Debate over switching Teachers’ Day date
Print Edition
Chinese across the country are debating over plans to move Teachers’ Day, which currently falls on September 10, to September 28, believed to be the birthday of Confucius.
The idea was made public on Thursday when the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, China’s Cabinet, released a draft amendment on a package of education laws in order to canvass public opinion.
Confucius, whose philosophy emphasizes personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity, has been a philosophical and ideological icon throughout Chinese history, but his role was played down during the “cultural revolution” (1966-1976).
The Teachers’ Day change is considered a landmark in Confucianism’s revival.
In Qufu City in east China’s Shandong Province, where Confucius was born 2,564 years ago, hundreds of thousands of the philosopher’s descendants were excited by the news.
“It is an acknowledgement of Confucius’s status as China’s earliest educationist,” said Kong Lingshao, a 76th generation grandson of Confucius.
“Choosing Confucius’s birthday as Teachers’ Day reflects the return of Chinese traditional culture,” said Kong, a civil servant who has been a Chinese language teacher for seven years.
But Yu Lu, an instructor at Yangzhou University in east China’s Jiangsu Province, said it is hard to accept the new date psychologically, as Teachers’ Day has been celebrated on September 10 for almost three decades.
The rising trend of parents and students sending gifts to teachers on Teachers’ Day was also being questioned.
“I suggest canceling Teachers’ Day, as it only tells children to give presents to teachers,” said Qin Lan, a netizen said on Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like microblogging service.
The essence of respecting teachers is respecting them in the heart and in action, said Qiu Puzhong, another netizen.
Improving teachers’ wages and benefits should be the top priority for the government, some said.
“Compared with the date change, improving teachers’ well-being is far more important,” said Yan Jialong, principal of Yinshanfan Middle School in poor, mountainous Jinzhai County in east China’s Anhui Province.
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