諺語 · a single proverb
因材施教
What does 因材施教 (yīn cái shī jiào) mean?
因材施教 (yīn cái shī jiào) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "teach according to the material." In use it means: Adapt the teaching to the student, not the other way around. Different people learn differently, and the good teacher shapes the lesson to fit the learner. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Fire note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Monkey.
Literally: "teach according to the material."
The reading
The same lesson at the same volume in the same way to thirty different students serves maybe four of them. The teacher who adjusts the angle, the pace, the example, the entry point to each student is not working harder. They are working more honestly, admitting that one size fits one person and everybody else is either bored or lost.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Confucian educational principle; Analects 論語 interpretation by Zhu Xi 朱熹
Sits beside
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Wisdom & Learning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Monkey, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 因材施教 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 因材施教 (yīn cái shī jiào) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Confucian educational principle; Analects 論語 interpretation by Zhu Xi 朱熹. It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 因材施教?
In Mandarin it is yīn cái shī jiào. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 因材施教 aloud in Mandarin.