R#4

What is the relationship between free will and habits? This question immediately surfaced in my mind as I read James’s chapter on free will. If we choose to establish a habit, work on it, hone it to the point that it has become automatic have we given up our ability to voluntarily act against it? Let’s say that I have worked to develop a habit of walking. At the same time, every day for five years, I walk the same two mile radius. The habit of walking becomes so strong that I grab my shoes and put them on without looking at the clock because I just know when it is time to go. Then, one day on my daily walk, I encounter a snake. Due to this unforeseen circumstance, I decide to cut short the walk and go home. The next day, would I immediately go for a walk since it is habit or would I reconsider because the snake inhibits me?

James gave teachers some important points in this chapter. I appreciated his view on a child’s will and the classroom. When a child encounters a problem that is difficult, many times they just give up because they feel inhibited. This feeling becomes overwhelming and the problem becomes impossible for the child. At the moment the child gives up or refuses to put forth any effort, many teachers want to punish them. The wise teacher, however, steps back and leads the child in a different direction for awhile, coming back to the problem in a different way. I connected this idea to differentiation in the classroom. When a student finds one method of solving a problem difficult and is afraid to try, differentiated activities can reengage them in the learning process. By presenting information in a different way, a teacher may overcome the student’s inhibition to solve the problem.

I made a personal connection to the reading when James referred to a quote by John Wesley. As a United Methodist and daughter of a United Methodist minister, I remembered conversations I had with my parents in regard to self will. James quoted Wesley when discussing punishment of children by teachers. James states, “Such will-breaking is always a scene with a great deal of nervous wear and tear on both sides, a bad state of feeling left behind it, and the victory not always with the would be will-breaker”(p. 89). I believe Wesley’s quote about breaking a child’s will needs to be taken in the context Wesley meant it. Though his words are strong, I believe Wesley’s message to parents focused on the importance of a child to listen and follow God’s will for their life instead of growing up full of self will.