Understanding and Respect: The Most Precious Gifts for Teachers

Xunzi said, “When a country is about to prosper, it must value teachers and respect tutors.” In ancient times, the working people put “heaven, earth, monarch, parents, and teachers” on a par, which shows the high status of teachers among the people. Respecting teachers and valuing education is a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation.

Teachers’ Day is a festival to express gratitude to teachers. Not only are there rituals in society to express respect for teachers, but students and parents also have simple psychological demands for teachers. However, Teachers’ Day cannot be one-sided or even misunderstood as a festival for giving gifts to teachers.

The Ministry of Education issued the “Regulations on Strictly Prohibiting Teachers from Illegal Acceptance of Gifts and Cash from Students and Parents” in 2014. The first of the “Six Strict Prohibitions” is “Strictly Prohibiting Teachers from Asking for or Accepting Gifts and Cash from Students and Parents, Securities, Payment Vouchers and Other Property”. The “Ten Norms for Professional Conduct of Primary and Secondary School Teachers in the New Era” stipulates that “teachers shall not ask for or accept property from students and parents, or participate in banquets, travel, entertainment and leisure activities paid for by students and parents”.

Local education departments and schools put forward the requirement of “celebrating the festival with integrity” every Teachers’ Day. Examples of teachers being punished for accepting gifts from parents have also been exposed by the media.

A school’s “Letter to Parents” seen on the Internet states, “Don’t use any material things to express your feelings. Please respect the title of teacher and do not let unhealthy trends change the original intention of establishing the festival. We will treat every child fairly and with this understanding and respect, and strive for the healthy growth of every child…”

Understanding and respect are the most precious gifts for teachers. The growth of students is the result of the joint cultivation of schools and families, and the process of mutual achievement between teachers and parents. Parents as guardians of students need to actively assume the responsibility of cultivating children’s habits in family education, and cannot push all the responsibilities to teachers.

Teachers are not perfect, and they have shortcomings like all other people. Parents must respect teachers and tolerate them. They should not hold on to teachers’ occasional mistakes, or even wantonly magnify their shortcomings in education and teaching.

Understanding the work of teachers and knowing their contributions is also a “deep love” for teachers. Teachers are the direct implementers of educational and teaching behaviors, and have been practicing the “role-playing” of “teaching, learning, and solving doubts”.

The greatest gratitude is never the gift of material things, but the harmony of souls and the interaction of hearts. Understanding and respect are the most precious gifts that parents can give to teachers, and the children’s growth and success are the most beautiful “two-way journey” between parents and teachers.