History Main / TheOnlyWayTheyWillLearn

** Kakashi's first challenge is to seize [[MacGuffin two bells]] from his person. Fail to get a bell, fail the test, yet there are ''three'' students. The lesson is to ignore the built-in incentive for competition and work as a team (later we learn that this method is a strange, sadistic tradition amongst the Hokage-trained line). They fail to realize this and are punished by only two of them eating lunch while the other watches (guess who), which was ''another'' test of character. They give Naruto food despite the rules and pass.

-->'''Lupin:''' Come on, guys, I need your help!\\

* Teachers in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' love this method like Naruto loves ramen.
** Kakashi's first challenge is to seize [[MacGuffin two bells]] from his person. Fail to get a bell, fail the test, yet there are ''three'' students. The lesson is to ignore the built-in incentive for competition and work as a team (later we learn that this method is a strange, sadistic tradition amongst the Hokage-trained line). They fail to realize this and are punished by only two of them eating lunch while the other watches (guess who), which was ''another'' test of character. They give Naruto food despite the rules and pass.
** Jiraiya gets impatient teaching Naruto how to release chakra. So he [[SinkOrSwimMentor pushes Naruto into a deep canyon]] so that he releases his chakra in a panicked rush. Yes... That is ''truly'' the ONLY way Naruto could learn it.
*** Could be excused by Naruto's HealingFactor, though.
** Ebisu wants to teach Naruto to walk on water, and gives a decent explanation how... but thinks it best that Naruto's practice water be boiling hot. TrainingFromHell excused with it's the only way they will learn. The counter-argument being that a student who has just been dunked in boiling water most likely won't have the best of focus - which is crucial to walking on water.
** Then, when sages tried to explain the fusion of different types of energy into the body, Naruto was at a loss. So one of the sages '''literally''' gave an IceCreamKoan.
---> '''Gamakichi:''' It's like how ice cream is even better when you add mint to the chocolate and vanilla swirl.
---> '''Papa:''' That's even harder to understand!!
---> '''Naruto:''' Oh! I get it!
---> '''Gamakichi:''' Hehehe... That's just how Naruto is...

* In ''Manga/DragonBall'', Master Roshi disguises himself as Jackie Chun in the World Martial Arts Tournament to teach his students that there will always be someone stronger than them. It sticks, as Goku makes several victories thanks to never assuming he's the strongest person out there. At the second Tournament in the story, Roshi intentionally forfeits his match against Tenshinhan after feeling that he'll serve the purpose even better, and he hangs up the Jackie Chun persona for good.

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* Besides being CruelToBeKind, Fanfic/CellarSecrets has Satsuki invoking this in chapter 25. As Shiro lay dying, she wanted to shield Ryuuko from the idea but quickly decided not to because, to her, her sister needed to see what death was, understanding that Shiro wouldn't be coming back.
* [[Series/DeadLikeMe George]] in ''[[https://remixredux09.livejournal.com/60359.html Reaping the Whirlwind]]'' knowingly makes a deal with [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Dawn]] that she knows the latter won't be able to pull off[[note]]She tells Dawn to share a story with her Slayer that only the two of them know and that if Dawn succeeds, she'll let her do whatever she wants to help the Watcher's Council. But if a Reaper attempts such a thing, they not only stammer random words but actually lose the memory of whatever story they try to tell[[/note]] to teach her that Reapers like them have to not interfere with the living.

* [[DoubleSubversion Double Subverted]] in ''Film/AllAboutEve''. Karen deliberates on her plan to help Margo to get over herself. She finishes with "there's not even a reason why I shouldn't tell her," then, as she picks up the phone, adds, "in time." Subverted again, when it turns out ''Karen'' is the one with her head up her ass.
* ''Film/LocalHero'' - Old Ben, a hermit beachcomber, legally owns the shoreline in a village an oil company wants to purchase, and he's the lone holdout. Mac the acquisitions executive tries to bargain with him; Ben scoops up a handful of sand and asks if he'd give a pound for each grain he's holding for the property. Mac refuses outright, and Ben points out that he can't be holding more than 10,000 grains, and he missed a good deal. Ben is clearly implying he doesn't recognize the true worth of the place but Mac doesn't get it - when the CEO arrives, Mac tells him "If he makes any offer involving sand, take it!"

