What a Student Teacher Did at a Middle School in Shanghai, China
Made Students Evaluate Their Families' Social Class
"Distributed Without Authorities' Permission" Sparks Netizens' Anger
A student teacher at a middle school in Shanghai, China, has been criticized after it was revealed that they distributed a survey to students assessing their families' economic status. On the 12th, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, "A student teacher at Longming Middle School in Shanghai asked students sensitive questions, sparking controversy among citizens and education authorities."
The survey distributed by the student teacher circulated on social media (SNS), featuring a ladder-shaped diagram with instructions to choose a number from 1 to 10. It then asked, "Imagine this ladder symbolizes various families in China. The higher the ladder, the higher the class and status. For example, '1' represents the lowest class in society with low status and income. '10' corresponds to the highest class in society, representing good parents with the highest status and income. Considering your situation, which ladder class do you think you belong to?"
A survey from a Chinese middle school asking students to explain their family's economic status using a ladder. Baidu
This question, which asked adolescents to rank their family's class based on income, quickly became a hot topic on SNS. Netizens expressed anger, saying things like "Why does the school need to investigate this?" and "It's an invasion of privacy." In response to the controversy, the Minhang District Education Bureau, responsible for the school, announced that "the student teacher distributed the survey without the school's permission." The education authorities reportedly instructed the school to dismiss the student teacher who handed out the survey and to explain and apologize to the students and parents.
A Chinese teacher mentioned the incident on SNS, saying, "Some student teachers, especially those majoring in social sciences, distribute surveys to students during their practicum for their research, but many schools prohibit such actions to avoid controversy."
In 2021, a controversy arose when an elementary school in Shanxi Province, central China, asked students to write down their parents' occupations and applied problematic classifications. The 11 occupational categories included common classifications such as business owners and civil servants, but also included migrant workers and people with criminal records. The school reportedly disciplined the teacher responsible for the inappropriate behavior.
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