.
(Mennonite schoolmaster Christopher Dock first published h...)
Dock advocated gentleness and encouragement in the teacher-student relationship. He counseled that discipline should grow from love, and he encouraged teachers to be simple, direct, and understanding, rather than harsh and overbearing.
