Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

Nat’s story illustrates the relationship between poverty, social class, and education. Nat’s family didn’t have enough money for basic needs such as food and clothing. For example, Nat sometimes didn’t have winter clothing, and the family often ate only potatoes for days on end. Being hungry or cold makes it hard to concentrate on learning and worrying about family finances can leave children feeling too tired and anxious to learn. However, Nat had some advantages that most children living in poverty don’t. First, learning came extremely easily to him. He was noted for his ability to remember effortlessly things that other children had to work hard at. Because learning came so easily to him, he enjoyed it. He engaged in study the way modern children might watch television or play video games.

Second, Nat’s mother and grandmother encouraged Nat’s enthusiasm for learning. In fact, Nat’s family seem to have thought learning was as important as food and clothing, since they spent money for their children to attend school rather than buying winter clothes or better food. They made their home an environment that fostered learning. For example, Memoir of Nathaniel Bowditch contains a description of Nat’s grandmother laying the family Bible open on her bed.