Lessons of aMaster Teacher-

Confucius

ROBERTI E. CUMMINS

1IV*de·~I ·

or over 25 centuries. the doc-trinces of Confucius-thc Master.as his disciples called hinl-haIc

guided the most intimate aspects of thelives of the most populous nation onearth. The! still do. Just recentl- theMinistrv of Education of the pro- incialgovernment of Taiw-an extended thestudy of Confucius into the junior highschool. and Confucian v.aluces pernadethe Three Principles of the People. thecharter governing the Republic of Chli-na.

Unless you can visualize a timc wcihenthere were no schools, books. comput-

ers. philosophy.. or science. you ma,-not be impressed bh Confucius: .EchiCr-ments He established the first sch1ol.which drcs young men from all o'.rancient China to stud'- die classics. In afeudal socicth. hlie opened his school toall applicants: "There is no class ineducation." He IITOtC the first book.Spring and Autumn. chroniclilg thedeeds and misdeeds of the Dulkes ofChau from the 21st to th th centuries

Robert E. Cummins is Professor. trnil'r-sity of West Florida. Pensacola.

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NOVEMBER 1983 )9

B.C. Incredibly, he conceptualizedmany psychological principles, such ashabit, modeling, inquiry, peer influ-ence, individual differences. readiness;sequencing, intuition, and perform-ance-based education.

His most significant achievement,however, and the one that should be ofintense interest to us, waas his emphasison moral education. As a result ofConfucius' influence, the Chinese peo-ple throughout history have been one ofthe most moral civilizations in theworld. Considering the moral crisis inthis country, such a record warrantsserious study.

Unable to pinpoint Confucius' birth-date, historians accept the year 551B.C. as a close approximation. Theywould agree to Shantung Province, thecultural center of ancient China, as theplace of his ancestral background. Littleis known of his youth other than that theearly death of his father introduced himto hard times and that at age 15 he washerding cattle. By his own admission,that period helped him acquire "theability to do many things." It also ex-plains why his interest in teaching didn'tmanifest itself until 518 B.C. when thewealthy Duke of Chau agreed to sponsorhis intellectual career.

Confucius married when he was 19.Apparently, in the brief span of fiveyears, he had earned an honorable repu-tation; on the birth of his son, the Dukeof Chau sent him a carp to signify hisfavor. He had only one other child, adaughter who died young.

Confucius was insistent on filial pietswithin family relationships. His linkingof the family to the national characterindicates that he believed nurturing re-spect and obedience through daily fam-ily transactions was critical in creatingand maintaining the moral order.

He began teaching at 22. Travelingthroughout the kingdom, he attractedyoung men of all stations and instructedthem in groups for a fee. "For a manbringing me a dried fish for teachingupwards, I have never refused instruc-tion. "

"If Mdere were moralorder in the world,wby tould I try tochange itt?

During his middle years, he movedthroughout provinces that were riddledwith corruption and torn by internalstrife, which led him to conclude that"oppressive government is fiercer than atiger." The moral chaos in this periodwas incredible. Kings were murdered bytheir princes; princes married their fa-thers' concubines; incestuous relationships abounded; all powerful noblescalled themselves kings; and there wasgreat confusion in religious worship. Achronicle of his activities during theseyears simply recorded a series of skir-mishes with all forms of hypocrisy, cor-ruption, and ineptitude. His ideologicalrival, Lao Tzu, proved an unerringprophet when he advised Confucius onhis departure from Lu in 520 B.C.:

A man who is brilliant in thought is oftenin danger because he is prone to criticizepeople A man who is learned and well readand clever often endangers himself becausehe reveals the foibles of those around him.

Confucius' penchant for exposingmalfeasants and hypocrites and, ironi-callv, his remarkable success in trouble-shooting for various rulers, occasionallyplaced him in peril. Because he wasworking in small principalities wary ofeach other's power, his successes upsetthe balance; he became the target ofuneasy rulers who were not above ha-rassing him, even to the point of send-ing assassins to slay him. On severaloccasions, his disciples spirited himaway barely in time to save his life.

Fxcept for an occasional adccniturc inpolitics, he spent most of his life inteaching and scholarship. tic was allindefatigable researcher, especially inpoetry, music, and history. Historianscredit him for salvaging much of thelore of ancient China. Confucius con-sidered poctry and music the essentialdisciplines in his sysstemil of education.He believed thev functioned to enlobleand to inspire and, therefore, to regcn-crate. "Wake onursclf up with poctrsand complete sour education with nu-sic.

Poctry was the first stage in his stuin-dents' education. '\Vithout studyilng thepoems, one will hace no hold on words.. . . It awakens inspiration. It enhancesone's sociability and liberates one's frrs-trations"

In the course of his research, helocated, edited, and classified 3,000 po-ems written since the 12th centuiry. leculled 300 of them for his curriculumand composed a musical accomipani-ment for each.