* Ender from ''Literature/EndersGame'' is put under a series of trials by his [[spoiler:seemingly negligent adult supervisors in order to balance his kindness with ruthlessness, making him unafraid to kill when a crucial decision must be made -- he ends up (unintentionally) killing two people to complete his main training. [[TricksterMentor Mazer Rackham]] then ruthlessly punishes him in physical combat until he learns to let go of his instinctive mercy.]]

-->'''Will:''' Did you know where (the McGuffin) was all along?
-->'''Kalem:''' Perhaps.
-->'''Will:''' You couldn't have given us a hint?
-->'''Kalem:''' What sort of hero would you be if you couldn't find these things for yourself?

* Grand Cleric Elthina in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII''. Despite being one of the most powerful political figures in the city, she refuses to be assert her authority on the grounds that she practices nonviolence and that "children learn best when allowed to learn themselves". Anti-Qunari zealots have room to commit hate crimes, magical criminals run rampant, and the Templars repeatedly inflict brutal punishments on the Circle of Magi often in violation of their own laws, arguably as a result of her lack of action.

* ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngel'': In ''Moonlit Lovers'', Forte decides to take this method in her route to teach Chitose to rely more in her intuition, since despite her talent she has a too rigid, by-the-book approach to everything and tends to block when facing unexpected situations, unable to take decisive actions on the fly. At one point, when Chitose asks for a hint, Forte offers her some gum first, and when Chitose tries to take it, it turns out to be a box that bites when you put your fingers in it. Chitose doesn't take it well, but Forte insists that she won't learn the lesson if she outright tells her, let alone with her current approach to things.

** [[spoiler: The eventually had that epiphany in "Crusaders of the Lost Mark", where they realized that their special talents were helping others discover theirs.]]

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-->-- '''Creator/BenjaminFranklin'''

* Kind of the point of the whole [[Literature/TheBible book of Hosea]]. Why order a prophet to go marry a brazen prostitute? Because God and the Hebrews had this ''thing'' in the old days of Israel where every few generations they would begin to worship the gods that the nations around them did, which had been strictly and repeatedly warned against since the beginning of their own history as a nation. As an analogy, they were cheating on Him with other gods like a wayward wife cheats on her husband with other men - hence the need for a realistic demonstration of the analogy. Put another way: "There's this guy, see? He wants to share his life with someone, so he goes out looking and comes back with a literal whore. He's committed, so he overlooks this and takes her into his house. He treats her right and gives her gifts to show his love - and then she walks out the door and back to her old lifestyle. Even so, he still goes out to bring her out again, out of his love. I am the husband, you're the whore. Understand?"

'''Lupin:''' I am ''not'' like a teenager! You guys suck! Go on, take off, who needs ya?
** At the end of that exchange, Lupin snaps in a tantrum-like manner, [[NotHelpingYourCase which only proved Jigen's point about him being like a teenager.]]

See also: ItWasWithYouAllAlong which is this with a FetchQuest attached.

** Jiraiya gets impatient teaching Naruto how to release chakra. So he pushes Naruto into a deep canyon so that he releases his chakra in a panicked rush. Yes... That is ''truly'' the ONLY way Naruto could learn it.

'''Jewelius''': Twilight, my faithful student. While he might not have meant to cause so much harm, it does not change the fact that he did and could've easily prevented it. I do not take pleasure in such torture, but [[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame a lesson needs to be learned here]].\\

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'s'' teachers love this method like Naruto loves ramen.
** Kakashi's first challenge is to seize [[MacGuffin two bells]] from his person. Fail to get a bell, fail the test, yet there are ''three'' students. The lesson is to ignore the built-in incentive for competition and work as a team. (Later we learn that this method is a strange, sadistic tradition amongst the Hokage-trained line.) They fail to realize this and are punished by only two of them eating lunch while the other watches (guess who), which was ''another'' test of character. They give Naruto food despite the rules and pass.

