{"id":3738,"date":"2023-04-29T06:54:04","date_gmt":"2023-04-29T11:54:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/?p=3738"},"modified":"2023-04-29T19:22:42","modified_gmt":"2023-04-30T00:22:42","slug":"counsels-of-the-wise-part-5-principles-and-practice-examples-and-discipline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2023\/04\/29\/counsels-of-the-wise-part-5-principles-and-practice-examples-and-discipline\/","title":{"rendered":"Counsels of the Wise, Part 5: Principles and Practice, Examples and Discipline"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In the last article we discussed \u201cgood instruction\u201d as <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2023\/02\/04\/counsels-of-the-wise-part-4-preliminary-instruction-in-prudence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a preliminary or a forerunner to prudence<\/a>. While the development of prudence itself must be confirmed through experience, since it requires familiarity with all the particulars of life, it can and must be fostered in the young through implanting the right principles. A great part of the proper education therefore consists in parents and teachers, tutors and mentors, sharing their wise instruction for life with children. This includes not only simple statements of right and wrong, but also proverbial observations about human nature and what is truly valuable in life.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The book of Proverbs provides the perfect illustration of this. In it we find not only programmatic statements of value like \u201cBetter is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice\u201d (16:8 ESV), but also observations about human nature like \u201cA worker\u2019s appetite works for him; his mouth urges him on\u201d (16:26). As we explained last time, these are truthful opinions worthy of being shared with the young to help them learn to understand the world around them and to value things rightly.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Early education should be packed with content of this sort, both directly from the mouths of teachers, but across all the subjects of study. Reading and <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2019\/12\/14\/writing-on-purpose-how-ought-we-to-instruct-young-writers\/\">writing instruction<\/a> should not merely train in skills but should be rich in moral wisdom. In this way, we can sow the seeds of virtue and wisdom in the young. We have already had occasion to remark on the intimate connection between the moral virtues and practical wisdom. They are two sides of the same coin. As Aristotle says, \u201cthe function of man is achieved only in accordance with practical wisdom as well as with moral excellence; for excellence makes the aim right, and practical wisdom the things leading to it\u201d (<em>Nicomachean Ethics<\/em> VI.12; rev. Oxford trans., 1807). And again, \u201cit is not possible to be good in the strict sense without practical wisdom, nor practically wise without moral excellence\u201d (VI.13, 1808).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-medium is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3739\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2023\/04\/29\/counsels-of-the-wise-part-5-principles-and-practice-examples-and-discipline\/opnamedatum-2010-01-04-5\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Comenius.jpeg?fit=625%2C720&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"625,720\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Carola van Wijk&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Opnamedatum: 2010-01-04&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.PO BOX 74888.1070 DN Amsterdam, The Netherlands.+31 206747000.&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Opnamedatum: 2010-01-04&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Opnamedatum: 2010-01-04\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Opnamedatum: 2010-01-04&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Comenius.jpeg?fit=260%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Comenius.jpeg?fit=625%2C720&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Comenius.jpeg?resize=195%2C225&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3739\" width=\"195\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Comenius.jpeg?resize=260%2C300&amp;ssl=1 260w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Comenius.jpeg?w=625&amp;ssl=1 625w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 195px) 100vw, 195px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We had to go somewhat far afield, with both John Amos Comenius, the great Czech educational reformer of the 17th century, and Aristotle as our guides, during <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2023\/02\/04\/counsels-of-the-wise-part-4-preliminary-instruction-in-prudence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the last article<\/a>, in order to establish the necessity of laying this foundation of virtue and prudence in early education. In this article, we will put some flesh on the bones of this \u201cgood instruction\u201d by teachers of the young through delineating the role of principles and practice, examples and discipline.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Principles and Practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>First of all, we can pick up again and dust off <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2021\/05\/29\/moral-virtue-and-the-intellectual-virtue-of-artistry-or-craftsmanship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the analogy between artistry and morality<\/a> that we explored while introducing our series on Apprenticeship in the Arts. \u201cExcellences we get by first exercising them,\u201d Aristotle asserts, speaking of the moral virtues which are inextricably tied to prudence, \u201cas also happens in the case of the arts as well. For the things we have to learn before we can do, we learn by doing, e.g. men become builders by building and lyre-players by playing the lyre; so too we become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts\u201d (<em>Nicomachean Ethics<\/em> II.1, 1743). Practice, in line with the correct principles, will form a person toward either artistry or morality.