La Tonia Winston
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ES 9750: Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Education
Mary McLeod Bethune
BIOGRAPHY:
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July 10, 1875-May 18, 1955
Member of the Presbyterian Church
Formal higher education from Scotia Seminary, North Carolina
(7 yrs) and Moody Bible Institute, IL (2yrs)
The most influential Black woman of her era in the U.S.
Educator, Women and Civil Rights Leader and, child welfare advocate
Founder of the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls, which
became Bethune - Cookman University. She served as the college president
(More than 13,000 students have graduated from this institution)
President of many national organizations and founder of the National Council of Negro Women,
the United Negro College Fund, the Southeastern Federation of Colored Women, and the
Association for the Study of Negro Life and History
She held leadership appointments from and acted as an educational consultant to U.S. Presidents Coolidge,
Hoover, Roosevelt, and Truman
o Under Roosevelt, she was appointed to the Office of Minority Affairs as the Director of the
National Youth Administration’s Division of Negro Affairs. She supervised employment training
programs for 600,000 African-American youth (Bailey 2007)
EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY
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As a child in a Presbyterian missionary school for Negroes, “Mary came to the conclusion of equality in
the eyes of God through one of her first Bible lessons” (Johnson-Miller)
Also, “At Scotia, Mary came to understand the intrinsic worth and equality of all human beings, and
embraced the holistic nature of all life” (Johnson-Miller)
People can live in harmony, if they received Christian education to combat ignorance and racial problems
Opposed to colonialism and martial law, but was strong believer in the idea of Christian democracy
Possessed a belief in creating one world under God; accomplished through oral proclamation of the
Gospel, education, and social action
Passion for God, Christian education, inter-racialism, and democracy (Johnson Miller; McCluskey 1997)
“Mary McLeod Bethune acknowledged that the work of her life was filled with divine guidance and a
daily awareness of the presence of God” (Johnson-Miller)
Her pedagogical approach was influenced by her apprenticeship under Lucy Craft Laney, at the Haines
Institute, Augusta, GA. Laney emphasized character and practical training for girls (McCluskey 1997)
Bethune stated, "I believe that the greatest hope for the development of my race lies in training our women
thoroughly and practically." (1920)
In the stream of Black Christian moralism- Protestant, Christian, middle class religious convictions and
values married to an educational and social agenda
o Held Black women’s leadership would be accomplished through education. She valued hard work,
self-respect, and faith in God. She focused on educating Black women to be influential
professionals in their communities and society as a socio-educational agenda of “female uplift”
toward ameliorating racial, social, and economic oppression
“The instinctively political Bethune realized that a curriculum immersed in morality and work themes
improved her ability to raise funds among wealthy Northern whites who vacationed near Daytona.
Bethune's motivation for adopting a "practical" curriculum also reflected the values of her own
educational apprenticeship…" (McCluskey 1997; 410)
Early curriculum emphasis on “religion and vocationalism” as a means of training would be artisans and
service workers in a race restricted economic job market, so they could earn better livings
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She moved toward a philosophy of academic education, including courses in the Bible, business, and
science. She also added courses in English, math, and foreign languages at the Daytona Industrial
Educational Training School for Negro Girls
Curriculum designed for the formation of Christian character leading to social transformation; over the
door of one school entrance was written: “Enter to Learn,” and over the exit, “Depart to Serve”
She encouraged people to have faith in God, possibilities of self, and humankind (Bethune 1934)
She said in her spiritual autobiography that she was inter-denominational, interracial, and international
In her last will and testament, she left as her legacy a philosophy of living and serving for those who
desire to work for peace: hope, faith, thirst of education, racial dignity, desire to live harmoniously with
others, and responsibility to the young (Bethune 1999)
SUMMARY OF BETHUNE’S EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY
Her philosophy of education was decidedly Christian, evangelistic, moral, and pragmatic. She embodied a
constructive Christian eschatological ecclesiology (Warner 2007). Drawing on the work of Newsome, McCluskey
and Smith, Johnson-Miller provides a cogent synthesis and articulation of Bethune’s philosophy of education as:
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Based in Christian Education
Not separate from her leadership roles as a "race woman" and a "political activist"
A life of service that had no demarcations for sacred and secular categories
All work as endeavors to demonstrate and promote the Christian faith
Underlying unity in all dimensions of life: spiritual, social, and political
Scriptures as the standard for life
Jesus as both the ideal and force that compelled people to work toward the ideal
Advancing unity and "brotherhood" through Judeo-Christianity and American democracy
“Mary Bethune's philosophy of Christian Education emerged through a complex interplay of forces, such as her
own inner yearnings that began in childhood, a spiritual and religious family context, a sense of divine destiny, and
the social-cultural limitations and opportunities that she faced…Mary Bethune promoted education for the "whole
person," and training the heart according to the principles of Christianity was central to the training of minds and
hands (Newsome, 1982, pp. 225-226)”. (Johnson-Miller)
REFERENCES
Bailey, Ellen. 2007. Mary McLeod Bethune. Premier.
Bethune, Mary McLeod. 1999. Educator: Mrs. Mary McLeod Bethune's legacy. (Undetermined). Crisis
_____________1934. Educational values of the college-bred. Southern Workman 63, 200-204..
_____________ April 16, 1920. "Letter to the Editor" in The New York Times.
DeRusha, Michelle. 50 Women Every Christian Should Know: Learning from Heroines of the Faith. Baker Books,
2014.
Ellis, Catherine, and Stephen Drury Smith, eds. 2007. “What does American Democracy Mean to Me”
Say it plain: A century of great African American speeches. New York: The New Press, 2007.
Miller-Johnson, Beverly. (undetermined) Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. Mary McLeod
Bethune. Christian Educators of the 20th Century.
www.talbot.edu/ce20/educators/protestant/mary_bethune/
McCluskey, Audrey Thomas. 1997. We Specialize in the Wholly Impossible: Black Women School
Founders and Their Mission. Signs: 403-426.
Warner, Laceye C. 2007. Saving women: retrieving evangelistic theology and practice. Waco, TN: Baylor
University Press.
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