Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield

Understood Betsy is designed for readers in the elementary stage; however, the worldview expressed in the book recommends it only for advanced readers who are exercising their worldview examination and analysis skills. The charming nature of the story makes this caution more emphatic, because the negative worldview is subtle. Readers should beware Dorothy Canfield’s progressive and humanist worldview.

The first chapter introduces Betsy, a girl smothered by her well-meaning, expert-reading aunt into complete dependency. Circumstances compel the aunt to send Betsy to the farm of her dreaded relatives, where in the ensuing chapters Betsy, after several shocking discoveries about life on the farm, develops beautifully into an independent, problem-solving, education-appreciating young girl. In the end, she realizes that she is now superior to her beloved aunt because of her abilities to conquer fear and endure various mishaps. The aunt who always “understood” her is now in turn understood.

Although many of these qualities may not seem particularly evil, others presented and correlated with them can be dangerous. Before describing those dangers, however, I will mention one of my favorite parts of the book. In fact, this scene made it particularly difficult to relegate the book as inappropriate for young children. When Betsy begins the local one-roomed schoolhouse, she is shocked and even upset to discover that children can be placed in whatever grade suits their skills (mastery learning). Instead of being in third grade, she advances to seventh grade reading, but moves back to second grade arithmetic. Because of my background in homeschooling, where that type of criterion for advancement can be usefully employed, I applaud the concept, specifically because it emphasizes content retention and accountability in achieving specific criteria before advancement. Mastery learning emphasizes the intrinsic value of knowledge, because no relevant skill or fact is brushed over. This method also protects children from the discouragement that comes when prerequisite skills are missing in the study of a new concept or skill. Nevertheless, Canfield demonstrates the negative side of mastery learning.

Despite the advantages of this method, Canfield’s commentary on it reveals her progressive leanings. “She had always thought she was there to pass from one grade to another, and she was ever so startled to get a little glimpse of the fact that she was there to learn how to read and write and cipher and generally use her mind, so she could take care of herself when she came to be grown up. Of course, she didn't really know that till she did come to be grown up, but she had her first dim notion of it in that moment” (Chapter 5: “What Grade is Betsy?”). Progressivism emphasizes problem-solving skills, real-world experiences, and learning by doing. The goal of this type of education is a properly functioning adult, productive in society. Here, Betsy begins to understand that her goal in learning is not to acquire skills that will please her teachers, but to learn how to become that productive adult. While adults should be productive and excellent problem solvers, progressivism relies on a humanist worldview, requiring man to be independent such that he needs neither other men nor God. Man is ultimately his own savior. (Similarly in mastery learning, any child can succeed if placed in the proper learning environment. The theory depends on a view of sinless man, where appropriate stimuli will encourage man to develop the proper skills to become independent.)

Independence is the theme of Understood Betsy. While increasing independence benefits a student by developing responsibility (self-government) and servant-hood, independence also can produce pride, a wrong attitude about our position of dependence on God. God has created humans dependent not only on Him for life (both earthly and eternal) and righteousness, but also on other humans. Primarily, man depends on his family and his church for both daily sustenance and continual growth in godliness through accountability. Betsy changes from an unhealthy over-dependence on her aunt to an unhealthy over-dependence on herself as her relatives applaud every attempt she makes to solve problems without requesting assistance. While children can learn from the wise decisions she makes in each situation, Canfield’s focus on independence may harm a child learning how to develop responsibility without relinquishing his dependence on the God from whom comes life, righteousness, and all wise decisions.