Youth

Teaching them by setting an example

December 8th 2023

Parents and educators often try to impose on young people moral qualities that they themselves do not possess and for which they are unable to set an example. Then they are surprised when their charges refuse to obey or respect them – which is only normal. The life of a true educator must exemplify the qualities and virtues they want to teach to others; they must emanate something contagious, stimulating and irresistible! A true poet or musician inspires others to become poets or musicians. Someone who is truly a bearer of love opens the hearts of all those around them. A bold and brave general will give his soldiers the courage to launch an attack and carry it through to victory. Imagine a cowardly, timid officer shouting, ‘Charge!’ in a weak, trembling voice – no one would follow him! Educators say, ‘You must be kind, you must be honest, you must be this or that...’ while they themselves are none of these things. How can you expect the younger generation to do what they say?*

* Related reading:

Today new currents, which the author associates with the Age of Aquarius, are beginning to pour into the world, marking the end of a cycle of which we are more or less aware. At a crossroads, young people are already carrying a new world, a new relationship to time and to this form of...