‘Born a peasant’: teacher in China fired for denouncing parent for low education levels and son’s behaviour at school on WeChat
- A head teacher at a primary school in China has been fired after denouncing a parent as an uneducated peasant and for not being a ‘local’ resident
- The remarks drew widespread criticism on social media and calls for better regulation of teachers to rein in such attitudes
A primary school teacher in China has been fired after insulting a student’s mother over her son’s academic performance, calling the woman a “peasant” and mocking her working-class background and level of education.
The head teacher at a school in Fujian province, southeastern China, publicly humiliated the student’s mother in a parent-teacher WeChat group around May 20. She was dismissed a week later by the local education bureau, the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald reported.
During a conversation in the WeChat group with a number of parents, the head teacher criticised a mother whose son had been experiencing learning difficulties and behavioural problems at school.
The head teacher told the mother that her son’s classmates could not bear to be around the boy or his family due to his behaviour but also because they were not “local residents”. She then told the mother the boy should be removed from the school.
The mother then asked if the class generally treated local and non-local students differently.
“Parents like you are not welcome,” the teacher replied in the chat group.
In response, the mother wrote: “I’m nearly 40 years old and I do understand what respect means. People can be less educated, but we must have the basic standards of morality.”
The teacher fired back: “How can you be cultivated if you are just a peasant ?”