Post by AngelaG on Dec 2, 2004 12:21:00 GMT
This could end up being quite a controversial subject I suspect. I think it’ll be quite interesting to get input from those who instruct and those who are students. I also think it’ll be interesting where people think the difference between children and adults comes in. I've not got any specifics in mind with this, I just think it's fairly interesting subject matter. Please note I will use “him” only for ease of writing replace with “her” where necessary
In the dojo Sensei is king. You start when he tells you to start and you stop when he tells you to stop. You do whatever technique he asks you to the best of your ability and you don’t answer him back or give him cheek. Indeed, your very chances of grading rest with him. Even the name “Sensei” demands respect common translations being “Teacher” or “One who has gone before”. I think most people would agree with this.
However once you have bowed out of the lesson where does that leave you? If you are an adult do you find that once the lesson is ended that you are suddenly two equal adults again? Does your instructor find it hard to ever snap out of his “Sensei” role, or do you find it hard to snap out of “student” role? Do you think that the status should ever change out of lesson time? Are you carrying his bags around or doing chores for him in your free time? Or are you friends with them as soon as it’s finished?
From a child’s perspective I don’t see anything wrong with keeping a teacher/student role. There is nothing wrong with teaching children respect by giving them authoritative figures to look up to, whether this be parents, school teachers or Sensei. Perhaps it is a good thing to remain a bit aloof. I know that even as an adult if I see one of my old school teachers in the street I still refer to them as Mr or Mrs X.
I want to take this a bit further. How much should Sensei’s influence be on your everyday life? If as an instructor you see one of the children out of class time beating up another child so you take them aside in the lesson and tell them this is unacceptable behaviour. Do you feel it brings disrepute to your club? I personally think most people would say that there is nothing wrong with an instructor reprimanding a child for bad behaviour he has observed out of club time (I may be wrong). Is he morally within his rights to stop the child from attending his club? I know he can, his club, his rules, but morally is his deciding what’s right and wrong out of club time a right thing to do?
Again we go further. Let’s apply a similar situation to an adult. Sensei has been out one weekend and seen one of his adult students in an inebriated situation; the student is acting rowdy and perhaps even being a little abusive. The student then attends the lesson the next week and is pulled up by sensei for his behaviour. The student questions whether this is any of the Sensei’s business, as within the club confines he acts impeccably. Does the student have a point or is the Sensei right to try and uphold the morality he teaches within the lesson time?
Maybe you thought that in the above case the Sensei was wrong to interfere. What a student does in their free time is up to them? So let’s test where the boundaries of acceptability lie. Take a case where a student attends class every week. They are the model student in class time and someone that you feel every student should aspire to be; punctual, courteous, giving 110%, gently guiding their kohai whilst looking up to their sempai. Sensei is more than pleased with this student and really thinks they may go somewhere. Until he starts noticing little niggling signs. Perhaps the student’s partner comes in with a black eye one week and a split lip a few weeks later. Doubts start to creep into Sensei’s mind. Is the person he is teaching to fight being physically abusive to their partner? Should he start prying? Is he within his rights to refuse to teach the student based on nothing more than his own doubts? (Again I mean morally, I know literally he can teach who he wants). Would it be right for him to take the student aside and demand to know how their partner got their injuries?
I would think we are in some pretty deep waters here. If you are anything like me perhaps you are undecided. One minute you think that it is right and the next maybe not?
In the dojo Sensei is king. You start when he tells you to start and you stop when he tells you to stop. You do whatever technique he asks you to the best of your ability and you don’t answer him back or give him cheek. Indeed, your very chances of grading rest with him. Even the name “Sensei” demands respect common translations being “Teacher” or “One who has gone before”. I think most people would agree with this.
However once you have bowed out of the lesson where does that leave you? If you are an adult do you find that once the lesson is ended that you are suddenly two equal adults again? Does your instructor find it hard to ever snap out of his “Sensei” role, or do you find it hard to snap out of “student” role? Do you think that the status should ever change out of lesson time? Are you carrying his bags around or doing chores for him in your free time? Or are you friends with them as soon as it’s finished?
From a child’s perspective I don’t see anything wrong with keeping a teacher/student role. There is nothing wrong with teaching children respect by giving them authoritative figures to look up to, whether this be parents, school teachers or Sensei. Perhaps it is a good thing to remain a bit aloof. I know that even as an adult if I see one of my old school teachers in the street I still refer to them as Mr or Mrs X.
I want to take this a bit further. How much should Sensei’s influence be on your everyday life? If as an instructor you see one of the children out of class time beating up another child so you take them aside in the lesson and tell them this is unacceptable behaviour. Do you feel it brings disrepute to your club? I personally think most people would say that there is nothing wrong with an instructor reprimanding a child for bad behaviour he has observed out of club time (I may be wrong). Is he morally within his rights to stop the child from attending his club? I know he can, his club, his rules, but morally is his deciding what’s right and wrong out of club time a right thing to do?
Again we go further. Let’s apply a similar situation to an adult. Sensei has been out one weekend and seen one of his adult students in an inebriated situation; the student is acting rowdy and perhaps even being a little abusive. The student then attends the lesson the next week and is pulled up by sensei for his behaviour. The student questions whether this is any of the Sensei’s business, as within the club confines he acts impeccably. Does the student have a point or is the Sensei right to try and uphold the morality he teaches within the lesson time?
Maybe you thought that in the above case the Sensei was wrong to interfere. What a student does in their free time is up to them? So let’s test where the boundaries of acceptability lie. Take a case where a student attends class every week. They are the model student in class time and someone that you feel every student should aspire to be; punctual, courteous, giving 110%, gently guiding their kohai whilst looking up to their sempai. Sensei is more than pleased with this student and really thinks they may go somewhere. Until he starts noticing little niggling signs. Perhaps the student’s partner comes in with a black eye one week and a split lip a few weeks later. Doubts start to creep into Sensei’s mind. Is the person he is teaching to fight being physically abusive to their partner? Should he start prying? Is he within his rights to refuse to teach the student based on nothing more than his own doubts? (Again I mean morally, I know literally he can teach who he wants). Would it be right for him to take the student aside and demand to know how their partner got their injuries?
I would think we are in some pretty deep waters here. If you are anything like me perhaps you are undecided. One minute you think that it is right and the next maybe not?