George Herbert Betts

An American educator and author, George Herbert Betts wrote widely on psychology, teaching, and religion. He is especially associated with books such as The Mind and Its Education and How to Teach Religion, works that helped explain learning and instruction in a direct, accessible way.

Betts’s writing focused on how the mind works and what that means for teachers. Rather than treating education as abstract theory, he emphasized methods that could be applied in schools and in the training of young people, including in rural education.

He is also remembered in the field of religious education, where he argued that teaching faith should be thoughtful, organized, and grounded in an understanding of human development. That mix of psychology and practical instruction gives his work its lasting interest today.