How Like an Angel Came I Down: Conversations With Children on the Gospels [Paperback]

A. Bronson Alcott (Author), Alice O. Howell (Editor), Stephen Mitchell (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 094026238X | ISBN-13: 978-0940262386 | Publication Date: July 1, 1991

"A book all of us who work with children ought to read carefully and "visit" often." -Robert Coles, author of The Spiritual Life of Children "It is sheer reading pleasure, enlightenment, insight, the discovery of a side of children many of us never see, a side of ourselves generally masked, a glimpse of history our school texts never touch, and an enrichment of our own spirit." -Joseph Chilton Pearce, author of The Magical Child Every now and then the past yields up one of its lost treasures. This book is just such a gem. Bronson Alcott, friend and sometimes mentor to Emerson and Thoreau in Concord, was also a visionary educator who believed that the psyche of a child already carries within it the imprint of spirit and wisdom. At his school in Boston in the 1830s, he held this extraordinary series of conversations on such themes as spirit, consciousness, conscience, love, humility, the Holy Ghost, and the knower.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A book all of us who work with children ought to read carefully and "visit" often." -- Robert Coles, author of The Spiritual Life of Children

... a side of ourselves generally masked, a glimpse of history ... and an enrichment of our own spirit. -- Joseph Chilton Pearce, author of The Magical Child and Evolution's End

About the Author

Amos Bronson Alcott (1799-1888) was born to an illiterate flax farmer in Wolcott, Connecticut. Profoundly influenced by John Bunyan's book Pilgrim's Progress, he left home at seventeen to become a peddler in Virginia and the Carolinas. After five years, he returned to Connecticut, determined to become an educator. Attracted to Pestalozzi's innovative child-centered educational ideas, he began a long and varied career as a teacher. Bronson Alcott was singular among the Transcendentalists in boldly embodying his ideals. In his schools he introduced art, music, nature study, field trips, and physical education into the curriculum, while banishing corporal punishment. He encouraged children to ask questions and taught through dialogue and example. When Ralph Waldo Emerson met Alcott in Boston in the late 1830s, he was so impressed with his intellect and innovative ideas that he convinced Alcott to move to Concord and join his circle of friends. Alcott outlived his closest transcendentalist friends, dying on March 4, 1888, just two days before his famous daughter Louisa succumbed to the effects of mercury poisoning. The Concord School of Philosophy closed in July of that year after holding a memorial service honoring Alcott.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Lindisfarne Books (July 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 094026238X
• ISBN-13: 978-0940262386
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,051,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alcott was a transcendental philosopher and reformer., November 4, 1998

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[e-mail] (Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Like an Angel Came I Down: Conversations With Children on the Gospels (Paperback)

This is less a review than a comment on the way amazon has cross-referenced this book. It is not a "religious" book in the standard sense, but rather an amazing document from the annals of nineteenth-century reform. Bronson Alcott was Louisa May Alcott's father and an incurable romantic. He believed in the innate divinity (as opp. to depravity) of children and founded one of the first progressive kindergartens in America. I recommend this book to anyone interested in educational reform or American romanticism.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Teachers should read this book, February 15, 2008

By 

David Throgmorton (Rawlins, Wyoming United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How Like an Angel Came I Down: Conversations With Children on the Gospels (Paperback)

Here is how Bronson Alcott introduced his students to the art of learning through conversation: "I do not know all that I am going to say, for I shall have new thoughts, that I had not had before. Still less do you know all you are going to say; for you have not thought so much of the subject as I have. But if we all will think, and all will say what we think, not repeating the words and thoughts of others, we shall teach each other."
These conversations with children between the ages of 6 and 12 were recorded by the amazing Elizabeth Peabody (who introduced English speakers to the writings of the Buddhist community). Any teacher who guides by asking questions, who understands the power of conversation for eliciting new and bold ideas, and who has confidence in childrens' abilities to think for themselves will love this book. Any teacher who does not do those things will learn from this book. It is a wonderful experience.
Dave Throgmorton

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Teaching through the art of listening, October 4, 2010

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Wolfgang Somary (Zurich, Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How Like an Angel Came I Down: Conversations With Children on the Gospels (Paperback)

On a recent visit to schools in India, where teaching is still done by rote (learning your lesson by heart), I spoke of these amazing conversations in which a teacher inspires his pupils to grow in wisdom by teaching him. Alcott's method could be applied today, but it takes confidence to teach without wanting to impose one's views and values.