The county leaders have a one-sided understanding of "knowing shame and then being brave" and arranged for low-scoring teachers to take a group photo in front of a "shame" background board. After the report, they should ask: What is the correct "knowing shame"?

On the 16th, Sichuan Liangshan Prefecture issued a notice regarding the wrong practices of disrespecting teachers at the 2026 Autumn Educational Administration Meeting in Leibo County in August this year, and the relevant responsible persons were punished.

At this education administration meeting, many teachers were asked to take a group photo on stage in front of a background board with "shame" written on them because the average score of their junior high school classes was below 15 points in the final exam or the average score of their elementary school classes was below 30 points.

In the notice, this sentence should attract attention: the relevant county leaders had a one-sided understanding of "knowing shame and then being brave" and arranged to set the word "shame" as the background of the group photo.

"Knowing shame and then becoming brave" comes from "Knowing shame is almost brave" in "Book of Rites: Doctrine of the Mean", which means that after people understand shame, they can inspire the courage to mend their ways. The “sense of shame” here emphasizes moral reflection and self-restraint, rather than creating a sense of shame for others through public humiliation. In this incident, the correct "shame" for educators should be to reflect on their shortcomings, clarify responsibilities, improve mechanisms, and provide support, rather than show their determination to "learn from the painful experience" by trampling on the dignity of others.

What's more, should teachers feel ashamed just because the class they teach has low grades? Poor performance does not mean that teachers have not put in their efforts. This score-based assessment concept ignores the actual differences in student base, regional disparity, family environment, etc., making education that should be full of warmth and with the first priority of "cultivating people with moral integrity" become cold.

"Shame education" is no stranger to our growth. Being late is punished by standing outside the door, the list of low-scoring students is publicized, and some schools even issue certificates to students as "fast-falling students." These measures are labeled as "spurring", but in fact they are likely to cause serious psychological damage to students.

The report stated that the main responsible comrade of the county government proposed that he, relevant leading cadres participating in the meeting, teachers in low-scoring subjects and the principal of the school where they work take a group photo together. Perhaps, this leading cadre also experienced "shame education" during his own growth, and hoped to use this method to gain motivation for teachers. But motivation doesn't need to come at the expense of dignity, nor would anyone want that to be ultimately passed on to children. Let me ask, if a teacher is treated like this, how will he treat his students? If a teacher doesn't even have dignity, how can he teach children to learn self-respect?

Reporting and punishment should not be the end of the incident. What we really need to ask is: Where does educational management take people? We know the shame of "point-based theory", the shame of "humiliating management", and the shame of "using power to oppress others". Education might as well start with learning to respect.

Author: Wu Beibei