On the Art of Teaching (Little Books of Wisdom) [Hardcover]

Horace Mann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1989 | Series: Little Books of Wisdom

In 1840 Mann wrote On the Art of Teaching. Its message has lived on as a timeless and inspiring appeal to teachers.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

1796-1859

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Applewood Books (November 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557091293
• ISBN-13: 978-1557091291
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 4.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #785,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Gift for Anyone Going into Teaching,... For the RIGHT Reasons, December 14, 2009

By 

fredtownward "The Analytical Mind; Have Brain... (Mocksville, North Carolina, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: On the Art of Teaching (Little Books of Wisdom) (Hardcover)

After reading this, one could be forgiven for assuming that Horace Mann was a champion of private schools, but in fact he was one of the earliest advocates of tax supported public schools. My, how his dream has tarnished in the more than a century and a half since he wrote this! In far too many cases public school teaching has declined from a calling, to a profession, to a job, to make work for the otherwise unemployable.

Of course there is and hopefully always will be a dedicated core of public school teachers in it for the right reasons. One prays they are still the majority, but one has serious doubts. One way you can contribute to fixing the problem as opposed to just grousing about it is to encourage those with the necessary dedication and purpose and talent to make teaching their career, either in public or private schools, and one way to do that is to give them the gift of inspiration and good advice Horace Mann first gave in 1840, as part of his Fourth Annual Report of the Massachusetts Board of Education, that is every bit as relevant today, arranged topically into four different sections.

The first is entitled herein "Knowledge of Studies". "Teachers should have a perfect knowledge of the rudimental branches which are required by law to be taught in our schools." No keeping one lesson ahead of the class is going to be acceptable to old Horace! Of course the wide increase in knowledge to be imparted today arguably requires a greater degree of specialization than Horace might have been comfortable with, but at the minimum a teacher should know his or her area of expertise backwards and forwards, if only in order to better catch subtle errors before they become ingrained errors.

The second is entitled herein "Aptness to Teach". Not everyone who knows a subject can teach it. Part of the process of deciding whether or not to go into teaching is determining whether one has that aptness or not, and this section will help one to determine this as it argues its necessity.

The third is entitled herein "The Art of Managing a Classroom". Not everyone who knows a subject and possesses an aptness for teaching can manage a classroom, but to a greater extent than is the case with aptness to teach, managing a classroom is something that can be learned and reading this section is a good start.

The last is entitled herein "Molding Good Behavior". Besides making the usual arguments for the importance of molding good behavior as a teacher, this short section offers an intriguing caution about imparting one's own eccentricities to one's students. In our "do your own thing" world this might be the hardest sell of all, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded that children are impressionable and one should always be careful about what one is impressing.

Note: One could complain that this book is available online for free. Well, yes, what part of in the public domain do you not understand? However, trying to get away with giving someone a printout as a gift will earn you the nickname of cheapskate. If all you want to do is read it yourself, then by all means stick to the free sites. However, if you are looking for a way to get through to someone else, you are better off buying a copy, and a solitary sawbuck for this sturdy pocket-sized reprint is going to be tough to beat. The chief virtue of it being online is your ability to read it first and make sure that this is the book you want to give before ordering it.

Note: Applewood Books has produced a nice looking inexpensive series of sturdy pocket-sized reprints of important American books, documents, speeches, pamphlets, and poems, the Little Books of Wisdom, uniform with this volume, that are ideal for gifting to doctors, lawyers, teachers, business professionals, and students of same: The Way to Wealth, George Washington's Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation, The Constitution of the United States of America, The Poems of Abraham Lincoln, The Strenuous Life, The Bill of Rights with Writings That Formed Its Foundation, The Path of the Law, The Constitution of the Confederate States of America, The Jefferson Bible: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, A Message to Garcia, A Declaration of Sentiments, Robert's Rules of Order, Good Citizenship, On Being Human, A Discourse Upon the Duties of a Physician, The Declaration of Independence with Short Biographies of Its Signers, Teamwork, Stick-To-Itiveness, Opportunity, & You, The Wants of Man, George Washington's Farewell Address, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The Speech of Chief Seattle, Common Sense, The Articles of Confederation, The Emancipation Proclamation, and The Gospel of Wealth.

Some selected volumes are also available in boxed sets: Books of American Wisdom Boxed Set, CEO's Gift Box of Wisdom, Doctor's Gift Box of Wisdom, Lawyer's Gift Box of Wisdom, New Citizen's Gift Box of Wisdom, and Teacher's Gift Box of Wisdom.

And some have been published in Spanish: Un Mensaje a Garcia and Constitucion de Los Estados Unidos.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great little book, March 27, 2009

By 

Deborah E. C. Miller - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: On the Art of Teaching (Little Books of Wisdom) (Hardcover)

Too bad the education leaders in this nation haven't read and applied the wisdom in this little book!