Last year, the Ministry of Education (MOE) revised regulations on the dismissal, non-renewal or termination of teachers at senior secondary level and below, stipulating that teachers involved in corporal punishment, bullying or inadequate instruction should be investigated by school affairs councils.
Since its implementation more than one year ago, the number of complaints against teachers has surged — schools feel like they are handling criminal cases, with teachers as suspects.
Being a teacher is difficult — many jokingly refer to themselves as “teaching laborers” or say that they work in a “high-risk” profession. Some even wear hidden body cameras to protect themselves.
Their biggest challenge lies in choosing whether to intervene when a student oversteps boundaries. Correcting students when they speak or behave inappropriately is a teacher’s professional duty and a matter of conscience.
Aside from verbal persuasion, a teacher might resort to measures such as temporary separation or negative reinforcement — both reasonable disciplinary actions that comply with the policy of no corporal punishment.
However, for students who lack the ability to self-reflect and parents who do not know the full truth, such disciplinary actions might be seen as discriminatory, isolating or unfair labeling. Complaints against teachers often cite reasons such as “unreasonable disciplinary action” or “emotional harm to the child.”
However, the core issue is not parents filing excessive complaints, but in how the authorities handle each case — do they stand on the side of education and defend teachers’ rights? A valid complaint should be addressed according to the law, but if it is unreasonable or the result of a misunderstanding, the school should take a firm stance and tactfully explain the issue. Hardworking teachers should not be unjustly punished.
Once, a third-grade student was told by their teacher to stand outside in the hallway for 10 minutes after teasing the classmate sitting next to them. Coincidentally, the child’s parent happened to witness this and angrily confronted the school principal to protest the teacher “depriving their child’s right to education.”
After class, the principal spoke with the teacher to get a proper understanding of the situation, and later told the parent: “You say that the teacher deprived your child of the right to education, but your child was disturbing his classmate and disrupting the class, thereby impacting other students’ ability to learn. So who exactly was depriving whom of that right?” Upon hearing this, the parent left apologetically.
The principal in this scenario demonstrated true leadership by immediately clearing up the parent’s misunderstanding and resolving the risk of a potential complaint being filed against the teacher. If he had instead followed procedure by formally convening a school affairs council meeting and launching a full investigation, one has to wonder — would that teacher still have any passion left for teaching?
Teachers are responsible for not only imparting knowledge, but teaching students how to behave. If a student does not complete their homework, neglects their class responsibilities, bullies their classmates or talks back to teachers, yet teachers are forbidden from taking any action in response, can they still be considered educators?
It is understandable that parents have an instinct to protect their children, but indiscriminately filing complaints against teachers should not be encouraged. The ministry should provide support for teachers and grant them greater instructional autonomy, not cater to the demands of a few irrational parents, forcing schools and teachers to waste their time and energy on trivial matters.
Shiao Fu-song teaches at National Taitung University.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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