Writing in Literature for Today’s Young Adults, Richard Peck declares that he has “only one theme...It is simply that you will never grow up until you begin to think and act independently of your peers” ("Peck, Richard bio." Educational Book & Media Association).

In The Teacher’s Funeral, Russell and Tansy must make their own choices and learn from them as they navigate their paths to adulthood. Both teens must balance their desire for freedom with their ties to, and responsibility toward family.

At the start of the novel, Russell is on the cusp of manhood, and he faces a pivotal decision: run away to the Dakotas, which he associates with freedom and adulthood, or stay “penned” in school and home with his family on the farm where he feels he would still be a boy (74). Looking back on his youth, Russell comments, “If there’s one thing you can’t see at the age of fifteen, it’s ahead” (150). Russell itches for the future he imagines but cannot see clearly because of his youth. He appreciates the drama and romance of hopping a train, admitting that he likes “the sound of riding the rods, however you did that” (134), even more than the prospect of earning a wage. Russell’s plan is safe as long as it remains abstract: When Charlie agrees to go, Russell is excited, but also afraid. When he views the reality of the railyard, however, he realizes that “It wasn’t like I’d pictured it, nor anywhere I wanted to be” (145). As Russell learns the ignorance behind his dream, he takes a step toward maturity.

Early in the novel, Russell reveals his immaturity in other ways. He lacks insight about Tansy’s transition to womanhood and sees her only in the role of bossy sister and teacher. When he smokes the buggy whip with Charlie and endangers the schoolhouse, he does not initially admit personal responsibility. His whining resistance to education also sets a poor example for Lloyd. Russell comments, selfishly, that he did not think Lloyd looked up to him “like he should” (143). Nor should he. Lloyd, in contrast, knows that Tansy is sweet on Eugene, that Russell started the fire, and that Tansy is becoming a good teacher. Russell is, as Tansy notes, too busy being a younger brother to her, and not being a big brother to Lloyd.

Thanks to the gentle guidance of his father and Tansy’s tough love, Russell comes to see the consequences of his choices and adjusts his life trajectory. Russell’s father is instrumental in Russell’s transformation: He allows Russell to make choices on his own and reap the consequences without parental recrimination. He provides both the ladder to muffle the school bell, and the wood to rebuild the privy. He allows Russell to figure things out and accept individual responsibility. Russell’s dad does not say anything to dissuade Russell from his decision to leave, but exposes its reality while offering his love.

Although Russell thinks his dreams are over, he feels both “resigned” and “relieved” to stay home and appreciates his “father’s quiet love” (151), showing he has gained new insight into himself and his dad. Russell also comes to appreciate Tansy as both an older sister and a teacher, commenting “And I knew at last where I stood” (173), offering support rather than opposition to her teaching. Russell’s attitude towards Lloyd also changes; he understands that he needs to be a role model for the younger boy. Russell shows that he values his rural lifestyle—his community and friends—even though they are not examples of modernity or the future. He prefers Charlie as a beau for Tansy, rather than Eugene, who represents city life. Finally, Russell recognizes that education is an opportunity. He chooses to continue his education for himself and his family’s future. His choice is his freedom.

When Tansy seizes Miss Myrt’s pointer, she also grasps adulthood. She takes on professional responsibility and shows a sense of purpose and ambition absent from other girls her age in the community. Tansy makes her choice out of love for and obligation to her family: to get Russell through his eighth-grade graduation and to give Lloyd an exemplar.

Like Russell, Tansy faces challenges in her journey to adulthood. Tansy must stand up to older women who dismiss her because of her youth. She holds her ground during confrontations with both Mrs. Tarbox and Aunt Fanny Hamline, showing she is their equal. She asserts her authority over the classroom. Tansy tells Russell not to inform their father about the snake incident because it is her responsibility, in her new role as teacher, to manage the problem: “I can handle this. I have to. I’m the teacher” (122). Tansy is also newly conscious of her appeal to the opposite sex, another sign of her transition to adulthood. By choosing Glenn for a husband over Eugene, Tansy can continue teaching for additional years and help other students prepare for the future. Tansy shows she values her rural community.

Tansy has a more modern view of education than most of the elders in her community. Preacher Parr and older members of the congregation approve of corporeal punishment to aid “larnin’” (40). Miss Myrt kept a beech switch nailed over the door to the schoolroom to put students “in the right frame of mind for learning” (65). The Sweet Singer even suggests that pounding learning into children is heaven-approved: “Miss Myrt’s a-cuttin’ switches / For that Schoolhouse in the sky” (43). Teachers are respectfully feared individuals who stand slightly outside the community. Thanks to this perspective, Russell tells Tansy that teaching “don’t seem like good, honest work to me” (66). Russell views school as a “jailhouse” (3), largely because it is holding him back from what he sees as independence, but also because Miss Myrt was a cruel teacher.

Tansy realizes that the old-fashioned attitudes toward education and teachers do not produce successful, 20th-century-ready students. Under Miss Myrt, Baz the gravedigger never made it out of the first reader (32). Neither did Charlie. Miss Myrt’s penchant for rote learning and whupping failed her students. Tansy maintains rituals and routines in the classroom, but she uses ingenuity and psychology, rather than violence, to get the students learning. Russell initially does not think much of Tansy’s “so-called teaching methods” (164) because she demands more from her students than Miss Myrt did. Tansy uses unheard of cross-curricular methods such as combining geography with spelling. She connects education to real life: using the garter snake to calm Little Britches’s fears but also to teach about the president’s family. Tansy fosters curiosity and refuses to hold Little Britches back from learning the multiplication tables just because she has not reached them in the curriculum. All of these approaches differentiate Tansy from the Hominy Ridge School teachers before her.

“You’re never too old to learn” (102), Tansy tells Mrs. Tarbox. Tansy’s philosophy stands in stark contrast to that mother’s selfish, leveling behavior. Except for Glenn, the Tarbox family is an extreme example of the consequences of ignorance: Their farm is a failure, and most of the older kids are in jail. Education, Tansy knows, is an opportunity for future success. Glenn knows this too and refuses to be “kept down” by his family (168). Thanks to Tansy, Russell gradually comes to see that learning is the key to the future. Russell appreciates and understands Tansy’s skill as a teacher, saying she “was good and grew better” (187). Even after Tansy completes her goal of getting her brothers through school, she devotes herself to helping her other students accomplish their goals—the statewide spelling bee, the county essay contest—that extend beyond the walls of the schoolhouse. Tansy, with her different educational approach represents the future of education, and her students represent the future of America.