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/the-apprenticeship-lesson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3120\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2022\/06\/24\/to-save-a-civilization-part-2-shamrocks-scholarship-and-streaming\/apprentice-lesson\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Apprentice-Lesson.webp?fit=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"768,768\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Apprentice-Lesson\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Apprentice-Lesson.webp?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Apprentice-Lesson.webp?fit=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Apprentice-Lesson.webp?resize=384%2C384&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3120\" width=\"384\" height=\"384\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As in apprenticeship in the arts then, laying the appropriate foundation for prudence involves both moral practice and principles. John Amos Comenius emphasized the preliminary role of practice in craftsmanship, and he does the same for each of the other cardinal virtues. Regarding temperance, he says, in his <em>Great Didactic<\/em>,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cBoys should be taught to observe temperance in eating and in drinking, in sleeping and in waking, in work and in play, in talking and in keeping silence, throughout the whole period of their instruction.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cIn this relation the golden rule, \u2018Nothing in excess,\u2019 should be dinned into their ears, that they may learn on all occasions to leave off before satiety sets in.\u201d (212)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Temperance constitutes a guiding principle for the ordering of students\u2019 days that parents and teachers should heed. Notice how Comenius draws from traditional wisdom for a principle that should be actively, rather than passively \u201cdinned into their ears.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As modernists and postmodernists we are apt to recoil at such tough love, but we would do well to question our assumptions. Either we order their days, emotions, and minds with an open door to intemperance (e.g., playing video games all day, eating unhealthy foods, staying up late into the night, etc.), or we hold the line and cause them to practice temperance day in and day out. Intemperate habituation is no small issue to worry about; as Aristotle said, \u201cIt makes no small difference, then, whether we form habits of one kind or of another from our very youth; it makes a very great difference, or rather, <em>all<\/em> the difference\u201d (<em>Nic Ethics<\/em> II.1, 1743).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Apparently moral subtlety is not a virtue for an early education in prudence. Instead Comenius envisions a type of moral catechism with answers drawn from scripture and wise men to provide rules for life (answering questions like \u201cWhy should we strive against envy?\u201d \u201cWith what arms should we fortify ourselves against the sorrows and chances of life?\u201d \u201cHow should we observe moderation in joy?\u201d \u201cHow should anger be controlled?\u201d \u201cHow should illicit love be driven out?\u201d; 216). These provide the guiding principles to accompany the practice of daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Comenius goes on to delineate the reason for this habituation according to the cardinal virtues. It lies in the rational nature of a human being and therefore develops the proper connection between <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/charlotte-mason\/charlotte-masons-practice-of-habit-training\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">moral habits<\/a> and the principled deliberation of prudence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>The principle which underlies this is that we should accustom boys to do everything by reason, and nothing under the guidance of impulse. For man is a rational animal, and should therefore be led by reason, and, before action, ought to deliberate how each operation should be performed, so that he may really be master of his own actions. Now since boys are not quite capable of such a deliberate and rational mode of procedure, it will be a great advance towards teaching them fortitude and self-control if they be forced to acquire the habit of performing the will of another in preference to their own, that is to say, to obey their superiors promptly in everything. (212-213)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/downloads\/habit-training-2-0-webinar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3405\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2022\/11\/19\/learning-gratitude-a-pathway-to-a-good-life\/image-3-10\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/image-3.png?fit=256%2C256&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"256,256\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image-3\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/image-3.png?fit=256%2C256&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/image-3.png?fit=256%2C256&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/image-3.png?resize=310%2C310&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3405\" width=\"310\" height=\"310\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/image-3.png?w=256&amp;ssl=1 256w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/image-3.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For Comenius, obedience to a prudent parent or teacher acts as a preliminary stage in a person\u2019s development of prudential wisdom. Since children cannot be entirely rational in consulting about which operation or act to perform, they should obey their elders, who at the same time explain to them the reasons for why one course of action should be preferred to another.