A three tier training approach

In my quest to learn about how the people in good old days brought up their children and groomed them through different stages with diverse approaches I found a really useful tip that divided the course of child nourishment in three gradual stages.

It said that during first seven years of up-bringing child had to be left free to get involved in things of its choice which might vary from sports to creativity. During this stage all the positive actions of a child had to applauded, its queries answered softly and no disciplinary actions were allowed.

Probably such an approach helped to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a particular child with due encouragement to enhance the strength whilst no pressure to rectify his weaknesses. A child could be moulded more easily through love and affection than with stick and punishment.

During the second seven years span it was suggested to have close watch upon all the activities that child did with more focus on the rectification of weaknesses and re-vitalizing the strengths. During this period parents were advised to remain strict so that the child followed a strict code of conduct oriented to mend the mistakes and provide remedy for the drawbacks whilst rewarded for his achievements and encouraged for everything positive that it undertook.

During the last seven years span it was emphasized to let him accompany his mentor in all the works that he did and expected the child to take on. We can take it to be something like apprenticeship when the learning was put into practice. The trainee gained experience to apply knowledge to the real life situations and tested the same.

I think the three tier approach of nourishment provided them opportunities to identify the strengths and drawbacks first then facilitated to chalk an appropriate and reasonable program to boost the talents and to improve on weaknesses and finally provided them guided experimentation. Thus the predecessors passed on intellectual, behavioral and professional legacies to generation after generation which proved able to sustain the order of the world.

We might try the method with our generation so as to leave behind some legacy which, in the words of John Milton, the posterity might not willingly let die.