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According to the institutional paradigm, School was historically wanted, organized and inspired by a preeminent Authority, whether the Church or the State. This Authority defined the major finalities of schooling and the ways and methods to achieve them. For instance, before the setting of the State school, in the 19th century France, theses finalities and methods have determined why and how children were teached to read, to write and to be good christians. Supported by some examples precisely analyzed, we aim to show how the strength of this institutional paradigm induces to misread and misunderstand the historical sources which could refute it by giving evidence of the interests, aims and practices of the primary actors of these learnings, who are the mothers, the fathers and the children themselves.