10 Hallmarks of Benedictine Education (Part 6)

At Saint Vincent Archabbey many of our monks are involved in our College Apostolate. Some serve as Professors in departments such as Theology, Philosophy, Mathematics, English, Science or Business, while others work in the Library or Campus Ministry. Needless to say, our Benedictine Heritage influences the way that we educate our students as a WHOLE human person, Body, Mind, and Soul.

Thus, this series of posts will focus on the 10 Hallmarks of a Benedictine Education. 

6. Discipline: a way toward learning and freedom

Discipline is a way of focusing energy and attention on what matters. Benedictine life is built around
a fundamental discipline of prayer, work and relationships that is set forth in the Rule and that seeks to free a monastic to take delight in God's presence within the self, the community and the world. New members are taught how to cultivate the discipline of monastic life and to realize that it takes a lifetime of practice to develop fully the skills needed to engage the passion and direct the cares of a person's life.

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No learning takes place without discipline. Students must sacrifice short-time benefits for long-term
goals. Maturity and autonomy involve moving from a discipline imposed from the outside to a self-discipline in which a person sets his or her own goals and determines how to achieve them. In
pursuing academic excellence the faculty and staff seek to teach and model the skills for cultivating discipline. In this sense all members of the educational community strive to be zealous
(Latin, studiosus) for continually growing in the skills and dispositions to know, love and live the truth.


for more on the Sixth Benedictine Value: 

http://www1.ben.edu/programs/centers_institutes/CMI/The%20Ten%20Hallmarks%20of%20Benedictine%20Education.pdf