Education Rearch Frontier
March 2021, Volume 11 Issue 1, PP. 54-58 Pedagogical Insights Found in The Analects
Xiaoyan Xiao
English school, Zhejiang Yuexiu University of Foreign Languages, Shaoxing, 312000, China
E-mail:****************
Abstract
This essay tries to uncover and interpret Confucius’s educational philosophy as embodied in The Analects and its implications for today’s college education in hopes that it may provide higher educational institutions and teachers with some insights into their teaching practices to help improve their teaching quality.
Keywords: Pedagogical Insights; The Analects; Teaching Quality
1I NTRODUCTION
Teaching quality is the lifeline of higher educational institutions. Only when teaching is up to scratch will the institution fulfill its fundamental duty of providing the society with qualified professionals who will in turn make their contributions to the construction and development of the country.
On the individual level, students’ personal development also depends heavily on the teaching quality of an institution. Without the help of responsible and enlightened teachers, students can hardly grow into the healthy, vigorous, and competent social beings that are expected of them.
2P EDAGOGICAL I NSIGHTS FROM T HE A NALECTS
The importance of teaching quality cannot be overemphasized, but it is no easy task. Teachers are facing unprecedented challenges in the prent era of the digital age. They are continuously competing with cell phones for students’ attention and engagement. Knowledge gets outdated ever more quickly and new things appear at a dauntingly fast speed. To complement the traditional classroom teaching, new forms of teaching methods enabled by technologies such as micro lecture, flipped classroom, online learning platforms like mooc are being promoted by the institutions, but most teachers aren’t so tech-savvy. The already overworked teachers have to do a lot of extra work in order to master the new skills. Some teachers are really struggling to adapt.
The Analects, as a collection of the great Chine philosopher and educator Confucius’s deeds and words, records also lots of his ideas about education. This book is much acclaimed both at home and abroad for its timeless wisdom and corrective effects for the modern vices. So can Confucius offer the teachers groping in the dark some illumination with regard to their teaching perplexities? The author is eager to find out.
2.1 A Dynamic Teacher-Student Relationship
Confucius said, “Whenever three persons walk together, there is sure to be a teacher for me.” （三人行，必有我师焉）(The Analects7:22). It is never so true as in the prent day. With such easy access to information and knowledge online, students may well be better verd in certain aspects than the teacher. On such occasions, will the teacher humbly take the role of a learner and happily hand over his arena to the student without fear of losing authority in the classroom？It takes both humility and confidence for the teacher to exchange roles with his students. “To know what you know and know what you do not know is the characteristic of one who really knows” （知之为知之，不知为不知，是知也）(The Analects, 2.17). It is difficult to admit to onelf that he knows little, yet it is even more difficult for him to admit such inadequacy to his students if he happens to be a teacher. In the traditional Chine culture, the expectations of a teacher has been elevated to such high standar
ds that teachers are under a lot of
pressure becau they are expected to be able to answer all the students’ questions and if they can’t, they may have a n of stigma. It is unthinkable for the teacher to say to the whole class that such and such student may know more about this or that subject than him and therefore welcome the student to share what he knows with his classmates as well as the teacher.
It has long been the tradition for the teacher to take the classroom as his battle field and that he has a war to win. He has to shine and thus sweep the students off their feet. He is the reprentative of knowledge and truth, and the admiration of all his students. If that be the teacher’s ambition, he will soon find himlf fall short and he may suffer disappointments. Just as the Book of Rites told us thousands of years ago that when we learn, we will find ourlves wanting and when we teach, we will find ourlves full of perplexities（学然后知不足，教然后知困《礼记·学记》）.
Teaching and learning nourishes each other. In the classroom, the transmission of knowledge is not necessarily a one-way street: passing from the teacher to the students. If the teacher can let go of his dominance in the classroom activities, give students some dominion, let and even help the student to shine, he may be thrilled to be taken into the discovery of a new world in the vast ocean of knowledge.
