Sample Critical Challenge

Confucius on child-parent relations

Taken from
Critical Challenges in Social Studies for
Junior High Students
Authors
Pat Clarke, Linda Clode, Jude Coffin, David Ellison,
Mark Frien, Bruce Haddow, Andy Johnston, Kit
Krieger, Carmen Kuczma, Sue MacDonald, Tom
Morton, Deirdre Moore, Sharla Narduzzi, Alison
Stevenson, Jane Turner, Elizabeth Wilson
Editors
Roland Case, LeRoi Daniels, Phyllis Schwartz

Synopsis
Students examine the qualities that should govern the
relationship between themselves and their parents and
then compare these with the qualities espoused by
Confucius. Students learn about Confucian teachings by
interpreting quotations from the Analects. The challenge
concludes with students deciding whether or not The Critical Thinking Consortium
Confucius would be a good parent. Education Building
University of British Columbia
6365 Biological Sciences Road
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4
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© 2006 The Critical Thinking Consortium. Permission granted to duplicate the blackline masters (i.e., briefing sheets, data charts, documents,
assessment rubrics) for individual classroom use only. Duplication of the suggested teaching activities or use of the blackline masters for other
purposes are not permitted without prior written permission from The Critical Thinking Consortium.
 Confucius on child-parent relations
Critical Challenge
Critical Question
Would Confucius be a good parent?

Overview
Students examine the qualities that should govern the relationship
between themselves and their parents and then compare these with
the qualities espoused by Confucius. Students learn about Confu-
cian teachings by interpreting quotations from the Analects. The
challenge concludes with students deciding whether or not Confu-
cius would be a good parent.

Requisite Tools
Background • contemporary views on parenting
knowledge
• Confucian teachings on parenting and
filial piety

Criteria for • criteria for good parent-child

judgment relationships

Critical thinking • point of view

vocabulary

Thinking • data charts

strategies

Habits of mind

Suggested Activities
◆ Provide students with a brief introduction to Confucius and to his
teachings focussing on the Analects which were recorded by his
students in the form of answers that Confucius gave to their
Confucious,
questions. (You may ask students to read “Confucius: A Great his teachings
Teacher” and “The Sayings of Confucius” in Patterns of Civiliza-
tions, Volume 1, pp. 28–30.)

© Roland Case and LeRoi Daniels 1 Critical Challenges Across the Curriculum
 ◆ Much Confucian teaching describes good conduct—the proper
behaviour expected of people. Before looking at some of his
teachings on the relationship between parents and children, invite
students to consider the qualities of good conduct that should guide
their relations with their parents, and vise versa. Organize students
into small groups to discuss the qualities of good conduct that
should govern relations between parent and child.
◆ Encourage students to consider these relationships not only from
their present point of view as young people but also from a parental
point of view. Ask students what they would expect from their
children and what, as parents, they would owe to their children. point of view

◆ As students reach agreement, ask each group member to list the

qualities of good conduct that are important for the relationship in
the first column titled “Contemporary views of the qualities of good
conduct” on Data Chart #1: Good conduct between parent and contemporary views
of parenting
child (Blackline Master).
◆ Select members from each group to list the qualities for each
relationship on the chalk board or on poster paper. As a class,
review the lists from each group and prepare a master list summa-
rizing the collective findings of the groups. Based on the discus-
sion, encourage students to add or delete qualities from their
personal lists.
◆ Direct students to consider Confucian teachings on the relations
between parent and child. Explain that the dominant Confucian
view is captured in the notion of “filial piety” (You may ask
students to read “The Confucian Code of Conduct” in Patterns of
Civilizations, Volume 1, page 30).
◆ Assign students to work in their small groups to learn more about
the Confucian view of the relationship of parent to child. For this
activity, students will need two handouts: Briefing Sheet: Quota-
tions from the Analects (Blackline Master), and Data Chart #2: Confucian view of
parenting
Interpreting Confucian views of good conduct (Blackline Master).
◆ Ask students to discuss each quote found in the briefing sheet by
first interpreting the saying for meaning, then by re-phrasing in
their own words the implied quality (or qualities) advocated by
Confucius. Students are to record their group’s decisions about the
implied quality (or qualities) for each quotation on Data Chart #2.
◆ Once completed, students are to summarize their findings in the
second column titled “Confucian view of the qualities of good
conduct” on Data Chart #1: Good conduct between parent and
child (Blackline Master).
◆ Ask each group to list the qualities for each relationship on the chalk
board or on poster paper. As a class, review the lists from each
group and prepare a master list summarizing the collective conclu-
sions of the groups about Confucian teachings. Based on the

© Roland Case and LeRoi Daniels 2 Critical Challenges Across the Curriculum
 discussion, encourage students to add or delete from their list of
Confucian qualities of good conduct.
◆ Arrange students in pairs, assigning each pair two roles: Partner A
and Partner B. For this activity, students are to use Data Chart #1.
Each pair is to discuss the similarities and differences in the two
columns—the contemporary and Confucian views of good conduct
between parents and children. Partner A is to summarize in a short
paragraph the essentials of the “Contemporary Views of Good
Conduct,” and Partner B is to summarize the essentials of the
“Confucian View of Good Conduct.”
◆ Select several pairs of students to share their summaries with the
class. Raise the question of how to determine whether these
differing views of child-parent relations are equally desirable.
criteria for good
Discuss with the class the criteria for judging the adequacy of these relations
views. Suggested criteria might include that the child-parent rela-
tions be consistent with
• the long-term best interests of children;
• the long-terms interests of parents;
• society’s needs.
◆ Present the critical question to the class:
Would Confucius be a good parent?
Assign students to write a paragraph in class in which they use the
acquired information to answer the question and justify their
position in light of the agreed-upon criteria.

