Schools SchoolBooks and Schoolmasters

The book is divided into several sections each addressing different aspects of schooling. Hazlitt discusses the role of schoolmasters and teachers in shaping both the intellectual and moral development of children highlighting how different teaching styles and pedagogies could influence a student's growth. He explores the complexities of the teacher-student relationship illustrating both positive and negative influences that teachers could have on their pupils. In the section focusing on schoolbooks Hazlitt offers a critique of the texts that were commonly used in schools reflecting on their content and the moral lessons they imparted. He examines the evolution of textbooks and the extent to which they shaped the thinking of students pointing out that many schoolbooks were rigid didactic and reflective of the political and social attitudes of the time.