【双语阅读】压抑的教师(上)

文摘   2024-10-10 18:05   北京  

After four years teaching at a public high school, Chen Jun had gained over 20 kilograms (44 pounds) and been diagnosed with anxiety and depression.

在县城的公立高中从教四年,云南昆明的陈君长胖44斤,确诊重度焦虑、中度抑郁。


Shortly after she joined the school, located in one of the counties of Kunming, Southwest China’s Yunnan province, her employer announced it would adopt the “Hengshui model.” That refers to the intensely strict approach to education made famous by Hengshui High School in Hebei province, which attracts students from all around the country hoping to ace the national college entrance exam.

Each day, Chen had to arrive before 7 a.m. to supervise students’ morning reading, regardless of whether she had been assigned duties that stretched late into the night before. If she was even a few minutes later than expected, she would receive a harsh reprimand from her superiors.

入职后的第二个学期,为提高学生成绩,她所在的县中开始推行“衡水化”教育。作为语文老师,不论前一天晚上是否有值日、看学生晚睡的任务,每天早上她都需要在7点前到校督促学生早读,意外迟到十几分钟、习惯踩点到课室,都会让她受到领导的训斥。


“I had seven or eight alarms on my phone, but I still never felt at ease,” Chen said. This made sleeping properly, in the few hours she’d often have, basically impossible. “Whenever it crossed my mind, I’d have to open my eyes and check my phone again.” At the peak of her anxiety, she would jolt awake in a panic every hour, wracked by chest pains and gripped by the fear of being late. During the day, she lived under a black cloud of depression, often bursting into tears suddenly and having panic attacks.

“闹钟(软件)已经是非常明显的七八个亮点了,但我总是不放心,一想起来,我就把眼睛睁开,再检查一下。”出于对迟到的恐惧,最严重的时候,每隔一个小时陈君就会从睡梦中突然惊醒。除此之外,她经常无缘由的伤心流泪,出现盗汗、心脏刺痛的症状,白天走在街上还会感到莫名的恐慌害怕。


After seeking medical treatment, Chen was prescribed medication, but it left her so lethargic she couldn’t maintain her normal home life, let alone meet the strenuous demands of her job. She eventually stopped taking it. With her monthly salary of under 4,000 yuan, she can’t afford regular psychological counseling.

Depression, anxiety and other stress-related problems are common in teaching, which has seen workloads grow in recent years. Photo: AI generated

Chen’s experience may be extreme, but it’s far from isolated.

A recent study, which surveyed more than 550,000 teachers from preschools, primary, secondary, and higher education institutions, found that between 2000 and 2022, 16.1% of Chinese teachers experienced mental health issues. If preschool teachers, who had a far lower rate, are excluded, the figure was 17.8%.

陈君的故事不是个例。近期发表的一份涵盖55万余名大中小幼教师样本的研究显示,2000-2022年,中国教师群体心理健康问题的总检出率达到16.1%,排除较低的幼儿教师检出率,教师群体的心理健康问题检出率达到17.8%。


“While mental health has gained widespread attention globally in recent years, the mental well-being of teachers has not received the focus it deserves,” said the lead researcher of the study Yu Guoliang, a professor at Renmin University of China and director of its Institute of Psychology.

These findings imply teachers’ mental health is worse than for other common professions. Another study on mental health, published by the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Psychology found that nearly 13% of office workers had experienced depression, 9.5% of civil servants and 7% of factory workers.

从多项相关大规模研究中可侧面反映出,相比其他职业群体,教师这一职业患常见心理健康问题与精神障碍的风险相对较高。如中国科学院心理研究所《中国国民心理健康发展报告(2021~2022)》显示,在不同职业人群中的抑郁风险检出率数据中,公司职员的抑郁风险检出率是12.8%、公务员是9.5%、企业工人为7.0%。


Yu, who has studied teacher mental health in China for more than 20 years, stressed that poor mental health isn’t just a personal problem for teachers, but has a profound effect on the country’s whole education system.

Teachers participate in psychological counseling activities to relieve stress in Shenyang, Liaoning province on July 18. Photo: VCG

Sources of pressure

In 2021, China rolled out the “double reduction” policy, which aimed to improve students’ wellbeing by reducing their homework and hours spent on after-school tutoring.

That year, the New Education Research Institute surveyed thousands of primary and secondary school teachers nationwide on the challenges they faced. The institute is a private education organization based in Jiangsu province.

