Student/Instructor

 

Student / Instructor Relationship (Sajeji Do)

Even today in modern Korea, hidden Confucian values often appear through the veneer of twentieth century sophistication. The son that remained implicitly obedient throughout his life became an object of worshipful veneration when the parent died. This obedience and loyalty never wavered.

From the Confucian values the Korean learned a deep sense of respect for his teachers. This relationship has always been an important one. An old Korean proverb states, "father and mother are the parents who bring me up while a teacher is the parent who educates me ." This is the reason why a student was expected to pay as much respect to his teacher as he would to his parents.

Thus the personal bonds of loyalty and respect towards the teacher and parents formed a national and family structure.

Though a subject may owe fealty to his King, the King must show respect and loyalty to his teacher, as Alexander the Great did to Aristotle. Though a father may love his son, he can never become his teacher. The father/son relationship is emotional and all objectivity is lost. Without this objectivity, it is nearly impossible to institute and continue absolute control with the learning system.

There is an old Korean adage, "parents may procreate children but not their purpose in life." The greatest challenge and reward for a parent is being able to provide the guidance that will make the child a useful and respected member of the society.

Obviously, it is a parent's responsibility to provide the proper education that will broaden the child's knowledge and imbue him or her with a good sense of ethics and morality. It is often impossible for the parents themselves, however, to provide the correct education the child needs. This is because the parent hesitates to force discipline on their children in an objective manner. There is a subconscious fear that is will create a breach in their relationship. Confucius advised, "children should be exchanged and taught by concerned parents."

To teach another's child to become a person of good character according to the wishes of his or her own parents is a great responsibility. In the eyes of the student, his teachers will occupy an equal position with his own parents. There is truth in the ancient maxim that King, teacher, and father are one and equal.

There must certainly be a degree of love and understanding in all the above relationships, but there must also be a degree of objectivity. This same relationship must also be present in TaeKwon-Do. The responsibility of teaching this art lies with the instructors, whose eventual mission will be to teach students to be physically and mentally strong and to help contribute to a more peaceful world.

Certainly a dedicated and sincere instructor is an absolute necessity for any dojang. The dojang cannot grow and mature without a cadre of equally dedicated and sincere students. Accordingly, both instructor and student owe a debt of responsibility to each other, that can never be paid.

Instructors and students should observe the following points:

INSTRUCTORS: (Sabum)

STUDENTS: (Jeja)