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English as She is Taught by Caroline B. Le Row and Mark Twain

(5 User reviews) 933

By Elijah Schneider Posted on Mar 30, 2026

In Category - Economics

Authors: Published By :

Book Language: English

Okay, so picture this: Mark Twain, America's funniest writer, stumbles upon a collection of real, hilariously wrong answers from schoolchildren in the 1880s. We're talking about definitions like 'A fortress is the wife of a fort.' He's so delighted by the absurdity that he writes a whole essay about it, which gets bundled with the original collection of bloopers. This book is that perfect combo. It's a time capsule of innocent, spectacularly bad student answers, paired with Twain's signature wit as he roasts the terrible teaching methods that led to them. It's less than 100 pages, but it's the funniest history lesson you'll ever have. If you've ever had a teacher who made you memorize facts without understanding them, you'll feel seen. It's laugh-out-loud funny and surprisingly sharp about how not to educate people.

File: English as She is Taught by Caroline B. Le Row and Mark Twain

So, here's how this weird little book came to be. In 1887, a teacher named Caroline Le Row published a pamphlet called English as She is Taught. It wasn't a textbook. It was a compilation of the most gloriously incorrect answers her students had given on exams. Think of it as the 19th-century version of those 'Kids Say the Darndest Things' segments.

The Story

There isn't a plot in the traditional sense. The first half is just list after list of these student answers. They define an apostle as 'a man sent to preach to the Gentiles' but also 'the man who goes up in a balloon.' They explain that the 'Four Seasons' are 'Salt, Pepper, Mustard, and Vinegar.' They confidently state that 'Magna Charta' was a 'ship that brought over the Pilgrims.' It's pure, unadulterated comedy gold, born from total confusion.

Then, Mark Twain gets his hands on it. He's so tickled that he writes a long, funny essay using Le Row's collection as Exhibit A. His piece, also titled English as She is Taught, is the second half of this book. He doesn't just laugh at the kids; he gets furious at the awful 'parrot system' of education that forced them to memorize nonsense they couldn't possibly understand. He argues the children's honest, creative wrong answers are more logical than the rote memorization they were subjected to.

Why You Should Read It

First, it's genuinely, laugh-until-you-cry funny. The kid logic is timeless. But Twain's commentary is what elevates it. He turns a joke into a serious critique. You realize he's not mocking the children; he's defending them. He's pointing out that when education fails to connect with a student's mind, you get answers that are bizarrely literal or wildly inventive. It's a short, powerful rant against bad teaching that still feels relevant today. Every time a student today mixes up historical facts or mishears a lyric, they're channeling the spirit of this 1887 classroom.

Final Verdict

This is a perfect book for anyone who loves Mark Twain's humor, for teachers who need a reminder to make lessons stick, or for anyone who just wants a guaranteed good laugh. It's a historical curiosity, a comedy routine, and a piece of educational philosophy all wrapped into one quick, delightful package. Don't go in expecting a novel. Go in expecting to underline hilarious lines and think, 'Yep, the system's been broken for a long, long time.'