Discipline, authority, and freedom in education

Education involves far more than the dissemination of facts and pre-constructed knowledge. Any teacher knows the importance of an education that includes ethical integrity and the commitment to improving students' ability to think critically. In "Once More the Question of Discipline," the author discusses the role of discipline in education. Discipline prompts the teacher to find the appropriate balance between authority and freedom, to impart wisdom and not just information.

Students learn to approach their subjects with discipline too. Student discipline does not only entail setting aside several hours per evening to do homework. Rather, student discipline involves incorporating the underlying messages behind school instruction into their daily lives. Teachers who embody their lessons can help their students demonstrate discipline into their own lives.

Discipline also promotes democracy. With discipline, citizens become willing to protest oppression and discrimination. Submission to authority is in itself a form of undisciplined activity. Authority in itself is the absence of freedom: the imposition of will that prevents true discipline from arising. A true discipline demands a synthesis of valid authority with individual freedom to choose right action. An effective teacher does not just verbalize a message of discipline but acts it out in his or her daily life.