According to SCMP, a kindergarten in China is becoming the center of attention after a video of rules of conduct for parents went viral.
Ms. Wang, the school principal, gathered the parents at the Hanlin Kindergarten in Shanxi Province. The parents then placed their right hands on their chests and recited an oath, according to the Yellow River newspaper.
Parents chanted the principles, including “Do not use Wechat (a messaging app in China - PV) to urge teachers to wash or change your child’s clothes” or “Never get angry if you find your child has a small bruise from playing around at school”.
Other commitments include parents not threatening the school if their child misbehaves at home or not blaming the school if their child falls ill.
Parents should recite the oath: “Under no circumstances will we scold teachers. We choose to communicate with teachers in the most positive way. We need to trust teachers because they have to look after many children and they have solid expertise.”
The video has sparked a wave of debate about the relationship between parents and teachers. To date, the topic has been viewed more than 13 million times on Weibo.
Many people oppose this practice of the above kindergarten and believe that they have no right to instruct and manage the parents of the students.
Because setting strict rules of conduct is a way of teaching parents, while schools can resolve problems tactfully and delicately.
Meanwhile, some others sympathized with the teachers in the video and called on people to look at it from the perspective of educators.
Some people think that parents need to be more understanding because looking after many children at the same time is very difficult, and many parents worrying, urging, and blaming will make teachers stressed and pressured.
Facing the strong public reaction, the school's principal Wang was also surprised because she did not expect the pledge to receive such a strong backlash.
Ms. Wang said her goal is to help parents better understand teachers' responsibilities, thereby avoiding doing things that hinder or affect their work.
For example, teachers will make students drink 9 glasses of water a day, so parents do not need to constantly remind teachers.
On September 4, the local education authority announced that it had criticized the kindergarten and suspended principal Wang from work, citing unreasonable points in the commitment and the need for further investigation.
In China, parents are willing to spend large sums of money to enroll their children in quality kindergartens. Therefore, their expectations of teachers are very high.
