From a teacher asking parents for money to a teacher swearing and insulting students

At the beginning of the new school year, a series of incidents related to teachers' ethics occurred.

At Chuong Duong Primary School, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, a fourth grade homeroom teacher directly asked parents to donate money so she could buy a new personal computer. The reason was that her computer had just been lost.

After the parents donated, instead of choosing the machine priced at 5.5 million VND as originally planned, she chose to buy the machine priced at 11 million VND, asking the parents to support 6 million VND, and she would compensate with 5 million VND.

27 parents agreed, 3 parents disagreed, 9 parents had no opinion. She declared that she would not accept computers, and would not prepare outlines for students, asking parents to review for their children themselves.

According to parents' feedback, since the incident of unsuccessful requests for support to buy computers, students told their parents about the teacher's poor teaching attitude in class.

When the incident was reported to the school, the principal asked the parents to give her a chance to correct her mistake. The parents did not agree. 25 parents signed a petition to transfer their children to another class.

However, it took another three days for the school to decide to suspend her teaching and arrange for a guest teacher to take charge of the class.

That means the students in the class had to endure her negative attitude for nearly 2 weeks of school. There was no apology to the students from the teacher or the school.

At Dinh Tien Hoang Primary School, Ninh Binh province, a fourth grade homeroom teacher cursed and insulted students for more than 4 minutes.

In this recording, which is more than 4 minutes long, the teacher calls himself "I", calls the students "you", compares the students to "stupid people", and scolds the students with extremely insulting words.

The teacher was suspended from work and initially admitted to swearing and insulting the student, as recorded by the parents.

The school principal told the press that the teachers "teach well", "have prestige with parents" and "student psychology is currently normal".

But is it really "normal" for children to be scolded by their teachers every day in class with such words?

Dinh Tien Hoang Primary School, Ninh Binh City, where the incident of a 4th grade teacher swearing and insulting students occurred (Photo: school's FB).

Most recently, on the afternoon of August 27, at a secondary school in Hung Yen, an English teacher kicked a 7th grade student out of class, then grabbed the student by the neck until he bled and scratched his neck. The reason the teacher got angry was because he heard a student calling him "that guy".

Instead of investigating the matter thoroughly and taking appropriate educational measures, the teacher let his anger go beyond the limits of a teacher.

Overall, these are clearly flaws that cannot be compared to the glorious contributions, dedication, and sacrifices of the education sector. However, the small incidents of "one bad apple spoiling the barrel" regarding teachers' ethics, under the influence of social networks, have become a bigger problem.

That affects society’s view of the teaching profession, schools, money in schools, parent funds, extra tutoring, etc. Doubts and lack of trust arise or are reinforced. The gap between parents and teachers, between families and schools, between education and society seems to widen.

Because, the educational environment, where the slogan "first learn manners, then learn knowledge" is hung as a warning to students right in front of the school gate, where children are taught to read and write in parallel with being human, is also a place where teachers seriously violate ethics.

Messages asking for support to buy personal computers from the head teacher at Chuong Duong School (HCMC) sent on the parents' group (Screenshot).

A teacher openly asks parents for money and when he can't get it, he threatens them with their children's education.

A teacher cursed, swore, and insulted a student right in front of the class, and the student was only 9-10 years old.

Both teachers have worked for many years and are even considered "good" and "prestigious".

How well do school leaders manage their teachers, do they evaluate them comprehensively and adequately, and do they really care about the students' school life? If so, why do most of the incidents that schools only know about come from parents posting them online?

Cameras, which were originally used to monitor, protect property, and prevent and deter crime, have now become something that parents are demanding to be installed in schools. The place that should be the safest for children has become a place where parents are always worried.

The Draft Law on Teachers of the Ministry of Education and Training stipulates that one of the responsibilities of teachers is to "preserve the qualities, prestige, honor, and professional ethics of teachers". The Draft Law also strictly prohibits teachers from "insulting the dignity, honor, and body of students".

However, the draft does not clearly state how the above behaviors will be handled, and whether they will be considered as grounds for revoking a teacher's practice certificate.

Is a teacher who extorts money from parents or insults the dignity, honor, or body of a student considered to have "failed to fulfill his/her duties" in teaching? Are parents and students allowed to monitor the results of annual teacher evaluations to ensure that the school's evaluations of teachers are objective?

These are questions that education policy makers cannot help but pay attention to. Teaching is cultivating people, it cannot be left to the ineptitude of the hands of the grower but requires comprehensive and detailed solutions to guide, manage and supervise them.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/tu-co-giao-xin-tien-phu-huynh-den-co-giao-chui-tuc-nhuc-ma-hoc-sinh-20240928231349259.htm