The entire work of the education of the young can be summed up in the goal of training children in virtue. Virtues are the habits that perfect the human person, whether young or old, so that he or she can pursue the good with ease, and attain the happiness which most fits our nature. There are three interrelated yet distinct aspects of man that are perfected by the virtues.

Intellect, a spiritual faculty, is perfected by the intellectual virtues, where truth is attained and resides habitually in the soul. Free will, another spiritual faculty, is perfected by the higher moral virtues which incline him to pursue the good in all things. The Body, from where arises the emotions or passions, is regulated by the lower moral virtues, which order these bodily motions according to right reason, and keep him directed toward the higher goods in which he will find his true happiness.

It is important for the school to keep these three aspects and their corresponding virtues in mind in all the work it does with the children entrusted to it each year. Everything from course syllabi, daily lesson plans and pedagogical techniques, to classroom rules, procedures and routines should focus upon the virtues that accompany these things. To help us understand this key to Catholic education, it is important think of the classroom as virtue’s workshop.

Especially in the very young, but also with adolescents, conquering the passions and emotions is the first priority. For like a towering building where the lofty heights rest firmly upon the solid foundation, so too, can the intellect and free will be perfected only if the emotions are in order. The higher moral virtues require the peace that can only be attained through the lower moral virtues.

These building-block virtues bring resilience, strength, proportion and order to those motions of the person known as the passions. Just as the body is subject to physical motions like fidgeting, breathing and walking, so too is it subject to the physical motions of passions like anger, fear, joy and sorrow. The passions are good things given to us by God, but like all things of the material world, they are designed to serve a higher, spiritual dimension of creation.

The Catholic Church explains this brilliantly in its encyclical letter on Christian education, defining the human person who is the subject of education:

In the human body there are generally two forms of passion that arise in different situations, which need tidying. These are (1) the tendency to desire the easily obtainable pleasures that arise from what we traditionally call the concupiscible appetite and (2) the inclination to flee from the arduous work and threats that come our way, what we traditionally call the irascible appetite. Both require the training and discipline of the virtues in order to be mastered. The moral virtues will restore the passions from the present natural state of disorder to their proper place in the life of the human person.
 

The well-run classroom and its effective teacher can easily promote the aforementioned virtues both directly and indirectly. Initially the first step to virtue is the indirect or preparatory path to temperance and fortitude.

The good teacher prepares the classroom environment and fosters student expectations to insure the acquisition of virtue and success in academic work. At the same time he never invites nor indulges distractions from these goals. Staying on track by remaining on-topic in the lesson, and ensuring students complete daily procedures and routines on time will prevent the bad habit of disorder and confusion from forming at school.

The formulation of classroom procedures, along with insisting on their consistent fulfillment through making them routine, will prepare the ground for building the foundational moral virtues. Virtue is a good habit that inclines the person to act well easily. Classroom routines are the first "good habits" necessary for student mastery at school. More than bulletin board designs or seating arrangements, routines that follow clearly-understood procedures create the environment in which the student can master his passions and later form the higher moral and intellectual virtues. Furthermore, they make the classroom an easy place to be and to learn.

Forming the good habit of disciplined routines in students requires three things: explanation of the procedures, initial practice of them to form the budding routines, and ongoing review of the routines over time to keep these basic classroom virtues strong. For instance, the routine for passing in papers needs to be rehearsed before the first assignment comes in. What to do when a pencil breaks should be practiced before written work commences with the lower grades.
 

Seeing that violations of order may come, the teacher will be prepared to review procedures when they are not followed. He will also have an effective discipline plan with rules posted and their consequences in place for misbehavior. Rewards may be designed for habits of obedience, and penalties in place that fit the behavior they stand to correct. Also, teachers will not allow the class to be disrupted any more than it already has been with a violation of the rules.

Ultimately, the teacher is a primary role-model and mentor, and should take his role in loco parentis (acting temporarily in the place of the parents) very seriously. Students should be protected and lead, but also genuinely loved by the teacher. The teacher should never lose his temper, keeping always a loving (but firm) demeanor. There should be a relationship of mutual respect between teacher and students. If this relationship is well-cultivated, when students transgress rules clearly taught, their own remorse at the transgression should be enough punishment. As St. John Bosco wrote, "this system is all based on reason, religion and loving-kindness. Because of this it excludes every violent punishment, and tries to do without even mild punishments."

Good teachers teach through misbehaviors, and handle them quietly and promptly on the side (a two-paragraph paper on such-and-such, or a fifteen minute detention, etc.). This way, by promptly receiving the consequence he earned by misbehaving, the student neither gets away with the misdeed nor does he get away with redirecting the class’s attention, and the teacher retains control and direction of the lesson. More importantly, remaining focused and on track during the violation of rules creates no opportunity for the misbehavior to take root and form a bad habit. Virtue, its growth and conservation, is the result of good classroom management.

[Synopsis by John O’Brien; material provided by St. John Bosco, Fritz Hinricks, John Kamprath, Dorothy Sayers, Pius XI]