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Children thus act as moral apprentices through the habit of prompt obedience, practicing the very thing that they will do in later life when they must subordinate the impulsive and emotional part of them to their rational and deliberate mind. Again it must be reiterated that this is not the possession of prudence itself, but it is, in Comenius\u2019 mind, \u201ca great advance\u201d toward it. A development of his playful analogy, sowing the seeds of virtue, helps him explain why:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cVirtue must be inculcated at a very early stage before vice gets possession of the mind.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cFor if you do not sow a field with good seed it will produce nothing but weeds of the worst kind. But if you wish to subdue it, you will do so more easily and with a better hope of success if you plough it, sow it, and harrow it in early spring. Indeed, it is of the greatest importance that children be well trained in early youth, since a jar preserves for a long time the odour with which it has been imbued when new.\u201d (215)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>For this reason, we can see as injurious the inclination of many parents and teachers, to say of some vice a young child is displaying, \u201cOh, he\u2019ll grow out of it.\u201d Weeds do not disappear of their own accord but grow and infest the field. The diligent labor of bringing up children involves, first, sowing well the field, but then, harrowing it, as well, breaking up the ground and tearing up the weeds through proper discipline. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Examples and Discipline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So far we have explained the importance of providing principles alongside practice to prepare the hearts and minds of students for <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2019\/03\/25\/excellence-comes-by-habit-aristotle-on-moral-virtue\/\">moral virtue<\/a> and intellectual prudence. In his <em>Great Didactic <\/em>Comenius reiterates this Aristotelian emphasis on \u2018practice, practice, practice\u2019 as he transitions to a discussion of examples:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>We have seen in chaps. xx. and xxi. that it is by learning that we find out what we ought to learn, and by acting that we learn to act as we should. So then, as boys easily learn to walk by walking, to talk by talking, and to write by writing, in the same way they will learn obedience by obeying, abstinence by abstaining, truth by speaking the truth, and constancy by being constant. But it is necessary that the child be helped by advice and example at the same time. (215)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Just as in other skills and arts, practice according to good principles provides the foundation for prudence. In a similar way to <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2022\/01\/15\/apprenticeship-in-the-arts-part-2-a-pedagogy-of-craft\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">training in artistry<\/a>, where theory should not crowd out the importance of examples and models, so also in prudence moral exemplars hold a crucial role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the classicists among us think of moral exemplars, we might imagine Plutarch\u2019s Lives or Aesop\u2019s fables, the well-known figures of history and literature who demonstrate for us right and wrong behavior in the vivid color of a narrative. And this is right, but Comenius reminds us of the even more living curriculum of the lives of people in the school community: \u201cExamples of well-ordered lives, in the persons of their parents, nurses, tutors, and school-fellows, must continually be set before children\u201d (215). Comenius seems to suggest highlighting virtuous and wise individuals in the community through public praise and story-telling. We could imagine this being done in the classroom or assembly-hall, formally and informally.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3537\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2023\/02\/11\/the-imitation-brain-three-ways-to-make-the-most-of-mirror-neurons\/golgistain\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/golgistain.jpg?fit=500%2C342&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"500,342\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"golgi+stain\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/golgistain.jpg?fit=300%2C205&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/golgistain.jpg?fit=500%2C342&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/golgistain.jpg?resize=250%2C171&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3537\" width=\"250\" height=\"171\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/golgistain.jpg?w=500&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/golgistain.jpg?resize=300%2C205&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Comenius\u2019 reason for valuing living examples resonates with <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2023\/02\/11\/the-imitation-brain-three-ways-to-make-the-most-of-mirror-neurons\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">modern research on mirror neurons<\/a> and our imitative nature as human beings:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>For boys are like apes, and love to imitate whatever they see, whether good or bad, even though not bidden to do so; and on this account they learn to imitate before they learn to use their minds. By \u2018examples,\u2019 I mean living ones as well as those taken from books; in fact, living ones are the more important because they make a stronger impression. And therefore, if parents are worthy and careful guardians of domestic discipline, and if tutors are chosen with the greatest possible care, and are men of exceptional virtue, a great advance will have been made towards the proper training of the young in morals. (215)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>We might supplement Comenius statement about children \u201clearning to imitate before they learn to use their minds\u201d with reference to the recent research that links imitation to the foundational emotional and artistic skills, say in mirroring the emotions of another through facial expressions or the hand-grasping movements of another simply by observing (see Patrick\u2019s article <a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2023\/02\/11\/the-imitation-brain-three-ways-to-make-the-most-of-mirror-neurons\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Imitation Brain<\/a>). This monkey-see, monkey-do (or monkey-feel) may be less than the fully blossomed rationality of prudence, but it is a fundamental and therefore necessary step along the way.