Sunday 2 December 2007

Forbid love between teacher and student?

City College of Science and Technology University in Wuhan, China, required the supervisors to sign on the “Student Management Education letter of commitment”, which included one clause: Teachers and students can not have any love affairs. This became a hot issue. 97 supervisors signed on it till 3rd November.

I remember there used to be a teacher who was fired by the university because he was in a relationship with a student in last year. Is it really inappropriate for a teacher to have relationship with a student? A survey showed that 50% students thought it is acceptable to fall in love with teachers, while only 25% of them insisted on fighting against it.


picture 1 Lu Xun and Xu Guangping


picture 2 Shen Congwen and Zhang Zhaohe

Actually there are many romantic love stories between a teacher and a student. For example, Lu Xun(famous writer in China) and Xu Guangping(see picture 1), Shen Congwen(famous novelist in China) and Zhang Zhaohe(see picture 2). People take delight in talking about it but not treat with contempt.

In my opinion, avoiding teachers falling in love with their students seems to be a quite old-fashioned viewpoint and a little bit unethical. Teachers and students in the university are all adults. Everyone has right to pursue his happiness, especially his love. Free love is one of the most important things in a human being’s life. School forbidding teachers and students’ free love is inhuman. Just think of being restricted by others, it’s quite obvious that we will find it unbearable and we will really suffer a lot if we don’t have freedom, no matter what kind of freedom. Without doubt, it’s a torture, isn’t it? Why the school has the right to treat teachers and students as that way? It’s absurd, I think.

In the eyes of the law, this behavior is illegal. Marriage jurisprudence of China prescribes that love and marriage is personal affair and personal right and freedom. People who meet the terms prescribed by the law can fall in love with anybody you like (of course, the other side must agree), no matter where you are from, what party you are side with. If you love each other, just do it. Nobody can stay out of law, university either.

Several years ago, marriage of university students was also treated as illegal by university. But the law backed up the students, and universities had to cancel the unreasonable regulation. Well today, history repeats itself. University needs to chew upon it.

11 comments:

Unknown said...

It seems that it is always the case in recent years that the love between student and teacher is usually failed before the student graduates and the student always does sth negetive, which will damage the school's reputation. So love between teacher and student is forbidden in some schools.
But can it really be forbidden?

Anonymous said...

I generally support freedom of love, the biggest concern in this case seems to be the potential conflict of interest and whether fairness to all can be maintained.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you. Love is the most Sacred thing of the world, no restrictions,no borders. Nobody can stop love!

Anonymous said...

I agree with you. Love is the most Sacred thing of the world, no restrictions,no borders. Nobody can stop love!

Sheyla said...

I got a friend who was dating with her tutor in the college, but at last she was told that the teacher has been married. It is a suck story and I don't think such things just happen in school.

jacky said...

i dont agree with Love between teacher and student before university. but it is ok in uni.

Anonymous said...

i think that if your really in love with someone regardless of there age they should fight for it and not let anyone tell you that you cant be together

Anonymous said...

"no restrictions,no borders. Nobody can stop love!" Oh, what is that? Then no moral, no law?

mystEriOs GiRL: said...

I as a student fell in love w/ a teacher in our school..is it really forbidden??do we have no right to love?? as "akon" said fight for your right to love...
and after that we are now a million miles away...to avoid rumors...our happy memories were gone becoz we always stay away each other....

Anonymous said...

I beg to disagree with people who assume that every teacher-student relationship is simply about power abuse and sex. We never know what the true intent of both parties are so I think it's wrong for people to judge them that way. I don't see why teacher-student relationships are unacceptable--Love is a strange thing and it knows no boundaries.

Though in a rational perspective, I believe that such relationships shouldn't progress not while the student hasn't finished his/her education because this will undermine the purpose of going to school. I myself have a crush on my teacher twice my age [I'm 16] and I kinda sense [though I don't want to assume] that he may just feel the the same way [I'm catching subtle signs... but I won't expound on this]. I think he's being cautious because he knows what's at stake and I understand that. But maybe a few years from now... we'll see how it goes.

Anonymous said...

i believe that it should be okay and sometimes it not about sex its more about how they like the same things and interest as the other does. Teachers and students spend so much time with each other that things tend to get more personal and i see no wrong with that