The slaps of failure

This school violence case once again shows that educators have failed in both heart and love towards students - the subjects who need to be educated and loved to perfect their human personality.

Out of a bit of mischief, the 6th grader emphasized the word Thanh in the word Thanh Hoa to tease his friend, because his friend's mother's name is Thanh. A common joke among teenagers.(Rural children like us, in the past, also used to call out your mother's name to tease)was blown up into "cursing your mother", into a "swearing" error (which was actually not as "obscene" as the teacher said).

Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thuy during class. Photo: Internet

However, the homeroom teacher, not knowing the ins and outs of the story, quickly applied the punishment she had set out earlier, forcing the classmates to each slap the student in the face 10 times who was considered to have "violated".

As a result, I received 230 slaps from my friends and one more fierce slap from my homeroom teacher. The most painful and also the most thought-provoking were the 10 tearful slaps from a cousin. Like my friends, this cousin slapped me while crying, but still had to slap me. Because"If you don't slap enough, or don't slap hard enough, I will make you slap me back."

After this "torture", the little 6th grade student had to be hospitalized with both cheeks blackened, swollen, and difficulty chewing and swallowing.

6th grade student hospitalized after receiving 230 slaps. Photo: Internet

This is really a very sad story for those who love young people!

There have been too many cases of teachers punishing students in this way for the sake of revenge, and some have had to be disciplined, some even expelled from the profession. Most recently, there was the case of a teacher forcing students to drink blackboard cleaning water. The Ministry of Education and Training has also issued Directive No. 1737/CT-BGDDT on strengthening management and improving teachers' ethics, including to rectify violations of teachers' ethics.

The Ministry of Education and Training has repeatedly affirmed that it will resolutely expel teachers who seriously violate teachers' ethics from the profession... How could this teacher not know such regulations? As a teacher, she is also the mother of her children, why does she still disregard both reason and humanity to impose such a barbaric punishment on her students?

What is worth mentioning is that with this indirect punishment, she has invisibly turned the immature children who were once close friends into strangers, indifferent, and cruel to their classmates. Perhaps nowhere else in the world can there be a scene of 23 students lining up, walking forward one by one, each slapping their friend in the face 10 times, and they have to slap enough, slap hard to satisfy the teacher.

This image is truly haunting not only for that poor student but also for the educational environment.

Haunting because not a single student dared to speak up to the teacher to avoid slapping their friend. There was even a case where a student slapped a relative, slapping his brother while crying. Clearly, the fear of the teacher was greater than friendship and humanity. No matter how it was justified, the method of education by love failed, replaced by education by violence.

It can be said that the 231 slaps on the face of that little student had caused him pain and trauma. But it was even more painful because it was proof of the failure of education. Please do not use harsh words to talk about the unworthy action of a teacher - a profession that takes love and transformation as its top priority.

Please also do not use overly academic language - which is only for scientists - to question the children:"Where is your critical spirit?"It is enough for the students to simply know what is right and what is wrong, and what they should do. Public opinion was outraged by the teacher's behavior and also felt sorry when none of the 23 students dared to react, but just obeyed her orders, even though they also realized that this type of punishment was unreasonable and cruel.

Is it true that the current teaching method turns students into machines that only know how to bow their heads and listen to the teacher without daring to express their own opinions? Students do not dare to disobey the teacher even though they feel it is unreasonable, while teachers do not dare to disobey the school's orders because of their achievements; parents do not dare to react to teachers because they are afraid their children will be persecuted?...

Such stereotypical, “uniform” education will have extremely serious consequences, destroying thinking, independence of thought, spirit of resistance and struggle, turning a blind eye to everything. That is the painful “slap” for everyone and the education sector.

The teacher's explanation shows that the pressure to achieve results is the main cause of the anti-educational, violent incident, even trampling on the minimum moral standards of society (forcing her cousin's child to slap her cousin). Growing up with such a strange way of teaching, it is no wonder that violent acts are widespread in schools.

Even more ridiculous, when the heartbreaking incident happened, instead of strictly disciplining this teacher, both the school board and local authorities only cared about pleading with the family."ignore it, don't make a big deal out of it for fear of affecting the locality's achievements, because the school is striving to reach national level 2 standards"!

The Ministry of Education and Training has requested the Department of Education and Training of Quang Binh province to strictly handle the case. On November 26, the Investigation Agency also initiated a case, and the law will certainly give this teacher a sentence worthy of her anti-educational behavior.

But will the haunting memories of a student being punished by his teacher and friends fade away? Will similar incidents continue to happen when the pressure of the disease of achievement in the education sector, despite much talk and calls for correction, still shows no signs of improvement./.