Dangerous minds

By He Na (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-27 09:42

In China, the relationship between teacher and student has always been very close, far more so than in the West. Teachers show their devotion to students through their tutoring and their care for students' everyday lives. This dedication has always won them children's respect. In the case of these attacks, however, the students have come to regard their teachers as enemies, even as targets to destroy.

Liu Xiangping, professor of psychology at Beijing Normal University, blames the deteriorating relationship on the "cultural revolution" (1966-76). "Many fine traditions, especially students' respect for their teachers, were badly damaged during that time," he says.

The declining moral standard of some teachers nowadays is also partly to blame, says Liu. "Teachers are known as the engineers of people's souls but some of them don't live up to the name any more."

Some teachers, he says, have also set bad examples through their behavior and by taking advantage of students by asking for money from their parents. "What they did stained teachers' image in students' hearts," Liu says.

He also believes the current appraisal system needs scrutinizing. Teachers often force their students to study and get high marks, motivated by a system that links their wages to students' scores.

"Students' mental state can easily buckle under mounting pressure from both parents and teachers," Liu says. Many teachers favor good students and are indifferent to others. "Many students feel disappointed and abandoned," he says. "Once the pressure exceeds students' capabilities, they will seek ways to vent their anger and teachers are always their targets."

Liao Yi, vice-director of the Guangdong Comparative Education Research Association, has a theory that being an only child and mollycoddled at home has made some children too self-centered and disrespectful. "As long as they are happy, they don't care about how others feel," says Liao. "They do not like helping others, being part of a team or showing respect to teachers."

For these children to mature, says Liao, they need guidance from their families and schools to create healthy values and morals. In today's economic climate, however, intense competition for qualifications and employment is forcing schools and parents to focus on pragmatism and neglect the cultivation of healthy values.

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention says that more than 16 million people in China have psychological problems, 30 percent of them below the age of 17. University student accounts for 16 to 30 percent of the total.

However, there are only 30,000 professional psychiatrists and psychologists in the whole country. The World Health Organization says the United States has 13.7 psychiatrists for every 100,000 people. In Asia, it is just 1.3.

The Ministry of Education says teachers' safety must be protected, and moral education and psychological counseling must be improved in schools.

Teachers also need to shape up - if they don't communicate better with students and pay attention to their behavior, it is feared the attacks will continue. Criticism and lack of empathy could easily provoke students' antipathy, says Dong Jian, professor at Nanjing University. "Teachers should be strict with their students but their criticism should be based on love and goodwill."

Luo Jing, an English teacher at Changchun No 6 High School, says: "I got on well with my students, even though we had difficult moments. Of course I was very angry when students made mistakes or did not concentrate on their studies but I always try to calm myself down first.

"I try to avoid using hurtful words while criticizing them, for such words not only greatly strike their confidence but also undermine the relationship between us ... and in the end I often give them some encouragement as well."

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