45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best of the Best, March 8, 2003
This review is from: Teacher in America (Paperback)
Jacques Barzun is in his nineties today and still one of the best thinkers of our time. Forty years ago both my wife and I ran across this book as we were taking wearisome ed courses in teachers college to acquire certification to teach in New York public schools. Our professors did not like Barzun then, and I am sure they don't like him today. He is down-to-earth, full of common sense, and brilliantly lucid. This was our handbook, along with Gilbert Highet's The Art of Teaching, which they didn't like either. Everything we heard in those classes was shown to be false after we began teaching, but Barzun's observations were unfailingly accurate. Any teacher who goes by this book cannot utterly fail, even in this ridiculous system which has persecuted American children for a half century.
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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Salute to Excellent Teaching, April 29, 2002
This review is from: Teacher in America (Paperback)
The hardest yet most refreshing part about reading this book is that I am 25. One can easily pick up the urgency in Barzun's words and doubtless he was critiquing the educational modifications of the time- originally published in the 40's. Since that time, every school has become the 'progressive' school that Barzun warns against- A furthering of Deweyan principles of 'It's not learning if it ain't fun' and 'true understanding is in the heart, not the head.' In an effort to make education fun and push students through at all costs, we've lost any sense of the teacher's true goal- to instruct.
I should not give the false impression that Barzun is a hard nosed, humorless curmudgeon who would turn back the clock to monotanous recitation and rote-memorization. The truth is that he is somewhere in the middle. Before the job can be done correctly, the teacher needs to gain the students willful attention and her trust. At that point though, the student NEEDS to be challenged- the student will be pushed to learn (yes, memorization may be involved), grades will be imposed and the student will- it's true-come out the better for it.
The best part is that while Barzun jabs at administrators and theorists (can't we all relate) he writes with obvious love for teachers and students, always keeping their interests in mind. While Barzun can come off as a sourpuss when poking fun at the circular Ph.D system and standardized testing, he is easily forgiven when discoursing on how and how not to teach mathematics, history, arts, literature, the sciences and writing. I only wish he would've been one of my instructors.
The only other thing I can say is that while for teachers, this book is a MUST HAVE, for students (of all ages and abilities) this book is a hidden treasure. Barzun, while giving advice to teachers and administrators, inadvertently (?) gives us tips on how to learn and more saliently, how to think. I'm confident that I will reread this many times throughout my lifetime. Bravo!!!
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Here! You Measure The Success Of Education!, May 10, 2000
Barzun's book provides a sounding of education in America. He measures what is right and wrong and he always comes out for the students, making the best of their minds and goals.
Although a few chapters have become either outdated or in applicable, overall, the analysis of America's public education is bull's eye accurate. Further, what is particularly enjoyable about reading this survey is his mellifluous prose style. He is a fine craftsman of the language and it serves to crystalize his thinking and wisdom.
Read this book with a pencil in hand; read it for the many quotable quotes; read it for the perspectives therein; read it for a grounding and a sounding.
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