Plato said, “The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future in life.” As educators, we want to equip our students for the best possible future. What better way to do this than to give students an early start in evaluating the consequences of their own actions?
In past generations, teachers were often perceived as bossy and mean. The teacher’s word was law; students had no say in the matter when teachers told them what to do. Students were not expected to think through their decisions, but simply to obey. More often than not, they acted simply out of a fear of punishment. They did not learn to make well-considered
choices.
At Aristoi Classical Academy, we are becoming familiar with the Love and Logic philosophy, a method that offers students choices and consequences. Using these techniques, we can form better relationships with our students and help them grow into leaders who can think for themselves. In Love and Logic, educators begin by providing limits in a caring way. This helps build students up so they feel more capable, even after being disciplined.
As teachers, we make every effort to stay calm and avoid provoking, threatening, moralizing, or lecturing. By using polite statements that are enforceable, and offering children choices within limits, we avoid power struggles. Authority is maintained with compassion and understanding. We take childhood misbehavior as an opportunity for helping children grow through their mistakes. These methods help children learn to be responsible and gain self-confidence.
One of the hallmarks of this method is consistency. In our role as teachers, we strive to set this example by using enforceable statements. As Aristotle said, “Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” Only if we build the habit of excellence in ourselves can we be models of virtue for our students.
At Aristoi Classical Academy we allow our growing students to work through their problems by reviewing their actions and identifying the consequences of those actions. Our students are learning to evaluate their own choices so that in the future they will be self-confident, responsible, and free men and women.
--Liliana Gonzalez, Teacher, Third Grade
Published in Classical Times: A Newsletter of Aristoi Classical Academy’s Community of Learners