The survey found that in the wake of the changes, teachers’ working hours had lengthened, their stress had increased and their professional satisfaction had fallen.

新教育研究院院长、中国教育三十人论坛成员李镇西曾在2021年针对中小学教师的负担问题进行问卷调查,共计收到调查样本总数为6653份,覆盖全国31个省(市、区)。调查发现,“双减”给教师的工作带来的变化,最多的是工作时间延长、影响个人生活,工作压力增大、职业幸福感降低等等。


For instance, teachers now often have to spend their lunch breaks as well as several hours after class monitoring students, as the assignments that would have previously be given to them as homework must now be completed at school, according to Fang Jie, who has been a primary school teacher in Shanghai for 17 years.

Fang said that the “double reduction” policy alone hasn’t been able to slash students’ workloads, due to concurrent changes to the country’s exam and textbook standards. “The new textbooks are getting more difficult, and that means more teaching work and assignments. With the rising difficulty of both textbooks and exam questions, how can the workload possibly be reduced?” she asked.

曾在上海一所小学任教17年的方洁告诉财新,实际上近几年来,为了达到学生不带作业回家的要求,教师常常需要在午饭后、下课时间盯着学生完成作业。在方洁看来,减负政策并不能真正达到效果,而考题要求、教材标准的变化导致了“增负”。“现在推出的新教材难度在增加,相关的教学工作、作业肯定要增加。教材难度、考题难度增加,负担怎么可能会降下来呢?”


Even during winter and summer breaks, teachers have little time for rest. Zhang Li, a teacher at a private middle school in Yinchuan, capital of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, shared her summer assignments with Caixin. The school requires teachers to complete a series of tasks aimed at “physical and mental adjustment” as well as “reflection and improvement.” These include attending lectures, watching films, reading, practicing calligraphy, writing reviews and articles, and lesson planning.

即使是在寒暑假,教师也未必能得到彻底的放松休息。在宁夏银川一所私立初中任教的张丽向财新展示了她今年的暑假作业:学校以“身心调整”、“反思与提升”,布置了听课、观影、读书、练字、写作和备课的多项任务,教师需要每天读书打卡,开学上交影评和教学文章,到了八月,年级组便要开始教研工作。


Additionally, teachers often feel drained by parents’ demands.

Fang once missed a call from a parent late in the evening. Given the late hour, she decided not to return the call that night. The following day, she asked the student about the issue, but the student said they didn’t know anything about it. Believing it was not serious, Fang moved on.

Half a semester later, Fang told the parent to contact her if she had any issues. The parent demanded Fang explain why she hadn’t answered the phone call that night. “I was caught off guard,” Fang said. “The parent had held onto that for months.”

方洁曾在晚上漏接了一位家长的电话,因时间已晚,她没有回拨。第二天她主动询问学生,学生告诉她并不清楚具体事宜,她判断问题不大,便不再在意。


隔了半学期之久,她再次跟这位家长联系,提出有问题早联系、早解决,家长却以此事质问她,为何当夜没有回拨电话。“这句话把我说蒙了,我想我确实没有打过去问他,然后这个家长就在心里面记了那么久。”


Fang also said that when such issues with parents emerge, teachers often feel that schools don’t do enough to support them.

“Teachers care about whether school leaders fulfill their duty to protect them,” she said. “If principals care about teachers, they’ll help manage small issues and resolve disputes, giving teachers a sense of security and support,” Fang added. However, she said principals tend to shy away when this kind of challenge emerges.

方洁向财新强调,换位思考,她能够理解家长的行为,但她更在意校长面对纠纷的逃避态度。她指出,教师往往更在意学校领导能否尽到保护教师的义务,“校长如果爱护老师,他会帮你推掉杂事,处理纠纷,教师就会觉得自己的心是很稳的,有依靠的,但我们的校长就是遇事会缩在后面的人。”


In 2021, Fang was diagnosed with a malignant thyroid tumor. After surgery, she has to regularly visit a hospital for follow-up treatments. When her contract expired in June 2023, the elementary school opted to terminate her employment.

Such conditions are not uncommon in the profession. Several teachers told Caixin that stress-related illnesses are prevalent occupational hazards.


Writing by Guo Xin

Editing by Joshua Dummer



关注我们,更多精彩等你发现

Twitter|Caixin Global

LinkedIn|Caixin Global

Facebook|Caixin Media


  点击“阅读原文”,去主站看看吧


CaixinGlobal财新国际
Read Caixin to know China better!
 最新文章