On December 7th, a parent in Yuncheng, Shandong province, reported that their third-grade child at a local elementary school mischievously pushed a suitcase down the stairs, prompting the homeroom teacher to demand the child to slap themselves in front of the whole class 40 times.
The parent expressed concern that the incident had left a psychological impact on the child, causing them to fear returning to school out of apprehension of further punishment. Subsequently, the parent lodged a complaint with the school authorities.
According to the content creator and financial blogger, “Yingyang Bo,” the incident occurred on December 12th at Xixin Foreign Language School in Yuncheng, Shandong. The third-grade student had accidentally dropped a suitcase on the stairway. Upon learning of the incident, the homeroom teacher instructed the student to slap themselves in front of their classmates 40 times, a process that lasted several minutes with the entire class watching. The school then arranged for psychological intervention, although specific details of the measures were not disclosed.
Reported on December 18th by Shenzhen Media Group’s urban channel program, “On the Scene,” the school responded during an interview with the media, acknowledging that the student’s action of pushing the suitcase created a safety hazard. However, the disciplinary action taken by the teacher was deemed inappropriate, leading to the dismissal of the teacher.
The news subsequently became a trending topic on Weibo.
Netizens commented, stating, “If the child’s suitcase had hit someone while being thrown down the stairs, it wouldn’t have been a trivial matter. The teacher should criticize the behavior, but the method was incorrect.” “Education is necessary, but the approach was too extreme.” “Mistakes can be punished, but excessive punishment should be avoided.”
“Songshu Juziz 0214” said, “The boundary of discipline should be educational, not harmful! Regardless of whether the student’s action of dropping the suitcase was right or wrong, resorting to corporal punishment instead of education clearly crossed the reasonable boundary of discipline.
“When students make mistakes, they should receive appropriate guidance and discipline to help them acknowledge their error, take responsibility, rather than using humiliating corporal punishment to destroy their self-esteem. The punishment of self-slapping may seem like a method to make students ‘remember’ the consequences, but in reality, it plants seeds of rebellion or self-doubt through harming their mental and physical well-being.
“The essence of education is ‘nurturing,’ it is the gentle guidance of spring breeze and rain, rather than simplistic and forceful discipline. Whether it is a teacher or a manager, in the face of a child’s misbehavior, they should adhere to the original intention of ‘educating people,’ using more gentle and constructive methods to teach them about rules and responsibilities.
“Punishment has never been the goal; allowing each child to grow within an environment of respect and understanding is the warmth that education should embody.”