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China Focus: Chinese Kids Granted More Say in School, but Even OK to Sack Teachers?

Posted on: Saturday, 12 November 2005, 09:00 CST

China Focus: Chinese Kids granted more say in school, but even OK to sack teachers?

by Xinhua writers Xu Lingui, Zhao Wei

JINAN, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- It's a sunny Thursday afternoon. Teacher Sun should be giving physical education (PE) lessons as she has in the past 14 years, but now she sits idly at the side of the sportsfield, watching her students running the track, guided by her colleagues.

Sun was suspended from the post after a recent critical work appraisal, even though she once gained numerous honors and awards for her teaching. But she was more frustrated to learn that the suspension was because she was rated "unfavored" by her students.

"It is an overt humiliation; I have never been through a nightmare like this," Sun said sadly, and with an air of puzzlement. "I mean how could school suspend me only because kids don't like me."

The unusual sacking came as the school authority of Jinan No. 7 Middle School in east China's Shandong Province pioneered student assessments into the annual teacher evaluation that determines who will stay in their posts the next academic year, an unprecedented practice that spurred debate on whether kids are "spoiled" by too much say in school affairs.

Like Sun, another 14 teachers failed the evaluation and were transferred to less important posts such as librarian and student- dorm administrators for one academic year.

School President Yin Shoufeng said though the evaluations underscore research ability and students' exam performances, just like all schools in China do, most of the 15 teachers were sacked for their "grave ratings" in student assessments.

"Students should have a say in deciding whether a teacher is qualified. Without granting them this right, it is hard to talk about mutual respect or equality between teachers and students," he said.

Chinese schools, like their counterparts in other East Asian countries, are known for teachers' absolute authority over students, a tradition passed down since Confucius' time about 2,000 years ago in which students show absolute obedience to teachers, accepting scorn, public dress-downs, or corporal punishment.

The tradition, which is believed to help Chinese teenagers gain better academic achievement than their Western peers, is crumbling in waves as China opens up and develops notions of student rights, education experts said.

Wei Wei, dean of the education department of elite Shandong Normal University, said she welcomed the idea, as it goes in line with China's recent school reforms aimed at instilling some equality in teacher-student relations by granting kids more say in class.

In the eastern city of Qingdao, misbehaving kids in middle school are allowed to request a hearing before being punished, if they feel they can reason things out. Students in Wuhan, capital of central Hubei Province, are entitled to argue with their teachers on ways of penalty once they break school rules.

"You can see the key of school teaching reforms initiated by the Ministry of Education since 2001 is all about giving students more rights and limiting school and teacher power," Wei said.

"I didn't expect our opinions could carry that weight; I was so surprised," said 18-year-old Wang Jiwei, a senior student of Jinan No. 7 middle school. "But it's great. I feel like I'm gaining my first important right after growing into adulthood."

Wang said he was asked to rate his teachers anonymously on an 18- question questionnaire concerning teacher's skills and professional ethics. Naturally, he rated down the teachers who abused him verbally or who attacked his fashion preferences.

But a handful of experts fear the reform has gone too far and could allure some desperate teachers to curry favor with students or push some stressed ones to the verge of mental collapse.

"Middle school teachers are already under heavy pressure these days, mainly to help kids earn good grades to enter college; and now to let kids assess them, I don't know how teachers are going to take this," said Quan Chaolu, a psychiatrist and retired professor of education with Shandong Normal University.

Yang Qianfang, a 40-year-old teacher of chemistry, said the new assessments obliged her to try hard to improve her teaching, but called it a dreadful load of pressure that sometimes made her really exhausted.

"I have seen a growing number of middle school teachers go crazy or commit suicide, so we better let kids focus on their teacher's good sides and not determine their career," Quan said.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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