In 1836, Amos Bronson Alcott, the father of author Louisa May Alcott, was conducting the Temple School in Boston. His teaching method was Socratic. By conversation and examination, he believed he could lead the children to express moral truths which they already “knew” because they resided within every person.
When the record of these conversations was published, Alcott’s reputation suffered so much that he lost most of his pupils and finally had to close his school. (He retreated to Concord, where Louisa May Alcott grew up and wrote Little Women, based on their lives there — but that is another story.) Several things seem to have aroused opposition. First, by discussing religious texts and beliefs with the children, he opened those texts to interpretation, rather than simply telling the children what was true. Next, some of Alcott’s own interpretations were not conventional. And finally, and probably worst of all, he edged around the dangerous topic of sex.
Reading these conversations now, some of the exchanges with the children are charming, as here where he wants them to understand that small beginnings may have big results.
Despite his Socratic intentions, at times Alcott is quite authoritarian in his explanations:
If you can keep that all straight, you are ready to continue the conversation! The emphasis on spirit is typical of Alcott, who leads discussion of the birth of John the Baptist and of Jesus with an entire emphasis on the birth of spirit. The children don’t always get it. When one child suggests that baby John was brought by angels to his mother while she slept, another protests that that babies are usually born during the day.
Having thus confused physical and spiritual birth, perhaps Alcott could have passed on, but he seems unable to leave the topic alone.
In the midst of all this high thinking, occasionally a refreshing bit of childish realism appears. When they discuss how the boy Jesus stayed at the Temple, causing Mary to be concerned, Alcott wants to explore the concept of “God’s business.” The children, on the other hand, live in a world where parents know their rights.
You can read what shocked Boston now at Google Books or in a new edition entitled How Like an Angel Came I Down. 
I downloaded the epub from Google books and I’m glad I did! This looks really interesting! I am also finding Bronson’s letters to be interesting as well, especially his tender affection for his daughters. He wrote one particularly lovely letter to Elisabeth when she was a child, just before Fruitlands that demonstrated his affection for her. There’s also lots of interesting tidbits about all kinds of people.
Reading Bronson’s own words and seeing his interaction with the children in this book has changed my attitude toward him. Having known hard times myself, I always felt that he was a free-loader who did not meet his family responsibilities. Now I see that he really was a spirit-obsessed person who could not be otherwise. Well intentioned, but totally impractical. Fortunately for him, his wife and children did understand and love him, with a bit of natural exasperation at times.
Agreed. And his love for children was tender and true. I will never forget reading how he would fashion bread into animal shapes for his daughters while at Fruitlands to make the food more interesting. There was a genuine sweetness about him.