Alleged myths

Alleged Myth 1

You must use honoring titles such as sifu, sensei, sabum, etc. to maintain a proper sense of respect in school.

Debunkers say

Your students should be quiet and respectful when you are teaching because they are there to learn and genuinely respect you, not because they have to refer to you by a title from a different language.

TKDTutor says

Debunkers seem to think it the military that fosters this social tradition of respecting different classes of people. If this type of thinking has validity, you would think other areas of society would think the same way. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Which came first the class structure in society or the military? Humans, as well as other animals, have a class structure. Examples in the animal world are the pecking order in chickens and the pack structure of wolves. Class structure helps people understand the world around them and how they relate to it. Just look around you and you see other instances in society where titles are used and where it is considered disrespectful to use first names. For examples: your doctor, your pastor, your parents, grandparents, etc., your teacher, professor, etc., a police officer, and a government official

When respect is not shown when addressing people, they lose respect for you. If you permit your child to address you by your first name, the child will no longer view you as the person in authority who sets standards and enforces them. Instead, you will be viewed as a friend who is expected to support everything the child does without criticism.