I read parts of Manguel’s book for a course on the History of the Book a few years ago and highly recommend it. There’s an explanation in a chapter on learning to read where he discusses Jewish rituals surrounding the initiation of children into reading. Words are written on a slate, read by the teacher, repeated by the student, covered in honey and licked clean by the child, thus assimilating the word. Fascinating!
I read parts of Manguel’s book for a course on the History of the Book a few years ago and highly recommend it. There’s an explanation in a chapter on learning to read where he discusses Jewish rituals surrounding the initiation of children into reading. Words are written on a slate, read by the teacher, repeated by the student, covered in honey and licked clean by the child, thus assimilating the word. Fascinating!