The Evolution of Dodd

A restless preacher's son gives William Hawley Smith a way to examine what education asks of children and the adults responsible for them. Doddridge Watts Weaver, known as Dodd, grows up in a crowded household where his parents struggle to give him attention. Bright, imaginative and often defiant, he brings a difficult mixture of gifts and habits into the classroom. The narrator treats his individuality as something teachers should help develop, and uses his childhood to question the workings of home and school.

The Evolution of Dodd combines a boy's story with direct reflections on teaching. One classroom encounter shows Mr. Charles Bright answering Dodd's resistance with a pencil and a quiet request to write his name. The memory of Amy Kelly's earlier kindness helps the boy respond. Readers interested in educational history will find a concrete example of the book's concern with patience, personal influence and the difference between managing a pupil and understanding him.