Recently, in Henan, a high school student brought a cellphone back to school without permission. After the teacher discovered this, they forced the student to “voluntarily” smash the cellphone with a brick. This news has sparked questions about extreme forms of education.
A video circulating online shows multiple high school students in front of the camera declaring that they willingly smashed their cellphones. The female teacher off-camera even asked if the parents agreed. Upon receiving a “yes,” the teacher said, “Alright, smash it.” The students then placed their phones on the ground, picked up a brick, and repeatedly smashed the phones as the teacher instructed them to “hit it hard” until the screens shattered.
According to the self-media platform “People’s Concern,” the school involved is Xinzheng Second Middle School in Zhengzhou, Henan. The incident took place on the 11th when the teacher found students bringing cellphones to school and, with parental consent, had them destroyed.
On the 13th, officials from Xinzheng City Education Bureau responded, stating that they are investigating the matter and acknowledging that the handling of the situation was inappropriate in terms of property. Although the teacher’s intentions were good, the method was deemed unsuitable.
The video has sparked discussions online, with many netizens expressing views such as, “This is an extreme educational behavior,” “Isn’t a cellphone valuable?”, “The teacher caused intentional damage to others’ property and should compensate. To prevent students from bringing cellphones, a storage room can be set up for them to submit and collect during holidays,” “Would parents dare to disagree?”, “This is not how education should be,” and “Who will be responsible if the battery explodes?”
A former student of the school also shared, “The teacher did not compensate a penny. I was from this school last year and had my phone smashed too.”
The incident has raised concerns about the appropriate methods of discipline and the boundaries of teachers’ authority in schools. It highlights the evolving challenges schools face in managing student behavior and technology use in the modern era.