Chinese voice love, concern for teachers on 20th Teachers' Day

The world's most populous nation has mixed sentiments towards teachers as the 20th Teachers' Day falls on Friday -- combining affection, respect, sympathy and concern.

Affection and respect for teachers, whom some have called "engineers of human souls," have continued to dominate this year's Teachers' Day.

As primary and secondary school children write down their heartfelt thanks on greeting cards for their beloved teachers, many grown-ups also send special greetings to their former teachers on this particular day via phone calls, emails or short SMS messages.

Many leading Chinese websites have opened special columns for people to convey greetings and to discuss everything ranging from the income level and life quality of teachers to the long-term goals of China's education sector.

"Like candles, you burn up yourselves to light up the world," wrote someone called Fan Bin at an online forum at www.sina.com.cn, one of the leading portals in China.

"You were the ones who were always there to help me and to lift me up when I couldn't reach. You actually changed my life," wrote Zhou Qiao on the same site.

Zhou, a college student in Shanghai who suffered from a congenital heart disease as a child, said in the essay she was for many times ready to give up schooling. Even her own parents discouraged her from further study, she said.

"But my teachers all told me never to abandon hope or to look down upon myself," she said. "I couldn't even have finished primary school if not for their help."

At the end of the essay, Zhou, who is training to become a musician, said she would love to be a teacher herself, and wished all the teachers under the sun "health and a long life," because several teachers who had helped her were then having poor health themselves.

The deteriorating health condition of teachers from heavy workloads has aroused the concern of doctors, students and society at large this year.

A recent survey conducted by health authorities in the southwestern Chongqing municipality indicates that besides occupational diseases such as sore throat, varix and bone diseases, cardiovascular diseases and disorders of the digestive system also afflict many teachers.

"Besides, 34.16 percent of the teachers in Chongqing are suffering from subhealth -- a condition that is not healthy but not altogether sick either," said Prof. Dai Guangming, a psychologist with the Xinqiao Hospital affiliated to the No. 3 Medical University of the People's Liberation Army.

The percentage is far higher than the average 10 percent for the population, he added.

The same problem has been reported in other parts of the country. A joint survey conducted by www.sina.com.cn and the Beijing Morning Post on 4,739 teachers nationwide shows 59 percent of them report symptoms of subhealth -- they often complain of fatigue, headaches and trouble going to sleep. Only 2.8 percent of the teachers surveyed said they never had such problems.

The survey also found that 72.5 percent of the teachers surveyed feel they are overstressed at work, particularly in big cities where parents often have very high expectations of their children.

"Teachers need more support and understanding from parents," said Dong Dafang, a veteran school teacher in the port city of Dalian in northeast China, who was honored one of the 10 exemplary teachers in the country. "We also need to find our own balance between work and private life in order to enjoy life better."

Dong, who has been teaching for some 30 years, said the younger generation of teachers should exercise more and learn to relax in the fast-paced society.

"By playing games and sports with the students, a teacher will be on better terms with them and improve his own health, too," she said.

Teaching was once considered undervalued and underprivileged because the job was both tiring and poorly paid.

To invigorate the nation with science and education, the Chinese government has made every effort to raise the teachers' income and improve their quality of life.

In many cities, teachers' incomes have more than doubled over the past 20 years and in Beijing and Shanghai, a teacher makes no less than a public servant or other office worker of the same qualifications.

According to Ministry of Education sources, China spent more than 167 billion yuan (about 20 billion US dollars) building 200 million square meters of apartment buildings for teachers in a decade from 1993 to 2003.

Teachers' Day was officially created in 1985 to improve teachers' social status and call on the entire nation to respect teachers and to seek knowledge.

China presently has about 12.50 million teachers at nationwide schools and universities. More college graduates choose to become teachers each year, drawn by the good pay and the two-month paid holidays each year.