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Parents and teachers must remember that their example and influence will have a real and overarching effect on the moral development of the children under their care. This is not an area where \u201cDo as I say, not as I do\u201d is going to be effective (if there is any domain where that works\u2026). Ironically, it is this personal lack of prudence that contributes to parents\u2019 lack of perseverance in discipline. Did you notice how in the block quote above Comenius transitioned immediately from living examples to the necessity of parents as \u201cworthy and careful guardians of domestic discipline\u201d? In his mind these are connected, because the faithful administration of discipline in the little things of the home functions as an overflow of a prudent and godly life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In our modern cultural imagination we picture the pickiness of a hot-tempered and unpredictable parent when we think of domestic discipline: e.g., the surly father who corrects his son\u2019s eating habits or messy room when he himself is in a bad mood from work. But for Comenius and the Christian tradition (\u201cFathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.\u201d -Ephesians 6:4), \u201cdomestic discipline\u201d involves consistency, emotional warmth, and a sensitivity to the child\u2019s needs and abilities. In another counter cultural move (for us anyway), Comenius agrees with Charlotte Mason that children should \u201cbe very carefully guarded from bad society, lest they be infected by it\u201d (216). Apparently, the idea that \u201cYou are the average of the five people you spend the most time with\u201d has a deeper moral point to it. Comenius also believes that \u2018idleness is the devil\u2019s playground\u2019 for the young, who are apt to \u201cbe led to evil deeds or contract a tendency to indolence\u201d through it (216). They should therefore \u201cbe kept continually employed either with work or with play\u201d (216).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is important to note the Christian coloring that Comenius has given discipline in its role in developing prudence, at the same time as we consider the tradition\u2019s questioning of corporal punishment in school. Quintilian, the famous Roman rhetorical teacher, for instance, had ruled against the use of corporal punishment in his <em>Education of an Orator<\/em> as tending toward a slavish disposition in students and abusiveness on the part of the tutor (I.3.14). Comenius, likewise, seems to have a lighter approach, remarking famously on the natural curiosity of children and the easiness of the way he recommends. However, when it comes to moral and spiritual matters he has a Christian seriousness that we must reckon with. He begins by noting the inevitability of discipline: \u201cSince it is impossible for us to be so watchful that nothing evil can find an entrance, stern discipline is necessary to keep evil tendencies in check\u201d (216).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The whole work of sowing the seeds of prudence is for Comenius elevated to the spiritual plane of reference, when we view it from a Christian worldview\u2013a fact that increases the need for watchfulness and careful treatment of moral maladies through timely discipline:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>For our enemy Satan is on the watch not only while we sleep, but also while we wake, and as we sow good seed into the minds of our pupils he contrives to plant his own weeds there as well, and sometimes a corrupt nature brings forth weeds of its own accord, so that these evil dispositions must be kept in check by force. We must therefore strive against them by means of discipline, that is to say, by using blame or punishment, words or blows, as the occasion demands. This punishment should always be administered on the spot, that the vice may be choked as soon as it shows itself, or may be, as far as is possible, torn up by the roots. Discipline, therefore, should ever be watchful, not with the view of enforcing application to study (for learning is always attractive to the mind, if it be treated by the right method), but to ensure cleanly morals. (216-217)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Comenius\u2019 measured approach stands between the extreme positions of our time and his, where the sterner forms of punishment (and even the name of punishment) is either neglected or over-used. His little phrase, \u201cas the occasion demands,\u201d endorses the prudential use of varied types of rebuke or consequence in a way that fits the students\u2019 moral misstep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If we are to recover the Aristotelian goal of prudence, we must reconsider the details of discipline as a part of a moral education. Principles and practice, examples and discipline form the appropriate web of \u201cgood instruction\u201d that functions as a preliminary training in prudence, with the ultimate goal that students internalize right and wrong and a true sense of the value of things in the moral and spiritual universe from a God\u2019s-eye perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-default\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/downloads\/pursuing-excellence-webinar-recording\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" data-attachment-id=\"3690\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/downloads\/writing-classical-learning-objectives-webinar-recording\/copy-of-writing-classical-learning-objectives-webinar\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Copy-of-Writing-Classical-Learning-Objectives-Webinar.png?fit=1080%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1080,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Copy-of-Writing-Classical-Learning-Objectives-Webinar\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Copy-of-Writing-Classical-Learning-Objectives-Webinar.png?