Jesuit Sources has published a new English translation of The Duties of a Teacher, a handbook issued by the National Education Commission of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1787. Duties was written by Grzegorz Piramowicz, a former Jesuit teacher who sought to guide how grammar school teachers could serve the larger society. According to the publisher, Piramowicz “lays out a much more ambitious curriculum, one in keeping with the latest innovations in Enlightenment thinking,” while also hoping to “convince the ruling class of the Commonwealth that such sweeping pedagogical reform was not only necessary, but a moral imperative.”
The Duties of a Teacher is translated and edited by Mark O’Connor, formerly an instructor in the Honors Program at Boston College. Piramowicz’s text is divided into four parts:
- “The Goal, the Duties, and the Means of Fulfilling These Duties of a Teacher”
- “With Regard to the Upbringing of Children, Especially Those Raised in Small Towns and Villages”
- “Teaching the Young about Duties, Morals, and of Instruction in the Virtues”
- “By What Means the Teacher Can Present Effectively the Subjects Assigned to the Schools”
To learn more about this volume, please visit jesuitsources.com (http://jesuitsources.bc.edu/the-duties-of-a-teacher/).