When the trader/silversmith Sequoyah - George Gist- introduced his syllabary the Cherokee people were suspicious of it and tried him for witchcraft but after proving it was just symbols of sounds by testing communication between him and his daughter, they asked him to teach them how to use it. In one week he taught the first group of men to read and write in their own language.
Within mere months a large part of the nation learned the new skill.
In short order literacy among the Cherokee and halfbreeds was higher than the average of white settlers.
And he did it all without the federal government. Phonics.
RE: “trader/silversmith Sequoyah - George Gist- introduced his syllabary”:
A wonderful story. It does recapitulate how apparently all symbol languages segued into phonetic languages because the latter are much more efficient. But the part that seems almost supernatural is where it says that the natives learned to write their language in a matter of weeks. This is very interesting because these people have no experience with written language and yet the brain seems to be wired and ready to do it.
Meanwhile, our public schools can’t do it in a matter of years.
http://www.cherokee.org/AboutTheNation/History/Facts/SequoyahandtheCherokeeSyllabary.aspx