Dialogue instead of monologue has long been the prevalent way of teaching in the east as well as the west. Both Confucius and Socrates held numerous dialogues and discussions with their disciples. For more dialogue to take place in the classroom, the teacher needs to change the mindt that he has to be the omniscient transmitter of knowledge and that the students are passive recipients of his knowledge. The relationship between a teacher and his students is never static but dynamic. Rote learning and regurgitation is not true learning. Only through interactive dialogues can truth be revealed and clarified.
Besides, there’s no end to learning. Confucius called himlf the sort of man who in his eager pursuit of knowledge forgets his food, who in the joy of its attainment forgets his worries and who does not notice the ont of old age（发愤忘时，乐以忘忧，不知老之将至矣）(The Analects, 7.19). One’s role as a teacher is only temporary and limited to his own experti, whereas, the role of a learner will last a lifetime. Once the teacher ceas to learn, he also ceas to grow intellectually. It is esntial that a teacher should retain his curiosity and enthusiasm for the pursuit of new knowledge throughout his life. For a willing heart, learning takes place anywhere anytime. The teacher’s own teaching process is no exception. If he is democratic and obrvant enough, he may be able to learn something new from his students every time he gives them a lesson.
Confucius takes great delight in learning. He says, “To be fond of it is better than merely to know it, and to find joy in it is better than merely to be fond of it.” (The Analects, 6.20). The teacher’s passion for the subject he is teaching and other subjects is contagious. Through the teacher’s example, the students will truly understand the meaning of lifelong learning and hence pursue his own learning relentlessly even in the face of difficulties.
According to Confucius, in the cultivation of various virtues, if people cea learning, they will go astray and be prone to faults. “To love humaneness without loving learning is liable to foolishness；to love intelligence without loving learning is liable to deviation from the right path；to love faithfulness without loving learning is liable to harmful behavior; to love straightforwardness without loving learning is liable to rudeness; to love courage without loving learning is liable to insubordination; to love unbending strength without loving learning is liable to indiscipline” (好仁不好学，其弊也愚；好知不好学，其弊也荡；好信不好学，其弊也贼；好直不好学，其弊也绞；好勇不好学，其弊也乱；好刚不好学，其弊也狂) (The Analects, 17.8). How highly does Confucius think of learning! Constant and conscientious learning is the only way to prevent us from unwittingly committing all kinds of errors.
Critical thinking is held in high esteem in today’s higher education. In talking about the relationship b
etween learning and thinking, Confucius said, “Learning without thinking is labor lost; thinking without learning is perilous.” (The Analects, 2.15). To do any good, learning and thinking should always go hand in hand. Learning provides thinking with nourishment and without learning, thinking is nothing but reveries, while thinking deepens one’s understanding of whatever is learned and therefore internalize the acquired knowledge. Learning combined with thinking is true learning which is of great help to a person’s intellectual growth. As if afraid that his disciples would not be wary enough of the dangers of thinking without learning, Confucius, using himlf as an example, further
pointed out that “I’ve been the whole day without eating, and the whole night without sleeping-occupied with thinking. It was of no u.” It would be better to learn. (吾尝终日不食，终夜不寝，以思，无益，不如学也) (The Analects , 15.31)
2.2 Teachers as Facilitators of Learning and Role Models
What role does a teacher play in his students’ learning? Can a teacher really “teach” students anything? And to what extent? Learning is a highly personal process. For actual learning to take place, students’ active participation is required. No learning can be forced, so a teacher can “teach” students nothing if they refu to learn. Inspiring the students with willingness and even eagerness t
o learn is the first step towards learning. Therefore, the teacher does not so much teach as facilitate his students’ learning, or lead them to “the threshold of (their) own mind” as the great Lebane poet Gibran wrote in his well- known book The Prophet on teaching:
No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge.
The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness.
If he is indeed wi he does not bid you enter the hou of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.
…
For the vision of one man lends not its wings to another man.
