Byline: Peter Wood
In 1837, upon leaving the presidency of the Massachusetts Senate to become the first secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, Horace Mann wrote: "My jurisdiction is changed. I have abandoned jurisprudence, and betaken myself to the larger sphere of minds and morals."
Mr. Mann considered it a step up, because he took unbridled delight in learning and was determined to help others learn. "A house without books," he said, "is like a room without ...