Other editions of book Talks to Teachers on Psychology and to Students on Some of Life's Ideals

"Talks To Teachers On Psychology; And To Students On Some Of Life's Ideals" by William James. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

Still-vital lectures on teaching deal with psychology and the teaching art, the stream of consciousness, the child as a behaving organism, education and behavior, and more. The three addresses to students are "The Gospel of Relaxation," "On a Certain Blindness in Human Beings," and "What Makes a Life Significant?" Preface. 2 black-and-white illustrations.

Talks To Teachers On Psychology; And To Students On Some Of Life's Ideals is a classic pedagogy studies text by William James In the general activity and uprising of ideal interests which every one with an eye for fact can discern all about us in American life, there is perhaps no more promising feature than the fermentation which for a dozen years or more has been going on among the teachers.

In 1892 I was asked by the Harvard Corporation to give a few public lectures on psychology to the Cambridge teachers. The talks now printed form the substance of that course; which has since then been delivered at various places to various teacher-audiences. I have found by experience that what my hearers seem least to relish is analytical technicality; and what they most care for is concrete practical application. So I have gradually weeded out the former; and left the latter unreduced; and now; that I have at last written out the lectures; they contain a minimum of what is deemed 'scientific' in psychology; and are practical and popular in the extreme.

In 1892 I was asked by the Harvard Corporation to give a few public lectures on psychology to the Cambridge teachers. The talks now printed form the substance of that course, which has since then been delivered at various places to various teacher-audiences. I have found by experience that what my hearers seem least to relish is analytical technicality, and what they most care for is concrete practical application. So I have gradually weeded out the former, and left the latter unreduced; and now, that I have at last written out the lectures, they contain a minimum of what is deemed 'scientific' in psychology, and are practical and popular in the extreme.

In writing these “Talks” out, the author has gradually weeded out as much as possible of the analytical technicalities of the science. In their present form they contain a minimum of what is deemed “scientific” in psychology and are practical and popular in the extreme. “He combines, better than most writers, the thoroughly scientific with the truly practical, having something of value on every page for every teacher of every grade.” -L. H. Jones, Superintendent of Schools, Cleveland, Ohio “The psychology that forms the basis of the ‘Talks’ is presented in beautifully clear and simple English and well illustrated by examples drawn from the field of common observation. One can hardly help feeling as he reads that if psychology is not here shorn of its terrors for teachers, no other writer need hope to accomplish that task.” -The Dial “It is an admirable book – frank, suggestive, stimulating, like everything else the author has written.” -J. P. Gordy, Professor in Ohio State University, Columbus “James is a genius. His mental touch is quickening; his style grips attention; his thoughts teem with suggestion. He is a whole-souled, genial, witty man, as well as a great psychologist. A wizard at putting things.” -The Wooster Post-Graduate and Quarterly “A work of absorbing interest.” -Boston Transcript “His style has the quality of a communicable fervor, a clear, grave passion of sincerity and conviction.” -The Nation “When pedagogical libraries can show a preponderance of such books, they may well begin to rival the fiction departments in popularity.” -The Critic Table of Contents Preface Psychology and the Teaching Art The Stream of Consciousness The Child as a Behaving Organism Education and Behavior The Necessity of Reactions Native Reactions and Acquired Reactions What the Native Reactions are The Laws of Habit The Association of Ideas Interest Attention Memory The Acquisition of Ideas Apperception The Will Talks to Students on Some of Life’s Ideals

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Despite the modesty of its title, the publication of this book in 1899 was a significant event. It marked the first application of the relatively new discipline of psychology, and specifically of James's theses in The Principles of Psychology, to educational theory and classroom practice. The book went through twelve printings in as many years and has never been out of print. Among its innovative features were James's maxims "No reception without reaction" and "No impression without expression"; a new emphasis on the biology of behavior and on the role of instincts; and discussions of the relevance to elementary school education of what is known about will, attention, memory, apperception, and the association of ideas.Appended to the fifteen talks to schoolteachers were three talks to college students, as pertinent today as when they were written: "The Gospel of Relaxation," "On a Certain Blindness in Human Beings," and "What Makes a Life Significant?"

More than 100 years after it was published, "Talks to Teachers on Psychology," is relevant and helpful for teachers and those who aspire to teach. In this article, I highlight certain memorable points in "Talks" and relate them to James's (1890) classic work, "The Principles of Psychology." Many of James's insights foreshadowed certain emphases of present-day researchers, and his observations on teaching are as germane now as they were more than a century ago.