Confucius “knew too well the importance of fostering incentives for students’ learning as well (Tong, 117) and once said told his disciples “If they’re not eager to learn, I don’t enlighten them; if they’re not (anxious to explain themlves), I don’t assist them. I hold up one corner to show them, and if th
ey can’t come back with the other three, then I don’t go on. (Analects of Confucius7.8). (不愤不启, 不悱不发; 举一隅不以三隅反, 則不复也) (The Analects, 2.15). A desire to learn is the prerequisite of any successful learning. A teacher is of no u to his students unless they are ready to learn.
Moral education has always been an integral part of the higher education system. A teacher has two jobs simultaneously: teaching professional knowledge and bring out the best qualities in his students. It has been a long tradition in China that teachers are suppod to be the paragon of virtue for his students to emulate.
With this tradition, it is not surprising that moral teachings are the biggest and most important part of The Analects. In Confucius’s opinion, learning is lf-cultivation and lf- transformation, the ultimate goal of which is to become the superior man（君子）, accomplished not only in the great learning but also in moral character. According to Confucius, the best way to achieve this superiority not in social status of cour but in moral conduct is through reflection. One of Confucius’s disciples said, “Each day I examine mylf on three matters. In making plans for others, am I being loyal to them? In my dealings with friends, am I being trustworthy? Am I passing on to others what I have not carefully thought about mylf?” (Analects of Confucius, 1.4). （吾日三省吾身：为人谋而不忠乎？与朋友交而不信乎？传不习乎？）(The Analects, 1.4).
In this long journey of acquiring knowledge and achieving lf- transformation, the teacher is more a role model than an instructor of his students. Confucius told his disciples, “When you e a virtuous person, try to be like him. When you e someone who lacks virtue, reflect upon your own lack of virtue” (Analects of Confucius, 4.17). （见贤思齐焉，见不贤而内自省也）(The Analects, 4. 17). A teacher should first strive to be a virtuous person and t an example for his students to learn from becau action always speaks louder than words, especially when it comes to moral education.
Young people em to have a born repulsion to authorities and clichés. They don’t like to be told what to do. They especially hate it when other people constantly tell them they can’t do this or that. Their instinct is to rebel. They want total freedom and sometimes even ek the thrill of breaking rules. Teachers are bound to encounter some
rebellious students who refu to be lectured by his words along the way, then teaching by example may be the only thing that will work. With some patience, the teacher might be able to instill his influence gradually.
2.3 Respecting Individual Differences Among Students
Confucius lived in a hierarchical society and he was the advocate of class distinction. However, the o
ne thing that he thought no distinction should be made is education（有教无类）(The Analects, 15.39). He would teach anyone who genuinely wants to learn, as he once said, “I have never denied instruction to anyone who, of his own accord, has given me so much as a bundle of dried meat as a prent” (自行束脩以上, 吾未尝无诲焉) (The Analects, 7.7).
Confucius made no distinction in a person’s access to education- everyone has the right to be enlightened and thus fulfill lf- actualization, but he did notice the huge difference between students, and hence great distinction should be made as to what and how to teach each student. In Book 6.21 of The Analects, he pointed out that a teacher could tell tho who are above average about the advanced subjects but not tho who are below average (中人以上, 可以语上也; 中人以下, 不可以语上也). He then further asrted that when a man might be spoken with about a subject, not to speak to him is to lo a talented man; when a man was not ready to be spoken with about a subject, to speak with him is to squander his valuable instructions. The wi will neither let slip a gifted man nor allow his lessons to go to waste. (可与言而不与之言，失人；不可与言而与之言，失言。知者不失人，亦不失言) (The Analects, 15.8).
To accommodate the individual differences of all the students in a classroom may be one of the greatest challenges facing the modern scale and standardized education. The teacher constantly fin
ds himlf losing the attention of the students either becau what he is teaching is too difficult for them to follow or becau it is too easy to be of any challenge to them, though he may have been very confident about his lessons before he steps into the classroom since he has made the best preparations possible for the class. The teacher may be greatly disheartened by the students’ apathy towards his strenuous efforts. Despite his best intentions, he is not only losing some of his most talented students but also wasting his valuable lessons. If the teacher doesn’t do anything about this, it will turn into a vicious cycle, and if the situation really gets out of hand, the teacher and some of the students may even begin to hate each other, and the class may become a torture for the teacher as well as most of the students.
