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image source: dazhong daily

yesterday was teachers' day. the happiest thing for the teachers was the waves of gratitude and blessings from new and old students from all over the world. it was a happy moment for them.

in fact, a month ago, every teacher received a precious gift that was lost and then found again - a "ruler".

the ruler is a symbol of a teacher's educational and disciplinary power. in ancient private schools, if a student was naughty and did something wrong or did not complete his homework, the teacher would take out the ruler and "slap" the student's palm a few times. the ruler was equivalent to the teacher's majesty, and the students were afraid of it. later, the ruler used by the private school teacher to punish students became a multifunctional teaching stick in the hands of the teacher.

on august 26, the "opinions of the central committee of the communist party of china and the state council on promoting the spirit of educators and strengthening the construction of a high-quality and professional teaching team in the new era" (hereinafter referred to as the "opinions") was issued. among them, "strengthening the protection of teachers' rights and interests" stipulates "maintaining teachers' right to educational punishment and supporting teachers to actively discipline."

the implementation of these rules and opinions has returned the "ruler" to teachers from a policy level, which not only guarantees teachers' educational, management and evaluation rights, but also protects the healthy growth of students.

whether you were born in the 1980s, 1970s or 1960s, do you remember being punished by your teacher to stand, clean the blackboard, or hit with a pointer, textbook or chalk when you were naughty in school? think about those scenes as if they happened just yesterday. do you still hate a teacher for punishing you?

with the development of society, the educational environment has undergone tremendous changes. educational resources have become increasingly abundant, and the educational environment has become better and better. however, some educational problems that have arisen cannot be ignored.

students are becoming more and more spoiled, and they cannot be told off or punished. they get angry at the slightest setback. parents say they can’t control them, and society is helpless. some people ask, where is the teacher’s “ruler”? when did the teacher’s “ruler” go?

no one can tell the exact time. perhaps it is because since the implementation of happy education and praise education, students are more accustomed to growing up in the praise of teachers and the love of parents. when students make mistakes and are criticized or punished by teachers, they feel that they have suffered a great injustice and are proud to face up to resistance. after some parents know about it, they think that the teacher is hurting their children, and they quarrel with the teacher, complain to the school, and complain to the competent department. for this reason, the teacher is criticized and even punished, and the teacher's sense of powerlessness and frustration in "managing" children is getting stronger and stronger.

when more teachers feel that their "kindness is taken for granted" and "they are looking for trouble when there is nothing to do", some teachers believe that "it is better to do less than more", "only teach students knowledge, not how to be a good person" and "teaching is just a job to support a family, not a career to educate people" become the guiding principles.

this is teachers' compromise with reality.

on the day the "opinions" were released, many friends working in education forwarded the "opinions" on their wechat moments, which shows that teachers are not really willing to throw away the ruler and "only teach without being responsible for educating students."

a head of an education administration department also spoke on social media: a "kneeling" teacher cannot teach "standing" students.

i do not completely agree with this statement. but it is not a normal way for teachers to get along with students when teachers are cautious and timid in front of students. it is impossible for teachers in abnormal conditions to "teach, impart knowledge, and answer questions" with passion. it is also impossible to cultivate great teachers with the spirit of educators when their hands and feet are tied.

"trust your teacher and love his teachings, respect your teacher and follow his teachings, respect your teacher and follow his actions." a respected teacher must have rich knowledge, noble personality, awe-inspiring prestige, and be able to "combine strictness and love with students and teach students in accordance with their aptitude." how can teachers who do not have the power of educational punishment maintain the dignity of teachers, how can they make students respect their teachers and follow their actions, believe in their teachers and love their teachings? the relationship between teachers and students is by no means a simple business contract of teaching and learning.

teachers are like gardeners who not only need to water and fertilize, but also prune and trim the branches and leaves. this is a responsibility and a right. whether teachers dare to prune and trim the branches and leaves, and dare to pick up the "ruler", in addition to having a sense of professional responsibility, "explicit regulations" on the policy side, and the "backing" of the education authorities and schools, it is also inseparable from the understanding and support of parents.

the training of children in sports schools is very hard. in order to achieve good results, the coaches of sports schools have not thrown away the "ruler". it is "common practice" to punish students who fail to meet the requirements, but few parents have objections to this because they understand that "strict teachers produce excellent students." diving champion quan hongchan said that her gold medal coach chen ruolin "really cares about her in life and is really strict in training." if a girl understands the truth, her parents will naturally understand it too.

in fact, in ordinary schools, punishment education, happy education, and praise education are all important components of education. they are incomplete without one and are irreplaceable. teachers who dare not discipline students can hardly be said to be responsible teachers.

let me tell you a story from when i was in the first grade of junior high school. boy a wrote a love letter to girl b, and boy c accidentally found it and read the love letter in front of the whole class. girl b felt ashamed and cried. when the head teacher found out, he punished boy c to hug a big locust tree on the campus for a whole morning. this matter reached the ears of boy c's father. boy c's father told the teacher that this boy had been a troublemaker since he was a child, and he should be punished to hug the tree for a day.

punishing a student by making him hug a tree may seem a bit too harsh today, but this severe punishment taught boy c to respect other people's privacy. later, this mischievous boy became a successful person in the local area. i just wonder how parents would react if this happened today?

on the issue of education, parents and teachers have the same fundamental starting point, which is to hope that children grow up to be pillars of society with both moral integrity and talent. the differences are "whether it should be strict" and "how strict it should be", which requires mutual understanding and support between parents and teachers. among the new generation of parents that the author has come into contact with, more and more parents have begun to realize the importance of educational punishment to the healthy growth of their children.

it is very important to encourage teachers to pick up the "ruler" again and use it well. this involves the issue of the "scale" and methods of punishment.

punishment is a means, not an end. teachers should not impose corporal punishment or disguised corporal punishment on students due to impulsiveness. any harmful punishment is unacceptable. for example, standing in the corner, slapping students on the palm of their hands, and slapping students on the face are completely different punishments. grasp the "law" of punishment, exercise it within the scope permitted by morality and law, and do not cross the bottom line of morality and the red line of law; grasp the "intensity" of punishment, distinguish the severity and priority of students who violate discipline, persuade those who should be persuaded, and punish those who should be punished; grasp the "temperature" of punishment, and punishment must be based on love, and do not forget to give care while punishing.

as early as 2022, tianjin issued the "implementation rules of tianjin primary and secondary school education punishment rules (trial)", which clearly stated that educational punishment can be implemented when necessary, and at the same time made it clear that teachers should not directly cause physical pain by hitting or stabbing, and should not insult or violate students' personal dignity with discriminatory or insulting words and deeds. the rules have solved the problem of "scale" of punishment well and are practical.

today, we return the "ruler" to teachers for the sake of a better future for our children. what do you think?