Knights in Training: Ten Principles for Raising Honorable, Courageous, and Compassionate Boys - Softcover

Haupt, Heather

 
9780143130505: Knights in Training: Ten Principles for Raising Honorable, Courageous, and Compassionate Boys
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0143130501 ISBN 13: 9780143130505
Verlag: Penguin Publishing Group, 2017

Inhaltsangabe

Bringing chivalry back into our modern-day world, this book shows us how to inspire today's generation of young boys to pursue honor, courage, and compassion.

In an age when respect and honor seem like distant and antiquated relics, how can we equip boys to pursue valor and courageously put the needs of others before their own? This book helps parents to inspire their boys by captivating their imagination and honoring their love for adventure. Heather Haupt explores how knights historically lived out various aspects of the knights' Code of Chivalry, as depicted in the French epic Song of Roland, and how boys can embody these same ideals now. When we issue the challenge and give boys the reasons why it is worth pursuing, we step forward on an incredible journey towards raising the kind of boys who, just like the knights of old, make an impact in their world now and for the rest of their lives.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Heather Haupt is the mother of three knights-in-training and a spunky little princess. She wants to raise children who will make a difference in this world. As an educator, writer, and popular conference speaker, she inspires parents to pursue a loving and holistic approach to education and parenting. She has taught in a variety of settings ranging from preschool nature classes all the way up to college biology labs and now homeschools her four children. She lives in the Dallas area with her family and writes at www.heatherhaupt.com.

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+ Chapter 1

Charting a New Path

ONE DAY, long ago at the almost grown-up age of twelve, I made my way to the neighborhood candy shop. A group of boys was loafing around and throwing barbs at one another. They were calling each other every variation of body parts and functions that you could dream up and laughing at their own supposed cleverness. I knew what came next. Cringing inside, I picked up my pace. As I passed them, their banter paused momentarily before altering direction. I was now the target, and the teasing took on an overt sexual nature. Some of them teased, while others looked the other way, perhaps embarrassed. Two of them started to follow as I ducked into the safety of the candy shop. The kind old man who ran the shop would not tolerate that kind of talk in his store and told the boys to leave. With an apathetic shrug they wandered off in search of new diversions.     

We see these kinds of boys everywhere—the ones who are rude and crude, the ones who find entertainment in picking on others, the ones who, for all of their bravado, become speechless and weak when someone needs to stand up against the bully. The entitlement mentality is firmly entrenched, resulting in teens doing what they please and behaving like tantrum-throwing toddlers when someone stands in their way. They expect life to be handed to them on a silver platter while they sit back and enjoy themselves.     

Boys are increasingly disengaged, turned off to all that matters. Many struggle in school, preferring the allure of video games, and fewer are going to and graduating from college. Instead of boys eager for independence, more young men choose to stay home now than ever before, relying on parental support far longer than their female counterparts. Within this modern state of boyhood, mediocrity and apathy are the growing marks of manhood.   

+ Idealism to Fatalism

Most of us enter into parenthood with a sense of idealism. We hold a cute little baby and stare in wonder at his fresh skin, rosebud mouth, and perfect round ears. As his tiny fingers curl around ours, an unspoken resolve fills our heart—to raise this little one well, to raise a child who will make a difference in this world.     

And then reality hits. If the sleepless nights or the unexplained crying that cannot be soothed does not cause doubt to set in, the first time your child throws a tantrum out in public just might. Maybe it happened when he pulled out all the toys after you had just tidied up or you caught him in a little white lie after working on truthfulness over and over again. You might have felt like throwing up the white flag of surrender as he races laps around you insisting that he is not tired at bedtime or magically disappears right after you ask him to help you with something. When they get wild and crazy, it can be tempting to calm and contain them with video games or a tablet.     


We all agree: Parenting is not for the faint of heart. It takes dedication and a whole lot of consistency as we learn in a radical way to put our children’s needs (not wants) above our own. It is easy to get tired and weary, because some days it is just inevitable. It can be tempting to ease up and allow our children to do things we said we would never let them do or to let bad behavior slide because we just do not want to deal with it at that moment.     

Between the idealism of new parenthood and the drudgery of day-to-day parenting, fatalism can set in, and we begin to accept the cultural stereotypes about boys. We must not let this happen.     

There are a lot of people talking about the problem. But where are the solutions? We all need practical ideas for inspiring this next generation of boys and changing the microculture in which our boys will grow up. We need a road map, if you will, pointing the way to go. Something that provides direction but also the flexibility to allow each family and each boy the ability to make the path his own. The aim of this book is to do just that—to give you a strategy and plan to inspire the imagination of young boys and lay the groundwork for creating a family and community culture that prepares our boys to thrive and make the world around them a better place.     

Is it possible to raise these boys of ours to be confident and yet kind? Is it possible to capitalize on all the energy and drive of young boyhood to captivate their imagination as they are propelled toward adulthood?     

Enter the world of knights. They’ve mesmerized boys ever since medieval times, when real ones roamed the land. My boys were no different. If it is possible to be both starry-eyed and stoically focused, this is how I would describe my boys when we first delved into the history of the Middle Ages. This is when I read about chivalry for the first time. What I learned surprised me. I had always thought of chivalry as merely how a man treats a woman. But it is far more than that. It is an entire code of conduct. As my boys waged imaginary battles all around me, I read and was filled with the vision of raising modern-day knights.     

I desired to raise my boys to treat others with respect, to fight for what is right and good, to stand against injustice and evil, to defend and protect those who are weak. Although the culture at large increasingly demeans women, I wanted to raise strong sons who would show thoughtfulness and care, not only for the women they encounter each day but for everyone. I saw an opportunity to inspire my boys to seek to build one another up instead of tearing others down. In a me-focused culture, I wanted to emphasize loving God first and from there loving others. So as we learned about the history of the Middle Ages, we delved into character development too.     

The deeper we delved, the more inspired my boys became. They wanted to emulate knights in every way. Why wouldn’t they? A knight’s life is full of adventure. Knights are respected and admired for their heroic bravery; they are called on in the time of need, and they rise up to rescue and help others.     

This was my lightbulb moment! Why not “train” these boys to become knights? Whoops of delight and resolve met this announcement as they were eager to start. The training was rigorous (for little boys) and included daily running, archery practice, sword fights, stick horse rides to the park (in full armor—you should have seen the curious looks of our neighbors!), mock battles, and jousting practice. They even shined my silver because their armor and weapons consisted of cardboard, foam, and papier–mâché.     

But we didn’t stop there . . . Nope! In the name of raising modern-day knights, I introduced them to the idea of chivalry. As expected, my boys were drawn to this too, and so we took extra time in their knighthood training to include instructing, practicing, and rewarding chivalrous behavior. There are an amazing number of opportunities, even for young boys, to implement the code in their own lives.     
They were to aspire to live out the following:   

1. Love the Lord your God with your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
2. Obey those in authority over you.
3. Stand against injustice and evil.
4. Defend and protect the weak.
5. Respect and honor women.
6. Refrain from wanton offense.
7. Speak the truth at all times.
8. Be generous and willing to share.
9. Persevere and finish the task at hand.
10. Pursue excellence in all you do.     

My boys love charts that show their progress, so we...

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Verlag
Penguin Publishing Group
Erscheinungsdatum
2017
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0143130501
ISBN 13 
9780143130505
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
288
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
Nicht verfügbar