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By Joleen S
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HARLOTTE MASON, a British educator at the turn
of the twentieth century, said, “The habits of the child
produce the character of the man.” She believed habit train-
ing is the foundation for developing and producing godly
characteristics. Three of her habits have become an integral
part of my kindergarten classroom: obedience, attention,
and respect.
The importance of habit training became clear to me
while teaching my young class the skill of finger knitting.
Several students proclaimed loudly that they knew how to
finger knit and moved ahead with the task before I finished
instructing them. The result was a fistful of knots and cries
of dismay: “I just can’t do this!”
I chatted quietly with each student and gently untangled
the mess they had made. “This is a difficult task,” I said. “I
know you thought you knew how to do this, and now it’s not
working out. Let’s start again, but this time, trust me to show
you the right way. If you pay close attention and obey, God
will help you accomplish it.”
Later in the day, during our class devotions, one of the
students who had struggled with finger knitting prayed,
“Dear Jesus, help us listen to Mrs. Steel when she tells us how
to finger knit so we can do it the right way.” How lovely to
see this young child understand the biblical truth of obedi-
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ence and its impact on her life. My student expressed her
understanding that she ought to obey not because she is
little and I’m big, but because the acts of attention, obedi-
ence, and respect produced good things for her. She would
learn to do things the right way.
Yet even the reward of good things is not the end goal
of habit training in the classroom. Reliance on Christ is
essential. Otherwise, the training is merely another behavior
modification program. We must steer our students away
from the secular mantra of “I can do this!” The “just apply
yourself and work hard” ideology is a dead end for students.
Relying on themselves to do better, achieve more, and work
harder leads students to believe they are the beginning and
the end of their own success. If what they can do is the basis
of their value, they are likely to be wrapped up in pride or
swallowed in the despair of mediocrity or failure.
My students’ initial approach to finger knitting produced
the inevitable response of self-deprecation. They set them-
selves up as ones who knew best and could accomplish the
task in their own way. Yet failure turned them against them-
selves and produced such frustration that they would have
quit the task without redirection. Reminding them to submit
themselves to the power of Christ and apply themselves to
the habits of attention, respect, and obedience encouraged