* Kind of the point of the whole [[Literature/TheBible book of Hosea]]. Why order a prophet to go marry a brazen prostitute? Because G-d and the Hebrews had this ''thing'' in the old days of Israel where every few generations they would begin to worship the gods that the nations around them did, which had been strictly and repeatedly warned against since the beginning of their own history as a nation. As an analogy, they were cheating on Him with other gods like a wayward wife cheats on her husband with other men - hence the need for a realistic demonstration of the analogy. Put another way: "There's this guy, see? He wants to share his life with someone, so he goes out looking and comes back with a literal whore. He's committed, so he overlooks this and takes her into his house. He treats her right and gives her gifts to show his love - and then she walks out the door and back to her old lifestyle. Even so, he still goes out to bring her out again, out of his love. I am the husband, you're the whore. Understand?"

'''Jewelius''': Twilight, my faithful student. While he might not have meant to cause so much harm, it does not change the fact that he did and could've easily prevented it. I do not take pleasure in such torture, but [[Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame a lesson needs to be learned here]].\\

** As might be expected from a game with a KarmaMeter, you can subvert this trope by taunting her for her weakness, mercilessly killing her and then continue your path down TheDarkSide merrily [[KickTheDog kicking puppies]] along the way.

*** Kreia defines this trope. There's even a scene on Nar Shadda, where you can choose to help a person in debt or not. Either way, she berates you and shows what happens for the worse, in an attempt to show you how far reaching your actions are. [[spoiler:This is relevant because basically her whole motive for setting the events in KOTOR II into action is based on this philosophy.]]

** Played with in Izumi's own training in an omake. She was put in the same situation, learned a slightly different lesson...only to discover she trained under the WRONG TEACHER! The alchemy teacher was next door, she got the survivalist! One quick beatdown later, she is on her unique path...

'''Jigen:''' That's right. You know, you're like a [[ManChild friggin' teenager]], Lupin. You gotta grow up, man.\\

** At the end of that exchange, Lupin snaps in a tantrum-like manner, [[NotHelpingYourCase which only proved Jigen's point about him being like a teenager]].

* In the 11th chapter of ''Fanfic/LovedAndLost'', Shining Armor is [[ATasteOfTheLash receives a merciless flogging]] for disgracing the royal guard. Twilight tries to defend her older brother by questioning whether the severity his punishment it warranted, but she relents when Jewelius tells her that Shining must be taught a lesson.
--->'''Twilight''': Don't you think this is a little harsh? He didn't mean for all these terrible things to happen.\\
'''Jewelius''': Twilight my faithful student, While he might not have meant to cause so much harm, it does not change the fact that he did and could have easily prevented it. I do not take pleasure in such torture, but a lesson needs to be learned here.\\

** Recently, when sages tried to explain the fusion of different types of energy into the body, Naruto was at a loss. So one of the sages '''literally''' gave an IceCreamKoan.

** The Matrix can only be understood through direct experience. While the audience may feel the urge to scoff at this at first, it does make sense. Telling someone they have lived in a computer simulation their entire lives may be easy, but they're not going to ''believe you'' without proof. Also, as Cypher points out later, if they were upfront about everything, their recruits would be more likely to refuse.

* As part of a celebration in ''Fanfic/DestinyIsAHazyThing'' Anko, Asuma, and Kurenai, let their genin drink sake. The resultant hangovers will teach them not to overindulge.

** Harry trains Molly to create shields by chucking snowballs at her, privately reflecting that he received the same training with ''rocks''. It's initially chalked up to his abusive EvilMentor, but Morgan later mentions that he got the same training from ''his'' master, and opines that it's the best way to teach young wizards that self-defense is SeriousBusiness.

* Grand Cleric Elthina in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII''. Despite being one of the most powerful political figures in the city, she refuses to be assert her authority on the grounds that she practices nonviolence and that "children learn best when allowed to learn themselves". Anti-Qunari zealots have room to commit hate crimes, magical criminals run rampant, and the Templars repeatedly inflict brutal punishments on the Circle of Magi, arguably as a result of her lack of action.

* Kind of the point of the whole [[Literature/TheBible book of Hosea]]. Why order a prophet to go marry a brazen prostitute? Because sure, God could easily just ''tell'' the Israelites they were cheating on Him with other gods just like a wayward wife cheating on her husband with other men, but talk is cheap and people weren't paying much attention to anything the prophets were saying just then. Hence the need for a realistic demonstration of the analogy. "Look how she treats this poor guy! And that's exactly how it is with you people and me: I take you in, give you all kinds of good things, let you share my good name, and ''this'' is how you repay me!?"