William James’ Talks to Teachers Revisited

Abstract

This essay considers William James and his famous work – Talks to Teachers. It provides a short, education-relative, biography of James and the historical context of his writings. The book itself is summarized and reviewed, but with a constant eye toward its relevance for current issues. Specific topics include the relationship of psychology to education, the nature of education in North America, and an extensive discussion of education as “habit formation.”