The Importance of Habits and Training in Education : หน้า 136/164

Suzanne Jeffrey proportion, and in getting the proper amount of exercise. “In the educational environment, we all have to practice a code of conduct. This is why respect is the vital part of the six directions and why we have to have respect, discipline and patience as the three basic core values of any school. We must help students learn to make the correct decisions, and we must be clear about it. We must have a clear delineation between good and bad. And so, as with any decision, we need to look at intention and we need to look at the end result. What result will that action bring? If the outcome is good, then the action will be good. If the parents do not train the child, or train him or her poorly, then it is not the fault of the teacher. But bad habits can be corrected if we (as teachers) take our job seriously. Simply use the eightfold noble path in which to train the students. Each student may start at a different stage, but you still must try. “Once again, habits come from the home environment initially. There are the five ‘spaces’ or ‘rooms’ or ‘areas’ in which we are all trained. And it is the training that matters. Habits are the repetitive actions that we do every day, just like making the bed. And, initially, it is the responsibility of the primary caregiver to train the children: In the bedroom, or in the sleeping area, we are concerned with right view and right concentration. We can meditate in this space and we take responsibility for the cleanliness of our area. (Monks are taught all of their rules of behavior by the monastic rules.) The sleeping area is one in which the child will learn about morality. In the bathroom, we learn about contemplation and right thought. Here, we look after our health because our body is really a nest for disease. Our bodies are simply our bodies and they will deteriorate over time. There is not really much good in it, except that it houses our mind. It is, in fact, a walking graveyard. And thinking in this way reduces our ego. In the dining room, which includes all living spaces like the living room, the computer room, and the kitchen, we learn about right speech and right action. Here we learn good manners because we are eating together. We learn how to handle complaints and criticism. If the dishes are left undone, then ants will collect which results in the possibility of killing the ants. (Which, of course, denotes that there is the possibility of killing living things.) Then the lesson we learn is that we cannot blame others for our own actions. We also learn about the economy in this room because we have to budget for food, and figure out portion control. Additionally, if we are involved with social networking, we learn many of our communication skills, albeit in an impersonal way – also having to do with manners and proper rules of conduct. In the dressing area, we learn about mindfulness. In this room we tend to lie to ourselves about our own importance and outward appearance. This is really the room in which we need to learn to be humble, discreet, and patient with 136