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The recently released "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Carrying Forward the Spirit of Educators and Strengthening the Construction of a High-Quality and Professional Teacher Team in the New Era" clearly states that the right of teachers to educate and punish should be maintained, and teachers should be supported to actively discipline. Schools and relevant departments should guarantee teachers to perform their educational duties in accordance with the law and support teachers in safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests.

"Maintain teachers' educational disciplinary power and support teachers' active discipline" - it can be expected that the implementation of the Opinions will effectively guarantee teachers' fulfillment of their educational responsibilities. Only when teachers' fulfillment of their educational responsibilities is guaranteed, can teachers' role as the foundation and source of education be guaranteed.

When I was conducting research in some high schools in the Midwest, I learned that due to the lack of necessary guarantees for teachers' power to punish and discipline, some teachers often have a sense of "powerlessness."

The "powerlessness" of some teachers stems from the fact that some students lack due respect for teachers, which puts teachers in a "weak position" in daily education and discipline management. Some teachers said that the original intention of the relevant management regulations was to protect the rights and interests of students, but in practice, some students sometimes use them as a weapon to bargain with teachers. Once a problem occurs, public opinion tends to be more biased towards students, further constraining teachers and increasing the difficulty of discipline management.

Some teachers said that some students react too strongly to the teacher's criticism in class, and some students even label the teacher. If a teacher criticizes a student, the student may retort, and some students even shout: "You are a teacher, you must have high moral standards!"

Another teacher said that although the school has a clear ban on bringing mobile phones into the teaching area, some students always find ways to circumvent the rules. Some students even use fierce words or even extreme behavior to threaten that if the teacher confiscates their mobile phones, they will jump off the building. Faced with such a situation, teachers have to balance between principles and safety.

Faced with these changes, many teachers said that they could only choose to endure for fear of causing greater disputes, which put them in a passive and weak position, becoming "invisible weaklings". Teachers' legitimate measures to maintain order and discipline are subject to many invisible constraints. Some teachers can only move forward and backward between maintaining "strict discipline" and "letting things go". The loss of authority makes it difficult to carry out some work, and teachers can only sigh that "there is no place to use my energy".

Teachers are also deeply worried about the lack of learning enthusiasm and sense of purpose of some students who grew up in a complex environment. Many of these students come from left-behind families, whose parents work away from home for a long time to make a living. Although parents who have left their hometowns provide their children with relatively rich material conditions, they often lack spiritual companionship and value guidance for their children. The special growth environment makes some students appear empty and confused. Some do not have clear ideals and beliefs for the future, lack motivation to study, and may pay more attention to the happiness in front of them, but lack long-term planning. The lack of support and cooperation from parents also makes some teachers feel powerless and frustrated in teaching.

The "powerlessness" of some teachers reflects the current educational dilemma faced by some regions, especially the central and western regions. Despite facing many challenges, many county middle school teachers in the central and western regions are still working hard to improve the current educational situation through innovative teaching methods, strengthening communication, and deepening home-school cooperation.

To solve these problems, we first need the joint efforts and cooperation of the government, schools, parents and students to reshape the education ecology. Secondly, we need to re-examine and explore the value of traditional culture, creatively absorb the value of "respecting teachers and valuing education" in traditional culture, and internalize it as part of the modern education system. Thirdly, for left-behind students, in addition to material support, we should also pay more attention to spiritual companionship and guidance to help them establish a correct outlook on life and values.

(Jiang Anli is an associate professor at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, Beijing Normal University, and a researcher at the Rural Governance Research Center)