Discipline
We work in a disciplined environment. That is: we educate children on the value of obeying societies rules, good conduct, and so on. Discipline is not punishment, and punishment is not discipline. This fact is often lost in today’s younger parents.
Many parents are today following the American concept of ‘everyone is a winner’, ‘respect is weakness’ and so on. We do not subscribe to such philosophy and we do not encourage parents who think that way to bring their kids to us. We have noted that Southern African children – still holding to the older values – are vastly outpacing the new age kids. This is our way, the ‘old way’.
Young children must work hard, be respectful, be kind to their peers, and so on. Many children today are not like that and don’t even understand the concept. We start by allowing them time to fit in. The group action does the work with very little requirement for punishment. Any punishment required is simply push ups, or a time out to reflect. Children learn fast and thrive in boundaries – a fact lost in modern times. Our method starts with imposed discipline for youngsters, eventually changing to their own self-discipline as they mature.
As much as we promote discipline, we also promote freedom of mind within that framework. We encourage fun, chatting, banter, and other things, all for self expression and team building. These are all done at the ‘right time’ giving the student an understanding of appropriate time and place of action.
Self-discipline is the quality found in all successful people. It is nurtured through imposed discipline and explanation of human action and reaction. From this starting framework, the youngster can then develop their own self-discipline over time.