Teacher's day controversy
| Editor's Note |
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September 10 marks the Teacher's Day of People's Republic of China. Teachers are some of the greatest people you come across in your life. They are not only selfless givers but also the mentors of your life. Over the past 27 years, China has celebrated this day for the important role teachers play for education on every 10th of September. However, teachers are facing problems in today's society. Teacher's Day also becomes a pressure both for teachers and students' parents. |
| Teaching Hardships |
| Low salary |
| ●It is reported that in a recent regulation released by central government, teachers' wages should be paid not less than the wages of public servants. The similar regulation was first published 18 years ago. However, teachers' salaries are relatively low today. ●Set Kaifeng, a normal city in Henan province, as an example. The primary teachers' average salary is about 3,000 yuan($ 474) a month, while the public servants can earn 4,500 yuan. ●In contrast, in South Korea a teacher's monthly salary can be up to 23,000 yuan, able to comfortably support a family of four, whose total expenses average 5,780 yuan per month. In Japan, a teacher's salary is higher than that of many other civil service jobs, with teachers who have been working for 30 years potentially earning 33,000 yuan a month. |
| Permanent tenure abolished |
| ●Beijing public schools to scrap teacher tenure Some tenure-tracked teachers may find themselves derailed after the Beijing education commission announced on September 9 that public school teachers would have to renew their certification at fixed periods, the Beijing News reported. Modeled after a Shanghai policy already in effect, the Beijing Municipal Education Commission has outlined a plan to end teacher tenure in the city's elementary and middle schools, the paper said. ●Weibo voices: @爱情的离骚: I don't think the new measure will improve education quality. In fact, the opposite! Teachers take on lots of pressure and responsibility while contributing a lot to society, and yet are grossly underpaid for it. This policy should be applied to civil servants instead. @Ring晴晴: I agree, as many teachers do not actively improve their knowledge and methods after they take a job and just give the same old lessons. This is plain irresponsible. @梦幻饲养员: Teachers should be constantly improving and updating their knowledge base. @evovvl: Teachers should be evaluated on their values. If teachers don't educate with the right values, they should be fired. @菜菜浪人: I support it. It could clean out the ranks a bit, because it's quite a mixed bunch now. |
| Big pressures |
| ●According to a survey by the Journalism School of Fudan University and the Oriental Education Times that comprised 1,426 teachers, 87 percent feel that their jobs are highly stressful. ●The key pressure comes from students' academic performances, which is related to their incomes. ●“one day as a teacher，always a teacher”. It is hard for a teacher to transfer to another job. |
| Related reports |
| ●Chinese president, premier call for improved quality, equality in education ●Chinese leader calls for efforts to promote heroic teachers |
| Gift Dilemma |
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●Giving gifts to teachers in essence is a common practice throughout the world, such as in the US where students often give their teachers token gifts around Christmas or at the end of the school year. ●In today's China, parents often send pricey gifts to the teachers, while twenty years ago, a home-made card would have been a great present for Teacher's Day. |
| The reason for the phenomenon |
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| ●It has something to do with the changing social morality. When it became an unspoken rule that a bribe was the key to getting something you want, one came to see that even teachers were not immune to prevalent social attitudes ●In China's educational system, parents' or students' rights are not ensured. So bribing teachers is one way for parents to make sure teachers will treat their child well. |
| Online polls( 23,795 joined, source: sohu.com) |
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| View Points |
Chinese media digist: Low pay, public opinion diminish teachers' dignity
●The Beijing Times ran an article with the headline "Everyone Must Protect Teachers' Dignity" saying one real way to show our appreciation is to reflect on the immense pressure on teachers, and the fact that with all the opportunities for bribery that come with an exam-oriented education system, it is difficult for teachers to resist.
●The Changjiang Daily echoed this view, saying that this current public image crisis is the product of the times, citing recent scandals such as plagiarized essays, teachers abandoning students during earthquakes and cases of molestation. Such incidents have shaped recent attitudes toward teachers' dignity, morality and integrity.
●Chrsi.com, a higher education information site, said despite their contributions to society, teachers do not get the understanding and recognition they deserve, blaming unfair public opinion for restricting their advancement in society.
●The Xinhua News Agency blog said "We owe our teachers three debts". First, we lack sincere respect and veneration for them. Also, we are still far from investing enough into education, such as increased salaries. Finally, we owe teachers a hope for reform, such as the imbalance of development in compulsory education and the bureaucracy of the administrative-style education system.
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