We stand much to gain by embracing this approach to education.

First, the child who grows up with such an understanding will not view his father or educator as a foreign tyrant who wishes to rule over him, for the child is free to act as he wishes and bears responsibility for his own actions. Rather, he will thank his father or educator for helping him achieve his own goals.

Moreover, this approach is effective in reaching children whose non-performance of mitzvoth stems not from rebellion, but from laziness. Such children will wake up and focus there energy to perform the mitzvoth. As the Talmud relates (Eiruvin 3b), "a stew prepared by two partners is neither hot nor cold". Human nature dictates that so long as a person feels that he is someone else to depend on, he tends to absolve himself of responsibility and - in fact - depends on the other. So, too, a child who does not rebel against his parents dictates tends to nonetheless refrain from performing the mitzvoth out of laziness, as he feels that his parents or educators do everything in his stead. If we lead such a child to recognize that he himself is responsible for his actions - and that he is his own educator - he will assert himself and overcome his lethargy.