The Art of Teaching

Life is a process of constant change. No one can teach a subject in the same way two years running. Even if he uses the same books and teaches the same facts and conclusions, the second year he will have blurred a few outlines by repetition, cut a few corners because of age. The alternatives are only these: to allow your teaching to petrify by neglect, or constantly to refresh it by transfusions of new vitality and interest…

The day a teacher says that he is done growing is the day he ought to quit teaching. For without a fire of his own, a teacher cannot do what, according to Plutarch, is the very essence of his job: lighting a fire in the minds of his students.

At the same time, however, it is not enough merely to be motivated; the road to failure is paved with good intentions. Beyond having the proper aim, a teacher must develop and continually improve the craft—art—of his profession.

The Art of Teaching Conference is designed to assist teachers in this endeavor. Designed especially for teachers early in their careers (though certainly open to veteran educators) the conference focuses on the practical, day-to-day realities of the teaching profession.