|
Letters and Blogs
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-28 08:00 Teachers in a tight situation Nowadays, when you surf online, you'll definitely see many video clips and photographs on school violence, which makes people in our society, especially the educators, wring their hands in despair. One of the visuals is about a village girl student slapped by her classmates on the stairway of a school. She was innocently and quietly standing downstairs, while a mafia-type girl sat upstairs and scolded her. In the mean time, other girls beat her or kicked her. Another case is of two older students grabbing a younger one and pushing him into a corner to block his escape, and punching him. When a teacher passed by, he asked them to stop. But they paid no attention to the teacher's command and continued the assault. Then the teacher kicked them and let go the younger student. When the teacher reported the violence, the principal insisted the teacher's behavior was dangerous and unprofessional and would only exacerbate the situation. Later, pressured by parents of the students who were kicked by the teacher, the teacher was punished and even warned of dismissal. Now teachers are being blamed for much of the troubles in the schools. Nowadays, teachers have changed their attitudes. They are not willing to take risks in tangling with the disruptive students. The burden on them is heavy: They are expected to be mother, father, peacekeeper, police officer, playground monitor and lunchroom patrol. However, teachers should be dedicated people who, despite immense problems, manage to produce the miraculous blend of care, discipline, energy, learning and imagination. Recently, the Ministry of Education released a regulation that makes clear that teachers have the right to criticize students. According to an online straw poll, 63 percent of all respondents agree that teachers' criticism of students is a good thing. And, 28 percent say that criticism is within the teachers' sphere of choices. Only 4.5 percent argue that criticism may injure the students' self-esteem. The cases in US schools may be a warning for us. In the US, shooting in school has outraged the nation for many times. Metal detectors were installed in some schools through which all students must pass when entering and leaving a school. Various state legislators submitted bills to toughen the laws on juveniles - to allow life sentences for children as young as 10, and to permit the capital punishment for those of 14 years. We don't expect the same thing to happen to Chinese students. Schools should enforce proper discipline. Head teachers should be conscientious enough and correct the conduct of students to let them know what is wrong. All in all, the rejuvenation of our country rests upon education. Teachers should shoulder their responsibilities and be the scholarly mentors and benevolent friends of their students. Wang Su via e-mail (China Daily 08/28/2009 page8) |