He was equally thorough with mursicHe played several instruments ard frc-quently sang. "To enjoy true manhoodthrough music and not arrive at com-plete harmony with Nature is like eatingand not being well fed."

He died at age 70. revered by thepeople he had saved from moral deca-dence. One of his disciples mourned athis tomb for seven vears.

"Onty those whof;fiu/ their ownnature can fufill thenature of oders."

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"To establishbimself the teacherestablishes others

Confucius' objectixcs sere clear. Hetaught four things: literature, personalconduct, being one's true self, and hon-esth in social relationships. In addition.throughout the Analccts, he fleshed outthe character of the "ien" man, theparagon intended to comprise the eliteupon whomr he relied to energize anddirect nothing less than a moral renais-sance.

"The en l mall is modest in speechand bold in action."

"In his private life, he is hunimblc; tohis superiors, hce is rcspectful; in nour-ishing the people, lie is kind, in orderingthe people, he is just."

"'The character of the jen man is incarrying out what he professes."

"The jen mall is liberal towards oth-ers. but lie does not always agree withthem.

"The jen mai is anxious to find thetruth. He is not anxious lest povertyovertake him."

"The jen man is firm but does notfight; he is dignified but not proud."

Confucius' frequent references to themoral regeneration of humanitv etchedhis goal unmistakably. "If there weremoral order in the world, whhy would Itry to change it?"

In his teaching, lie was the quintes-sent professional. In the Analects hesays: "To establish himself, the teacherestablishes others. 'To enlarge others,the teacher enlarges hinisclf'-as suc-cinct and accurate a statement of the

sen ice principle in professionalisnl ascan be found in the literature. Anotherstatement reflects an attitude of his thatspeaks to professional educators toda!:"The character of the superior manl liesin his carrning out in his conduct swhatlihe professes. With coarse rice to cat.with water to drink and ms- bended armfor a pillow, I still have jos in the midstof these. Riches and honors acquired b!unrighteousness are to me as floatingclouds."

His assumptions are impressive. 'llc!sreflect a breadth of wisdom and perspi-cuith that startle by their relevance tocontemporary thought. "I seek an allpervading unith. There is not a singlething in swhich principle does not in-here.

"Man is born for uprightness. Rcci-procith is the rule of life."

"What Heaven has conferred is calledNature. Accordance with Nature iscalled the Path. Regulation of the Pathis called instruction."

"What the superior man seeks is w-ith-in hinlself."

"The system of moral order must bebased on one's owsn consciousness. '

"The process of teaching and learningstimulate each other. 'Teaching is half oflearning."

The latter assumption places him illthe company of theorists who belic'cthe two processes are indivisible, a posi-tion consistent with his emphasis onmorality. It is this reciprocal nature ofteaching that imposes a moral obliga-tion on the teacher, that inibues hiswork with professional responsibiliht.Accountability rests on this premise.

He further elucidated by defining therelationship behtween teacher and stu-dent:

The teacher guides the students but doesnot pull them. He urges them but does notsuppress them. He opens the was but doesnot take them to the place. Guiding withoitpulling will make learning gentlet Urgingwithout suppressing will make leaming cassand opening the sway makes students thinkfor themselves.

Confucius deplored poor teaching:The teacher of today just goes on repeat-

ing things in ngamarole fashion. annoys thestudents with constant questions and as thesame things over and over. He does not tn tofind out what the student's natural inclia-tions are so that the student is fr-ed topretend to like his studies. What he gns thestudent is Trong in the first place and shathe expects i just as sTong. As a result. thestudent hides his favorint readings and hateshis teacher.

The teacher regards the student posi-tivclv but insists he act responsibly:

"With the doctrine of love for teach-ing affection and the doctrine ofdult forteaching rectitudc. the people ill learnto live in the moral order-"

a... .to-aem sbe kwa*er

enlatges bimseS."

"A vouth must be respected. How dovyou know that his future ma- not exceedyour present?'

"Can there be lose which does nodlead to strictness toward its obiect?~

"The prosecution of learning may becompared to building a mound. If thereis only one basket of dirt left. and I stop.the stopping is mine."

The teacher sets an example for stu-dents:

"OnIl those who fulfill their ownnature can fulfill the nature of others.-

"In the matter of education. the mostdifficult thing is to respect the teacher.When a teacher is respected. peoplerespect what he teaches, and when thepeople respect what he teaches theyrespect learning and scholarship."

