St. John Baptist de la Salle

Yesterday was the Feast Day of St. John Baptist de la Salle .

It was also our wedding annniversary. I am blessed to have my dh - he has put up with me and my vagaries for 29 years of marriage, he is always funny, always supportive.

We had Mass celebrated for our annivesary, a special Blessing, and Fr. read aloud words from St John, about the vocation of teaching.

As parents we are our children's first educators.

As homeschoolers we take this educative role even further.

Mass, the blessing, and the reading were inspiring. Peaceful. Helpful.

Among StJohn de la Salle's princilpes of management of Christian schools, there is the following, something I thought might be helpful for me as a homeschooler ~

( The teacher must endeavour ..)
12. To place no faulty models or standards before the pupils; always to speak to them in a sensible manner, expressing one's self in correct language, good English, and with clearness and precision. 13. To employ none but exact definitions and well-founded divisions . . . 18. To assert nothing without being positively certain of its truth, especially as regards facts, definitions, or principles. . (Chap. V, art. ii, pp. 31-33)

And ~ One must abstain from punishing children who are just beginning school. It is necessary, first, to know
their minds,
their natures, and
their inclinations. (Conduct of Schools)

I see the above to be true, both in my vocation as a parent and at work as a Kumon Education Supervisor. I must know the child before I judge his deeds.