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4. Youthful Inexperience
Ucertainty when faced with grave danger is characteristic of Youthful Inexperience. Immaturity allows a young man to dally before a danger that an older, more experienced man would quickly resolve or withdraw from. This comes, not from stupidity, but from a lack of judgment, because the youth is filled with curiosity about phenomena he has never seen before. It is important that the youth recognize his lack of experience and respect an older mentor who recognizes danger and knows how to avoid its consequences. Hence, the youth's problem is not one of a lack of knowledge (because that is a certainty), but one of his own attitude toward that lack. Youthful Inexperience plus arrogance is a prescription for disaster. But Youthful Inexperience together with a seeking attitude, a wish to learn, is the path to the development of wisdom. This is the path to success in spite of inexperience.
The first step in the learning process, therefore, is an openness to learning, the ability to receive instruction, a recognition that instruction is needed. No teacher can force a student to learn; the student must approach the teacher with respect and a wish to discover, else the experience will be unproductive. For the same reason, a man does not proffer advice to another; he waits to be asked. At the same time that the student is receptive, however, he must also be persistent. But his persistence is not led by his distrust of the teacher, but by his efforts to eliminate his own ignorance. If he distrusts the teacher, then he should find another. But if he cannot agree with the teacher, then he should look within himself for the cause of his disagreement, and resolving that lack of agreement must be the only cause for further questioning of the teacher. For the student to question the teacher's wisdom merely because he does not understand it is foolish and insulting. No teacher need indulge such a student.
At the same time, it is the teacher's obligation to be plain, forthright, thorough and persistent. He must recognize the student's lack of understanding and provide guidance specific to resolving that lack, overlooking nothing. Thus, the teacher distinguishes clearly between ignorance and arrogance. He has infinite patience with the former, but no tolerance at all for the latter. In both, he participates in the development of the student's character.
The Lines 1. [6] Discipline is necessary for education, but it is not enough that a teacher require discipline; it must come from within the student. One of the most important lessons for him to learn is the necessity of his taking a serious interest in his own education. At the same time, discipline cannot be merely a matter of obedience to rules. Mere obedience does not permit the student to develop his mental powers. 2. [9] Patience with youthful inexperience is a mark of strength.
