him;stop;there.;Too;often,;we;know;the
right;way;and;yet;choose;the;wrong;way.
We;lingered;and;had;a;long;conversation
about pride. We talked about Biblical
and;literary;characters;that;have;fallen
because;of;pride.;Then,;we;looked;at;our-selves;and;tried;to;think;of;mistakes;we
have;made;due;to;pride.;Then;we;could
see;more;clearly;how;tempting;it;can;be
to;seek;recognition;for;our;gifts.
My;son’s;next;reason;was;that;Johnny
shouldn’t;work;on;the;Sabbath;because
the;head;of;the;household;told;him;not
to. Playing devil’s advocate, I asked,
“Why;should;Johnny;care?”;“He;should
care;because;Scripture;tells;us;to;honor
our;father;and;mother.;Mr.;Lapham;is
like;his;father;because;he’s;living;with
him.”;I;pushed;him;again,;“Why;should
we;listen;to;those;in;authority;over;us?”
At;first,;he;seemed;uncomfortable;with
this;question.;After;all,;his;father;and;I
expect;him;to;obey.;At;his;age,;though,
it is not enough to know what you
should do. These are lessons for very
young;children.;His;father;and;I;need
to prepare him for independence. He
must;be;equipped;to;recognize;authori-
ties;and;to;know;which;ones;he;should
follow;and;why.
Literature;provides;a;safe;way;for;us;to
explore;these;life;lessons;with;our;chil-dren.;I;would;much;rather;have;my;son
learn;from;this;discussion;than;to;have
him;horribly;injured;by;a;foolish;choice.
As;a;society,;we;no;longer;understand
the;value;of;literature;in;education.;Edu-cation;comes;from;the;Latin;word;
edu-cere which;literally;means;“to;lead;out.”
We;need;to;lead;them;out;of;ignorance
and into wisdom. As such, we must
carefully;consider;the;literature;that;we
choose;for;them;in;the;adolescent;years.
We;must;search;for;examples;of;good
and;bad;behavior,;and;of;foolish;and;wise
choices;so;that;we;can;lead;them;toward
wisdom.;We;must;acknowledge;that;our
job of reading instruction is not over
when;they;can;read;“The;cat;sat.”;That
is;just;practice;for;the;big;show,;and;our
job;has;just;begun.;As;they;grow;older,
we;should;carve;out;time;to;share;these
rich;discussions;with;them,;gently;guid-ing;and;correcting;them;as;they;begin;to
solve;the;puzzle;of;life’s;larger;questions.
It;is;hard;to;set;aside;the;time,;but;these
are;the;best;hours;of;my;week,;and;the
most important. These are the discus-sions;that;lead;our;students;to;virtuous
character.
Jennifer Courtney
Jennifer Courtney currently serves as the
Communications Director for Classical
Conversations. She is the co-author of the
Classical;Acts;and;Facts;History;Cards
series and of the book Classical;Christian
Education;Made;Approachable as well as
the recently released The;Question . Jennifer
writes for the Classical Conversations
Writer’s Circle as well as a variety of
homeschool and other education websites
and magazines. She tutors high school students in advanced math, Latin, British literature, composition, biology, logic, rhetoric, and western cultural history. She and
her husband Tim live in Oklahoma where
they home educate their four children.
S
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If;you;hunger;to;give;your;children;an;education;that;leads;them;toward;wise
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