Likes
Primary and middle school teachers will have more room in punishing their students for better teaching results.” A new regulation recently initiated by China’s Ministry of Education has sparked a heated discussion nationwide.
Being categorized into three major types, namely naming and shaming, forced standing, and suspension of class for no longer than one week, this regulation comes at a time when many Chinese teachers now feel mounting pressure in dealing with misbehaving students given that many parents worry about the physical and mental consequences of punishments.
Many people support such effort believing that the misbehaved kids will perform better after those methods. Zhang Lifeng, a 43-year-old parent in Tengzhou, east China’s Shandong Province and Ma Yihao, an eighth grader at Guangdong Experimental Middle School, south China’s Guangdong Province are typical of those advocators. While both agreed on its role in preventing students from going astray, Zhang also added that severe punishments such as suspension from class for no longer than one week could be improved to better protect students' self-esteem and save parents time.
Some people, however, remain discontent with the proposal. Qiu Xiaotong, a seventh grader at the same school expressed her concern, "It is normal for adolescent students to make mistakes. I don't think punishments are necessary. They may cause more trouble."
Voice from our school has also been heard. Chen Xianzhen, a professor with the School of Education said punishments are just a part of the teaching process. The regulation will at least help students better understand the consequences of misbehaving and the role of parents is equally important during the implementation of the regulation. Chen also said public opinion is important to perfect the regulation and schools need to extensively collect opinions from students and teachers as well as parents.
Still in its phase of soliciting public opinions, the regulation will need to traverse a long way before officially taking into effect. It asks schools to draft their own regulations accordingly to clarify the rules for teachers in taking disciplinary actions against their students. The public can submit their opinions on the regulation through the website www.chinalaw.gov.cn, and via post or email before Dec. 22, 2019.
Source: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-11/26/c_138584608.htm
What to read next:
