In this classic work, first published by Pantheon in 1948, Sir Herbert Read makes an analysis of the artistic activity in children, illustrated by many reproductions of children's drawings, and shows how these drawings can be used to determine the psychological disposition of the individual child. The methods of teaching and the school environment are discussed, and in the end the purpose of education is seen as the integration of the individual in a free society. Parents, educators, teachers of art, students of psychology, anyone interested in the psychology of children and adolescents, will find this book fascinating reading and an indispensable tool for their work with young people. (Back Cover.)

CONTENTS
I. The purpose of education.

  1. The thesis.
  2. Two hypotheses.
  3. A preliminary definition.
  4. Summary.

II. The definition of art.

  1. A point of departure.
  2. Form.
  3. Nature and art.
  4. Colour.
  5. The subjective aspect.
  6. The function of imagination.
  7. The place of value in the world of art.
  8. Summary.

III. On perception and imagination.

  1. The problem of perception.
  2. The aesthetic factor.
  3. The nature of the image.
  4. Eidetic images.
  5. Eidetic imagery and education.
  6. The relevance of imagery to thinking.
  7. The growth of the mind.
  8. The logical bias.
  9. Evidence from Gestalt psychology.
10. From theory to practice: Plato.
11. From theory to practice: Dalcroze.
12. An objection answered.
13. The wider aspect.

Appendix A. Eidetic imagery in children.

IV. Temperament and expression.

  1. The study of psychological types.
  2. Objective and subjective attitudes.
  3. The physiological basis.
  4. Eidetic types.
  5. Jung's psychological types.
  6. Abstraction and empathy.
  7. Visual and Haptic types.
  8. Types of aesthetic appreciation.
  9. Compensatory factors.
10. Types of aesthetic expression. 
      A. Modern Art. 
      B. The art of the past.
11. Conclusion.

Appendix B. Mental faculties.

V. The art of children.

  1. Free expression.
  2. Play or art?
  3. Spontaneity and inspiration.
  4. Montessori on spontaneous expression.
  5. What happens when the child begins to draw?
  6. The stages of development in children's drawing.
  7. The Schema.
  8. Kinaesthetic imagination.
  9. The image and the sign.
10. Three hypotheses.
11. The evidence of weak-sighted and blind children.
12. The conceptual fallacy.
13. An Empiracle classification of children's drawings.
14. Reduction of the categories.
15. Relation of the categories to function types.
16. Relation to perceptive types.
17. The age factor.
18. The use of early drawings for type differentiation.
19. Non-visual modes of expression: (I) Play activity.
20. Non-visual modes of expression: (II) Verbal inventions.
21. Non-visual modes of expression: (III) Music.
22. The purpose of expression.

Appendix C. Ebenezer Cooke on Art teaching and child nature.

VI. Unconscious modes of integration.

  1. The general theory of the unconscious.
  2. The dynamism of the unconscious.
  3. The super-ego.
  4. Personal and collective unconscious.
  5. Primordial images in the child's mind.
  6. Unconscious processes of integration.
  7. The social relevance of these processes.

Appendix D. A note on psycho-physical isomorphism.

VII. The natural form of education.

  1. Three aspects of art teaching.
  2. The aesthetic criterion.
  3. The official attitude.
  4. Creation and construction.
  5. Present provision for art teaching in schools.
  6. The integral method.
  7. From play to art.
  8. The structure of the educational system.
  9. Subjects and classes.
10. The infant school.
11. The primary school.
12. The secondary school.
13. The nature of intelligence.

Appendix E. The place of art in a university.

VIII. The aesthetic basis of discipline and morality.

  1. The traditional concept of discipline. 
      A. Military. 
      B. Moral.
  2. The origins of moral discipline.
  3. From constraint to co-operation.
  4. Sociological implications of reciprocity.
  5. Pedagogical implications.
  6. Conclusion.

IX. The teacher.

  1. Martin Buber on the concept of creativity.
  2. The pump and the funnel.
  3. Education as selection.
  4. Freedom and union.
  5. Questioning and answering.
  6. Teacher and pupil.
  7. Application to the thesis of this book.
  8. Conclusion.

X. Environment.

  1. A feasible world.
  2. A practical demonstration.
  3. A question of priority.

XI. The necessary revolution.

Bibliography.
Index.
About the author.

In this classic work, first published by Pantheon in 1948, Sir Herbert Read makes an analysis of the artistic activity in children, illustrated by many reproductions of children's drawings, and shows how these drawings can be used to determine the psychological disposition of the individual child. The methods of teaching and the school environment are discussed, and in the end the purpose of education is seen as the integration of the individual in a free society. Parents, educators, teachers of art, students of psychology, anyone interested in the psychology of children and adolescents, will find this book fascinating reading and an indispensable tool for their work with young people. (Back Cover.)