A model teacher
Here is a great, short article that catches the essence of what all parents — and more especially parents who are also their children’s schoolmasters — must recognize as true, because it is, even if it’s not acknowledged. It is a daunting truth, but abdication doesn’t diminish its impact:
We teach the young to embody the ideals that we model for them. The result is that they become like us, striving to embody those ideals before us and others
It would be nonsensical for us to presume to educate the young toward a life we do not share with them. [...] Another way to consider this is that, through all of our efforts to educate, we must be educated.
What do you want your children to become as they grow? Patience? Kindness? Wisdom? How will they learn if they have no teacher? You must model for your child what you want him to learn. We all hope our children will surpass us in sanctification and understanding, and by God’s grace they will, yet it is still our responsibility and duty to teach by example, which is more important than words.
What is the nature of a [teacher]? In the context of classical Christian education, that label must refer to those who, at God’s leading, seek to conform to the likeness of Christ and thereby embody the most worthy ideals of wisdom and virtue in themselves and before others.
Th[e Memoria Press] blog has been established to promote that refinement. Let’s work together to sharpen each other’s integrity of wisdom and strength of virtue. As we do that, we can truly hope for the greater glory of God to be seen through us and conveyed to those under our tutelage.
Appreciated much