The Art of Teaching by Gilbert Highet

This book was suggested by a friend of mine named William Leachman. He’s a bonafide teacher, as in he has students and teaches them in a building that says school on the outside of it. He told me I should read this book and he told me that I’m a teacher.

I bristled at that. I’m not a professional. I don’t teach eager students at the local high school. But after reading this book, I hesitantly acknowledge that I am indeed a teacher. I’m a teacher to my children, to those I work with, and perhaps to those I reach with this podcast. This book convinced me that I do indeed teach.

But this book goes much deeper. It talks of the close connection between learning and teaching. How we all have an innate desire to share the beauty we encounter, be it physical or intellectual beauty. How the best teachers are those most desirous of learning.

This is a book about the methods of teaching, not about which subjects to teach. It covers three main modes of teaching, famous teachers (and their students), and the role of parents in teaching their children.

In this episode, I share some ideas I came across and how I’ve seen them play out in my own life through great teachers and even greater teaching styles.