The debate over physical and emotional abuse in the classroom has been reignited by a recent post on WeChat and Sina Weibo. The heartbreaking essay “Teacher, What I Want to Tell You” (“老师我想对您说”) was written by a fourth grade student, who had experienced abuse since the first grade, and whose parents initially shared the pictures with friends via WeChat.
Their poor daughter couldn’t understand why the teacher was constantly disappointed with her. “I try all I can to be a good kid in your eyes,” the student wrote, “I often have dreams about you beating me. When I wake up in the middle of the night, it’s hard to fall asleep again.”
Although corporal punishment was officially outlawed in China in 1986, a recent survey across elementary and secondary students showed that 15% of them had experienced some form of corporal punishment as a form of discipline at school. With the widespread use of mobile phones and social media, the issue is receiving more and more attention from Chinese media, with students now able to name and shame those teachers responsible.
Some parents made the argument that the system is to blame. As the pay for teachers is relatively low, many understaffed schools have no choice but to hire less qualified temporary substitute teachers. In this case, the parents had raised concerns to the school, only to be told that the teacher in question was a temporary member of staff who had already resigned.
More worryingly, however, is the other side of the story, whereby some parents believe that corporal punishment is an acceptable way of disciplining a student, particularly one who arrives late to class. In a poll on another educational Weibo account, over 80% of parents agreed that a student could hit the teacher back if the teacher had already slapped them. Thankfully other parents were also quick to point out that the discussion was moot, as teachers should never be able to hit their students in the first place.
[Images via Chinanews.com]
