The Limits of Freedom

Freedom in our society is often mistaken for license or permissiveness, yet true freedom can only exist in a world with limitations. In his essay On the Education of Children, Montaigne recalled, "For as Cleanthes said, just as sound, when pent up in the narrow channel of a trumpet, comes out sharper and stronger, so it seems to me that a thought, when compressed into the numbered feet of poetry, springs forth much more violently and strikes me a much stiffer jolt." (Donald Frame translation)

In the world of education we often see a confused idea of freedom manifest when it comes to reading. Some will claim that they are respecting the freedom of children to read whatever they want when they refuse to censor what they read. It is assumed that all reading is beneficial, so it makes no difference whether a child reads a classic work of literature or smut.

Yet true respect for a child, which is rooted in a love for the child as a creation of God and not anchored in the shifting sands of sentimentalism, will provide proper guidance. It will cause a parent or teacher to say no to some things and yes to others.

It will also lead us way from the kind of flattery that some endlessly bestow on children. Andrew Kern of the Circe Institute recently spoke of this. He rightly observed that when children are praised and flattered for what they have no control over...intelligence, beauty, and other gifts from God...then they will eventually sin to get that praise. The child over whom a teacher or parent inordinantly gushes for being smart will be more likely to cheat on a test to obtain this flattery. On the other hand, the child who learns to value true praise for hard work, and who learns as well that praise is more valuable when it is accompanied by necessary criticism and correction for wrongdoing, will develop a work ethic that will bless all around him.