Evaluation
◆ Evaluate the paired paragraphs (Partner A and B) on how well the
essential features of the contemporary or Confucian views of child-
parent relations are depicted.
Evaluate the critical challenge paragraphs on the following:
• attention to the agreed-upon criteria when giving reasons why
Confucius is or is not a good parent;
• accuracy of claims about Confucius;
• plausibility of claims about the consequences of Confucian
views.

© Roland Case and LeRoi Daniels 3 Critical Challenges Across the Curriculum
 Extension
◆ Invite students to consider what could be borrowed from a Confu-
cian view of child-parent relations to improve our own contempo-
rary views.
◆ Discuss whether there is a common set of essential qualities of
child-parent relations or whether desirable child-parent relations
depend largely on cultural and historical norms.

© Roland Case and LeRoi Daniels 4 Critical Challenges Across the Curriculum
 Good conduct
between parent and child
Relationship Contemporary views of the Confucian view of the qualities
qualities of good conduct of good conduct

Parent to
child

Child to
parent
Data Chart #1

Blackline Master 5 Critical Challenges Across the Curriculum

 Notes
Quotations from the
Confucian Analects
(From Arthur Waley. The Analects of Confucius. London: George Allen and Unwin,
1964.)

Quotation #1 The Master said, A young man’s duty is to behave

well to his parents at home and to his elders abroad,
to be cautious in giving promises and punctual [on
time] in keeping them, to have kindly feelings
toward everyone, but seek the intimacy of the Good.
If, when all that is done, he has any energy to spare,
then let him study the polite arts [learn to recite
songs, practice archery, deportment and the like].
Book 1, #6, p. 84

Quotation #2 The Master said, While a man’s father is alive, you

can only see his intentions; it is when his father dies
that you discover whether or not he is capable of
carrying them out.
Book 1, #11, p. 86

Quotation #3 Meng I Tzu asked about the treatment of parents.

The Master said, Never disobey! When Fan Ch’ih
was driving his carriage for him, the Master said,
Meng asked me about the treatment of parents and I
said, Never disobey! Fan Ch’ih said, In what sense
did you mean it? The Master said, While they are
alive, serve them according to ritual. When they die,
bury them according to ritual and sacrifice to them
according to ritual [ritual implies obedience and
dutiful practices].
Book 2, #5, pp. 88–89

Quotation #4 Meng Wu Po asked about the treatment of parents.

The Master said, Behave in such a way that your
father and mother have no anxiety about you, except
concerning your health.
Book 2, #6, p. 89
Briefing Sheet

Quotation #5 Tzu–yu asked about the treatment of parents. The

Master said, ‘Filial sons’ nowadays are people who
see to it that their parents get enough to eat. But even
Page 1 of 2

dogs and horses are cared for to that extent. If there

is no feeling of respect, wherein lies the difference?
Book 2, #7, p. 89

Blackline Master 6 Critical Challenges Across the Curriculum

 Notes
Quotation #6 Tzu–hsia asked about the treatment of parents. The
Master said, It is the demeanor [expression of
approval from one’s parents] that is difficult. Filial
piety [children’s devotion to their parents] does not
consist merely in young people undertaking the hard
work, when anything has to be done, or serving their
elders first with wine and food. It is something much
more than that.
Book 2, #8, p. 89

Quotation #7 The Master said, In serving his father and mother a

man may gently remonstrate [disagree] with them.
But if he sees that he has failed to change their
opinion, he should resume an attitude of deference
[give in] and not thwart [stop] them: may feel
discouraged, but not resentful.
Book 4, #18, p. 105

Quotation #8 The Master said, While father and mother are alive, a
good son does not wander far afield; or if he does so,
goes only where he has said he was going.
Book 4, #19, pp. 105–106

Quotation #9 The Master said, If for the whole three years of

mourning a son manages to carry on household
exactly as in his father’s day, then he is a good son
indeed.
Book 4, #20, p. 106

Quotation #10 The Master said, Those who err on the side of
strictness are few indeed!
Book 4, #23, p. 106
Briefing Sheet
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Blackline Master 7 Critical Challenges Across the Curriculum

 Interpreting Confucian
views of good conduct
Quote Statements in Inferred qualities
quotation of good conduct

#1

#2

#3

#4
Data Chart #2
Page 1 of 2

#5

Blackline Master 8 Critical Challenges Across the Curriculum

 Quote Statements in Inferred qualities
quotation of good conduct

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10
Data Chart #2
Page 2 of 2

Blackline Master 9 Critical Challenges Across the Curriculum