The child’s romantic noble-savage image replaced Puritan views of innate evil.

Evidence

While the educational practice of regimentation of children has persisted, the fundamentalist conception of a child as immoral or savage has given way, through various stages, to a more appreciative view. To modern educators, the child appears as the primitive embodiment of the good and the natural— the noble savage, if you will. Children are spontaneous and joyful, unpredictable and trusting— traits to be cherished but sadly evanes­ cent in the path toward maturity. — Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America, 487

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the noble-savage trope discussed in Muslims in the Western Imagination, where Arabs were denied noble-savage innocence. — connects to: A tradition’s view of the child’s moral nature determines its stance on corporal punishment — , The Rod and the Child: A Global History…, 4202; Radical religious upbringing can destroy a child’s ability to feel their own emotions — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice: How to Communicate…, 524; Educators recast children as noble savages yet still required regimentation — Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America:…, 487

Broader Connections

• Educators recast children as noble savages yet still required regimentation #corroborates (0.92) — Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America, 487
• A tradition’s view of the child’s moral nature determines its stance on corporal punishment #expands (0.88) — , The Rod and the Child, 4202
• Radical religious upbringing can destroy a child’s ability to feel their own emotions #complicates (0.75) — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 524