Undoubtedly the importance of teaching different students differently cannot be overstresd and obviously it is recognized by all the teachers, the problem is how to achieve this in the current paradigm of classroom teaching. In Yuexiu, the Department of College English has made some uful attempts at tackling students’ varied English proficiencies. For the comprehensive English cour, students will be placed at different class according to their English levels as indicated by their College English Test scores. This arrangement will motivate students to learn English harder since no one wants to be left behind and then put in Class C which indicates the lowest proficiency i
n English. Better still, class activities can be conducted more smoothly since the students are all on the same level.
The Department of College English has gone even further in the experiment it has made in the English Listening Cour. More than half of the students are now taking their English listening class online. They finish the tasks one by one and are given feedback promptly. Individual learning is thus accomplished with the help of the Internet. The strength of this kind of teaching is apparent. Students can learn at their own pace. They can repeat the tasks again and again until they fully understand them. The effect of this teaching mode is also shown in the comparatively higher scores students get for listening in the College English Test than the national average. However, as an experiment, there is bound to be some problems. For example, without the perpetual monitoring of the teacher, some students will forgo study completely and just look for answers online to finish the tasks. The system cannot distinguish an answer that is carefully thought out from an answer that is copied, therefore, no distinction can be made between real study and fake study. In order to maximize the advantages of this kind of individual learning and at the same time minimize its negative effects, the system needs to be improved and teachers need to monitor the class more cloly to avoid cheating.
Besides the collective efforts, there are also things that every teacher can do to make his class more accommodating of students’ different needs. The most important thing to remember is that a teacher should always keep his students in mind while making lesson plans. Knowing one’s lessons is far from enough. It is more important to know one’s students well. A teacher cannot ask his students to adapt to his lessons. Instead, he should adjust his
lessons to all his students in order to facilitate their learning. Even if a teacher is given a class of varied students, he can make some efforts to accommodate as many students as possible. For example, he may design some tasks involving different levels of completion. The students at the highest levels are required to give a complete work while students at the lowest level are just asked to finish the primary steps so that every student can participate and contribute something to it.
3C ONCLUSION
Teaching is never an easy job. We may as well say it is one of the most difficult professions in the world. It also happens to be one of the most significant occupations of the world. So it leaves a teacher no choice but to do his job well, that is, be a good teacher. Of cour, teaching does not just come with huge responsibilities. It also comes with great rewards. Of all the jobs in the world, teachi
ng is without doubt the most rewarding. What better achievement can a person wish for besides a well- nurtured soul?
Rewards come with hard work. Teachers do face a lot of challenges today. Luckily, they are not alone on their arduous journey to be a good teacher. They have great people in the past to give them insight, among whom Confucius is the most influential. The Analects does shed some light on some of the fundamental problems we are facing now about education. It has never got outdated and never will. On the contrary, the more we read it, the more edifying it proves to be.
There’s no end to learning, and it is even more so with teaching. As a teacher, the author has always liked a ntence from the great poet Chu Yuan’s The Lament (《离骚》). In one of his speech, the former American President Obama translated the former part as “The road ahead will be long and our climb will be steep” (路漫漫其修远兮)，so we have to ek the consummation high and low(吾将上下而求索). Indeed, teaching is an endless journey that has to be pursued for a lifetime.
R EFERENCES
[1]Analects of Confucius. (2007). (B. Watson, Trans.). New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
[2]Confucius. (2008). (Chine-English edn). Confucius: The Analects (B. Yang & D. C. Lau, Trans.). Beijing: Zhonghua Book Co.
[3]Gibran, Kahlil. (2012). On Teaching. The Prophet. /onteaching.html
[4]Tong, Kar- wai. (2017). Confucianism, Compassion (Ren) and Higher Education: A Perspective from “the Analects of Confucius”.
P. Gibbs (ed.), The Pedagogy of Compassion at the Heart of Higher Education. Springer International Publishing AG.
A UTHORS
肖小燕，女，汉族，38岁，现任教于大学外语部。
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