NOVEMBER 1983 61

The Program in Studiesof the Future

at theUniversity of Houston-

Clear Lakein cooperation with

The National Associationof Gifted Children

and theEducation Section of the

World Future Societyannounces a

special conference

FOCUS ON THE GIFTED

Thursday, January 26through Saturday, January 28

Stouffer's GreenwayPlaza Hotel

Houston, Texas

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Dorothy SiskChris DedeKay Bruch

MAJOR SESSIONS

Introduction to FuturesStudies

Forecasting Techniques

Teaching Strategiesfor the Gifted

Futures Problem Solving

Incorporating Futures Studiesin

the Elementary andSecondary Curricula

For information andregistration, write:

The Future:Focus on the Gifted

University of Houston-Clear Lake

2700 Bay Area BoulevardHouston, Texas 77058

The teachcr acts as a facilitator"Florbearance and gentleness anid not

seeking resengc for unreasonable coll-duct, the jcn rman makes these hisstudv. "

"A principle of teaching is to gisestudents things wilen the- arc rcady forthem."

The teacher relics on group discus-sions to aid learning:

"The studv of subjects alone wvithoutfriends *would makc a studelit too niar-row in scope and lacking in generalknowledge."

"learing much and sclecting ihat isgood and following it. this is the secorldwav to knos ledge."

"The principles of teaching are thesemutual stimulation or letting stu-

dents admire the excellence of others."

Characteristicallyv, Confucius' mostdistinctive statement of method swascompressed into a fcw words: "If I gise astudent one side of a subject aind hecannot deduce the other three, I do nlotrepeat the lesson." 'hus he burdcns theteacher with the rcsponsibility of help-ing the student establish a founllatinubut reserves the major onus for thestudent.

In helping to lay the foundation, theMaster is scry definite about what hewould do. Since most of the apphorisrllsin the Analects are responses to hisdisciples' questions, it's clear lie be-lieved in inquirs. l-e confirms this illhis definition of a good inquisitor: "Agood inquisitor proceeds like a manchopping wood. He begins at the easierand attacks the harder knot last, so thatafter a time the student understands thepoint with a sense of pleasure."

This seems to imply his preference foran internal source of evaluation and aconviction that learning should be plea-surable.

He also reiected the lecture method:"The teacher observes but does not Icc-ture.

He urged that questions and answersbe couched in clear, concise language:"When a jen man introduccs somnic-thing, he is sure by what terminology itis called. He never uses language indis-criminatelv." As a matter of fact, one ofhis central doctrines was "Rectifica-tion," which he based on the belief that,"Unless language be in accordance withthe truth of things, affairs cannot becarried to success."

He urged students to perfect basicskills: "The mechanic who wishes towork well must first sharpen his tools,"because "The perfecting of knowledge

depends on the invcstigationll f thinlgs."and to conduct his invcstigations so as to"Learn as if vonl could not reach yourobject and were alsayvs going to lose it."

In cvaluating the success of his cf-forts, the Master was:

Thorough: "Look closcls at his aims,observe the means bh which he pursuesthem, discoscr w hat satisfies hilln." "f Ido somctimes exceed in praise, theremust be ground for it ill the inciv-idulal. "

Performance based: "I used to hear amaul's words and credit his conduct.Now I hear his words and look at hisconduct." "'f a main canl recite the ilt)lodes, but if whe given a gocrillellulltresponsibility, he cannlot perform it, ofwhat good is his Icariling"'

Infrequent "'The Inspector shouldconic to the school to csaluate oills atthe time of tile Grcat Sacrifice icsernthree vcears) so that the students calldevelop theinselvs."s

Fair: "'To require fronm theml the fullfare of work without *warnilg. this iscalled oppression."

Although hie wsas uirswcrinig il hisinsistenice on principle, hec did not rejectflcxibilihy: "l)ccp water must be crossedwith the clothes on. Shallow water callbe crossed with the clothes held high."

Impressive though Confuicius ps!-chological insights into teaching are, hismost valuable contributions to postcrihtare philosophical: his insistence oil theunity of things, on the essential good-necss of humalkind on thile moral natureof social rclationships, aid oil the su-preme value of truth.

Teaching is the role specificall? com-mitted to the improsicrmicnt of humlan-itv. That is why teaching is a moralenterprise. That is vwhs it should incor-poratc the ideals of units, goodness.morality, and truth.

That is why, after w hispering words ofwisdom to his people through the ages.Confucius deserves an attentise carfrom American educators. lis philoso-phv provides a firm base for establishiingan ordered socicth.

References

Leggc. Janics The Analects of ConluciusNcw York Lonecr Publications, 1968

Lii, Yutang, The Wisdom rf ConfuciusNew York: The Mlodern Library. 1938.

Walls, Arthur The Analects of Conlu-cius New York: Ranldomr House. 1938I

Soottill, William E. The Analects tfConfucius. Nes York: Paragon Books.1968.

Louic, Karn. Critiques of Confucius inContemporary China. Nes York: St Mar-tins' Press, 1980.t)

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Copyright © 1983 by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. All rights reserved.