 One post from one online forum has recently attracted much attention. A secondary school student said his class was asked to write an essay in Chinese language class on any morally correct topic. One student, who may have been jilted recently, wrote about a past romantic relationship. The teacher called it a piece of "unhealthy content and low morale". Let's see what the media say about the situation.
A school teacher writing to the China Youth Daily admits he once wrote similar comment on students’ composition. He says that a teacher couldn't give a high score for an essay like that, because it would be interpreted as promoting romantic relationships at an early age. In fact, some teachers pretend like they didn't even know about the existence of couples in school, while others forcefully interfere with student relationships. Still other teachers vilify romantic relationships like the language teacher did. The writer sees the situation as students expressing their true feelings through their compositions. Love is beautiful, so teachers should welcome essays about love.
Qilu Evening Paper carrying an opinion stresses that education should equip people with the ability to make sense of the world. Turning away from reality is not the way to develop coping skills. Chinese education is too rigid if writing that expresses true emotions is forbidden. Furthermore, silently giving low marks for an essay about love might spread rebelliousness among the students.
A commentary in the Guangzhou Daily quotes another student who asks, "Why are we studying love poems if writing about love is 'decadence'?" The commentary says the question points out the contradictions among teachers. The new syllabus incorporated a chapter on love to instill proper attitudes and values among students, so writing about love should not be considered wrongdoing. Expressive writing should be encouraged as a humanistic element in language education.
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