I’ve finished the big pile of grading I had for my larger class (33 students).  Hooray!  I still have to send comments to the twelve students in my tutorial (I haven’t forgotten you!) but the bulk of my grading chores is now behind me, and a two week Spring Break stretches out before me – during which I hope to finish a draft of Chapter Five of my book project.  The long and the short of it: I am a bit too burned out just now to generate original content for the blog (I might have to comment on the Spitzer story again, and his talk about healing his family – some Confucian overtones there, no?).  For now I will post, without comment, three short passages from Mencius on teaching (since grading brings that topic to mind).

    Kung-sun Ch’ou said: "Why is it that the noble-minded never teach their own children?"
   "The way people are, it’s impossible," replied Mencius.  "A teacher’s task is to perfect the student and if the student doesn’t improve, the teacher gets angry.  When the teacher gets angry, the student in turn feel hurt: ‘You demand perfection, but you’re nowhere near perfect yourself.’  So father and son would only hurt each other.  And it’s a tragedy when fathers and sons hurt each other.
   "The ancients taught each other’s children. That way fathers and sons never demand perfect virtue of one another.  If they demand perfect virtue of one another, they grow distant.  And nothing is more ominous than fathers and sons grown distant from one another."  (7.18) (4A.18)

   Mencius said: "It’s Humane music that goes inside people, not Humane words.  And it’s virtuous teaching that wins people over, not virtuous government.  The people fear virtuous government, but they love virtuous teaching.  Virtuous government can win people’s wealth, but virtuous teaching can win their hearts." (13.14) (7A.14)

   Mencius said: "The noble-minded teach in five ways.  They transform like rain coming in its season.  They realize Integrity.  They perfect talents.  They answer questions.  They cultivate themselves and so stand apart as examples.  These five ways are how the noble-minded teach."  (13.40) (7A.40)