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Copy-of-Writing-Classical-Learning-Objectives-Webinar.png?fit=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Copy-of-Writing-Classical-Learning-Objectives-Webinar.png?resize=300%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3690\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Copy-of-Writing-Classical-Learning-Objectives-Webinar.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Copy-of-Writing-Classical-Learning-Objectives-Webinar.png?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, 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data-permalink=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/aristotles-intellectual-virtues\/learning-objectives\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Learning-Objectives.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1080,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Learning-Objectives\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Learning-Objectives.jpg?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" 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While the development of prudence itself must be confirmed through experience, since it requires familiarity with all the particulars of life, it can and must be fostered in the young through implanting the right principles. A great part of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[49],"tags":[470,2,664,57,662,309,397,641,663,660,51,361,654,434,661],"class_list":["post-3738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-classical-tradition","tag-apprenticeship","tag-aristotle","tag-catechism","tag-discipline","tag-examples","tag-intellectual-virtues","tag-john-amos-comenius","tag-mirror-neurons","tag-moral-exemplars","tag-moral-wisdom","tag-practice","tag-principles","tag-proverbs","tag-prudence","tag-punishment"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Counsels of the Wise, Part 5: Principles and Practice, Examples and Discipline &#8226;<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2023\/04\/29\/counsels-of-the-wise-part-5-principles-and-practice-examples-and-discipline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Counsels of the Wise, Part 5: Principles and Practice, Examples and Discipline &#8226;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the last article we discussed \u201cgood instruction\u201d as a preliminary or a forerunner to prudence. 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Barney","author_link":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/author\/jasonmbarney\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"In the last article we discussed \u201cgood instruction\u201d as a preliminary or a forerunner to prudence. While the development of prudence itself must be confirmed through experience, since it requires familiarity with all the particulars of life, it can and must be fostered in the young through implanting the right principles. A great part of&hellip;","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa7K1D-Yi","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3524,"url":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2023\/02\/04\/counsels-of-the-wise-part-4-preliminary-instruction-in-prudence\/","url_meta":{"origin":3738,"position":0},"title":"Counsels of the Wise, Part 4: Preliminary Instruction in Prudence","author":"Jason Barney","date":"February 4, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"How does a person become wise? What are the proper ingredients in an educational paradigm aimed at prudence? Where would we even begin? So much of K-12 education seems to have nothing to do with practical wisdom, as Aristotle defines it. How do we recover the classical goals of wisdom\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;History of Education&quot;","block_context":{"text":"History of Education","link":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/category\/history-of-education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Wise-as-serpents.jpg?fit=736%2C578&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Wise-as-serpents.jpg?fit=736%2C578&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Wise-as-serpents.jpg?fit=736%2C578&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Wise-as-serpents.jpg?fit=736%2C578&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3350,"url":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2022\/10\/22\/the-counsels-of-the-wise-part-2-why-reviving-moral-philosophy-is-not-enough\/","url_meta":{"origin":3738,"position":1},"title":"The Counsels of the Wise, Part 2: Why Reviving Moral Philosophy Is Not Enough","author":"Jason Barney","date":"October 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"In The Liberal Arts Tradition: A Philosophy of Christian Classical Education (Version 2.0, Revised Edition), Kevin Clark and Ravi Jain argue for a recovery of the tradition of moral philosophy against the reductionism of the modern social sciences. Their account of the intellectual history that led to the replacement of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Classical Tradition&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Classical