A new set of guidelines issued by Chinese authorities has highlighted the tragic and sometimes disturbing lengths parents will go to when seeking justice for their children.
The phenomenon is called 校闹 xiàonào (“school disruption”), and as Sixth Tone reports, is now sufficiently widespread that regulations have been introduced specifically banning certain practices. Parents who blame their child’s death on their school have protested by blocking gates, hanging banners and photographs, setting off fireworks and playing music, and, in some extreme cases, bringing their child’s body to the school.
The deaths are a mix of accidents during sporting or extracurricular activities, and suicides blamed on bullying or academic pressure. It is impossible for those of us who are parents to imagine the grief of losing a child, or what we might do in response to such a situation. However, it is hard to justify the disruption of other children’s education, or the distress that might be caused by such actions. The focus on financial compensation in many cases also leaves an unwelcome impression.
It is also not always students who are the victims. A teacher in Anhui province was confronted by the parents of a child whom he had told off. Following mediation, the teacher had to pay RMB 930 in compensation. His body was later found in the Yangzi river, and now his parents are planning to sue the students’ parents, claiming that the latter assaulted him and drove him to suicide. (No criminal action has been taken against the students’ parents.)
In finding the balance between protecting children from harm and protecting schools and teachers from harassment, it is hard not to conclude that the authorities have erred on the side of preserving “harmony”, and suppressing protest rather than tackling the underlying problems. But the issues are complex. Beijingkids has written before about the government’s attempts to relieve pressure on children by reducing homework and reforming the gaokao, and the push back they have encountered from the educational establishment and parents themselves. Bullying, on the other hand, remains a taboo issue, with a 2016 campaign seeming to have had little effect. Nearly half of children in Chinese schools report having been affected by bullying, while for 6 percent it is an everyday occurrence.
The problem is less acute for children attending international schools, which generally have smaller class sizes and more developed support systems. However we as parents can never be complacent. As always, the most important thing is to keep open regular, honest, and supportive communication with our children, so that they feel they can come to us when problems develop.
Photo: pablo/T via Flickr
