The Good Teacher: Ten Key Pedagogical Principles That Will Transform Your Teaching

by Christopher A. Perrin, Carrie Eben

Exploring ten timeless principles of classical pedagogy, The Good Teacher is the perfect guide for anyone who desires to learn more about teaching well. As more than mere techniques, these principles provide insight into how humans learn and develop while reminding us that education is about forming virtue in students. Containing practical illustrations from every stage of school, the book also includes assessment prompts for becoming a truly good teacher.

10 Principles:
1. Make haste slowly
2. Much not many
3. Repetition is the mother of memory
4. Songs, chants, and jingles
5. Wonder and curiosity
6. Scholé and Contemplation
7. Embodied learning--Liturgical and Poetic
8. By teacher we learn
9. The best teacher is a good book
10. Conversation and Friendship

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Teaching

243 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2025

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very thorough and helpful book about teaching principles to help you improve as a teacher. Nobody is ever going to be a perfect teacher, and there will always be room for improvement, but we can all try to be good teachers, and this book gives lots of ideas of areas to work on and improve. Don’t read this as if you have to check off every single box! I appreciate that the homeschool teacher is included in the discussion here, and there is a good mix of philosophy and practical application.

[Rebeka · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the best and clear sighted books I have ever read on classical education. It challenged me not only as an educator but as a person made to live and worship God. I have already given it to several friends. This book already shifted my perspective on how to prayerfully inspire my students to love the true, the good and the beautiful.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book for teachers in the classical tradition. There are many very helpful things in this book. But I did have a problem with a theme throughout that virtue should and can be taught. I don't think virtue is really something we can force others to learn; it is something that the Holy Spirit builds in the lives of people who are followers of Christ. So I did feel like I had to do some sorting as I read this book. I did glean some helpful ideas for my online teaching of literature in a Charlotte Mason coop. Some CM ideas are also presented in this book, which were parts I liked.

[Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of good material in here. Lots to digest and learn from--don't expect to master all of this in 1 year. They provide a trajectory for a life-long journey into more effective teaching and learning. The main annoyance was the pervasive use of "she/her" pronouns. I guess they are trying to over-compensate for millennia of male oppression :-) Seriously, this exposes a weakness in the entire approach at Classical Academic Press and the Society of Classical Learning. They are a little too eager to accomodate the pressures of the cultural Zeitgeist. But, that's another discussion for another day.

[Kristen Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read if you are teaching classically. It is a reminder and inspiration to continue the important task of education. As a homeschool mom, I can rush through the day and check off the to-do list. But this is a reminder to sit and rest and enjoy the beauty of learning with my child. To make haste slowly, to let the authors be the teacher, to dig into much not many…these are treasures stored in my heart. Thank you for writing such a beautiful road map for all of us on this journey.

[Megan Lowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times this seemed super unrealistic and so far removed from the reality of the classroom in today’s world, even though I teach in a classical school. But I guess that’s kinda the point — working toward reclaiming more and more the pedagogies of classical education. There was a pretty good balance in this book between philosophy and practical application. It’s definitely made me more aware of certain pedagogies and helped me slowly and in small ways start to integrate them into my lessons.