Tradition","link":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/category\/classical-tradition\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Alexander_and_Aristotle-1.jpg?fit=870%2C696&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Alexander_and_Aristotle-1.jpg?fit=870%2C696&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Alexander_and_Aristotle-1.jpg?fit=870%2C696&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Alexander_and_Aristotle-1.jpg?fit=870%2C696&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3876,"url":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2023\/08\/12\/the-counsels-of-the-wise-part-6-a-pedagogy-of-prudence\/","url_meta":{"origin":3738,"position":2},"title":"The Counsels of the Wise, Part 6: A Pedagogy of Prudence","author":"Jason Barney","date":"August 12, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"At this point in our series, we have established prudence or practical wisdom as a Christian and classical goal of education. We have also laid out several paths toward prudence, seeds really, which must be sown in early youth in order to reap the full flowering of practical wisdom in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Classical Tradition&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Classical Tradition","link":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/category\/classical-tradition\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Formella_21_platone_e_aristotele_o_la_filosofia_luca_della_robbia_1437-1439-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Formella_21_platone_e_aristotele_o_la_filosofia_luca_della_robbia_1437-1439-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Formella_21_platone_e_aristotele_o_la_filosofia_luca_della_robbia_1437-1439-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Formella_21_platone_e_aristotele_o_la_filosofia_luca_della_robbia_1437-1439-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3303,"url":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2022\/09\/24\/the-counsels-of-the-wise-part-1-foundations-of-christian-prudence-and-instructing-the-conscience\/","url_meta":{"origin":3738,"position":3},"title":"The Counsels of the Wise, Part 1: Foundations of Christian Prudence","author":"Jason Barney","date":"September 24, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"We began this series with a proposal to replace Bloom\u2019s Taxonomy of educational objectives with Aristotle\u2019s five intellectual virtues. While Bloom and his fellow university examiners aimed to create clarity in teaching goals through a common language, their taxonomy of cognitive domain objectives may have done more harm than good.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Biblical worldview&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Biblical worldview","link":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/category\/biblical-worldview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Untitled-design-39.jpg?fit=1200%2C857&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Untitled-design-39.jpg?fit=1200%2C857&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Untitled-design-39.jpg?fit=1200%2C857&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Untitled-design-39.jpg?fit=1200%2C857&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Untitled-design-39.jpg?fit=1200%2C857&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4077,"url":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2023\/11\/04\/counsels-of-the-wise-part-8-aiming-at-the-intermediate-or-aristotles-moral-virtues\/","url_meta":{"origin":3738,"position":4},"title":"Counsels of the Wise, Part 8: Aiming at the Intermediate or Aristotle&#8217;s Moral Virtues","author":"Jason Barney","date":"November 4, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"We\u2019ve traveled far in this series on restoring the forgotten goal of prudence or practical wisdom to our educational goals. We established the necessity of prudence alongside moral virtue as constituting the intellectual virtue that accompanies and regulates all the moral virtues by deliberating about what is good or bad\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Classical Tradition&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Classical Tradition","link":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/category\/classical-tradition\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Target.jpg?fit=612%2C408&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Target.jpg?fit=612%2C408&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Target.jpg?fit=612%2C408&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4181,"url":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/2024\/02\/19\/counsels-of-the-wise-part-9-the-limits-and-transcendence-of-prudence\/","url_meta":{"origin":3738,"position":5},"title":"Counsels of the Wise, Part 9: The Limits and Transcendence of Prudence","author":"Jason Barney","date":"February 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"We have come full circle in this series on Aristotle\u2019s intellectual virtue of prudence or practical wisdom. Prudence is one of those forgotten gems of the classical educational tradition. Its proper flowering is the result of early instruction, long reflection and the blooming of rationality in man. Discipline, early training\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Biblical worldview&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Biblical worldview","link":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/category\/biblical-worldview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Wise-as-serpents.jpg?fit=736%2C578&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Wise-as-serpents.jpg?fit=736%2C578&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Wise-as-serpents.jpg?fit=736%2C578&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Wise-as-serpents.jpg?fit=736%2C578&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3738"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3752,"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3738\/revisions\/3752"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educationalrenaissance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}