(Clearwisdom.net) My son couldn't help crying for a long time when he heard that his teacher couldn't teach him any longer. He even refused to eat. I heard from other children's parents that their children also behaved like this. A virtuous teacher that treated her students like her own children was dismissed from her job just because of an anonymous phone call. How ridiculous!
My child is an average student at Astronautics Elementary School in Yantai City, Shandong Province. When he was in first grade, his class had a terrible reputation. Several kids in the class couldn't pass their first grade exams! After his second grade mid-term exam, the school administration held a parent meeting. I went to the meeting a little early and sat beside a window that opened to a corridor. While I was looking at my son's graded exam papers, I heard someone walking down the corridor comment to another parent, "See, this is the class that is really bad."
I looked up from the papers and continued to listen. "Which class are you referring to?" "Just this class, Class 2.2." Hearing that conversation deeply disappointed me. Why was the reputation of my kid's class is so bad? Currently, since there is generally only one child in each Chinese family (due the Chinese government's policies), all parents and grandparents expect their children and grandchildren to have bright futures, such as to achieve high positions in the future or just to be outstanding in their school studies. They therefore expect their children and grandchildren to have a good teacher. Knowing about the poor quality of my son's class, I was extremely disappointed and sorry for him. I thought it would be better if I contacted my connections and find someone who could get my son into a better class.
The parent meeting began, and the teacher stood at the podium and gave a speech. This was the first time I had seen my child's teacher since the school administration had made adjustments to the class. The teacher looked around 40 years old, ordinary, and very compassionate. She introduced herself as Ms. Li Zhuhua and said that she had taught for almost 20 years. My child's class was so bad that the school administration had sent a teacher as experienced as she was to manage these kids, so I figured she must have some experience with teaching naughty children. I was comforted, thinking that the school was the right place to educate these children no matter how ill-behaved they were.
The teacher also gave general information on the mid-term exam, her primary knowledge and understanding of each student's background information, and, finally, her rough ideas on how to manage the class successfully. Her words were so plain and honest, every word touched the hearts of the parents. Gradually, I calmed down. Afterwards, I heard from other students' parents that their kids' grades had improved to different extents.
Kids cannot hide their hearts from their parents. Little by little, my child began to talk about Ms. Li all the time after he got home from school. One day he said his teacher had told the class a story about how to be a good person. Another day, he explained how Ms. Li dealt with the conflicts between kids in his class. From my son's facial expression and seeing how much he had changed, I sensed that my son was very proud of being Ms. Li's student. From my heart, I also felt very happy. Sometimes, when I contacted other parents, they also agreed their kids had become increasingly obedient and agreeable.
Before, my son never liked to read, so I was most excited about the change in his behavior when he became more interested in reading. After he returned home, he always asked me to take him to bookstores and buy a whole bunch of the books his Ms. Li had recommended to the class, such as The Stories of Being Diligent, Stories of Being Virtuous, Stories of Being Wise, and Di-Zi-Gui(1). My son always mentioned to me proudly, "Our teacher, Ms. Li, knows so much. I want to be a wise person like my teacher, so I would like to read as much as I can." From then on, my son never fought with us over the TV remote control. Instead, he was constantly holding a book to read. The serious way he read his books was so adorable!
Witnessing my son's steady progress, I couldn't help boasting to my colleagues at work sometimes. They envied me and said, "Nowadays, good teachers like Ms. Li are so rare. Your child is so lucky! If we lived in your community, we would like to transfer our kids to your kid's class."
Then, just two weeks before the semester's end, my son returned home to say that Ms. Li was sick. In addition, the school administration had replaced her with another teacher that would be his class's homeroom instructor. I recalled that Ms. Li taught the students for two years and contributed so much to them. I thought she must be tried and wanted to call her to express our gratitude toward her. However, when my son returned from school the following day, he said, "Our teacher, Ms. Li, is now working in the library." I wondered why she was working in the library if she was sick.
Later on, I made a phone call to Ms. Li and said, "Hi, Ms. Li. My son told me you were sick. I'm sorry to hear that. Is everything all right with you?" Ms. Li answered that she felt fine and wasn't sick. I wondered why she wasn't truly sick but didn't know what else to say. She gave a sigh and said nothing else to me, so we ended our conversations. I thought the situation was very strange.
When I saw my son's graded final exam paper, I noticed his grade was obviously dropping. I couldn't help calling Ms. Li again to ask, "Ms. Li, would you please teach my son the following semester?"
She paused for a long time, then said, "I'm afraid that it's impossible." "Why?" I asked. She answered unwillingly, "I heard from my supervisor that a parent made an anonymous phone call to the school administration so they couldn't allow me to teach any longer."
I was very angry when I heard this. Just on account of an anonymous phone call that the school administration didn't even investigate for accuracy, they secretly dismiss a good teacher from her position. Why didn't the school consider the feelings of the students, who were facing their finals, and their parents? The administration was so irresponsible! Later, during the parent meeting for the semester, several other parents and I went to see the principal and asked him for a reasonable explanation concerning this affair. After we found him, we all praised Ms. Li to him and tried to convince him that Ms. Li's hard work had led to tremendous improvements in our children and that they all liked her.
The principal answered, "Ms. Li is indeed a qualified, experienced, good teacher who loves to teach her pupils. That is apparent, everyone praises her. However, a parent made anonymous phone calls to the supervisors of the Education Department of Yantai City and the Department of Discipline. In those phone calls, he suggested that Ms. Li might practice Falun Gong. As a result, the Education Department of Yantai City and our district officials had to make the decision to dismiss Ms. Li from her teaching position. As the principal of this school, I don't have the power to do anything about this. This is a political subject."
Why we, as parents, didn't hear anything about this incident was very strange. On the other hand, even if Ms. Li did practice Falun Gong, as the anonymous phone calls reported, then that would prove Falun Gong practitioners are really good people who only follow the teachings of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Her values and beliefs are why Ms. Li treated her pupils with such patience and compassion, and the students liked her so much.
How could an anonymous phone call frighten the city and district Educational Departments to such an extent? What a shame that an anonymous phone call could lead to secretly firing a good teacher! The parent meeting ended, and all the parents were furious when they heard the news. They all denounced the irrational and ignorant parent who had made the anonymous phone calls. One parent even said "Who made that phone call? Please step forward!" very audibly in front of everyone. However, nobody stepped forward.
My son couldn't help crying for a long time when he heard that Ms. Li wouldn't be his teacher any longer. Other children's parents told me their children behaved similarly. This is an outrage! I hope all the CCP agents in my district and in Yantai City can make the righteous decision to treat Ms. Li with respect and justice. Only this could improve their status in the hearts of all the affected parents. Please don't cast a shadow over the hearts of our young children!
Note:
(1) Di-Zi-Gui is one of the traditional Chinese texts that starts a child's education. The author, Mr. Li Yuxiu, was a Xiucai (lowest degree) during the rule of Kangxi (May 4, 1654 - December 20, 1722, third emperor in Qing dynasty). He taught young children all his life. Its contents are mainly teachings based on the moral values imparted by Confucius.
September 20, 2008
