10 ‘dos and don’ts’ for Chinese teachers include warning never to ask students ‘What do your parents do?’

The question “What do your parents do?” is one of 10 phrases that Chinese teachers should avoid asking students, mainland media reports.

Teachers have been given a list of dos and don’ts after Hubei Provincial Department of Education drew up a list of 10 “beautiful phrases” and 10 “unmentionable phrases” for teachers as part of a campaign to help them improve their behaviour, the Chutian Metropolis Daily reported.

However, the article did not explain exactly why the question “What do your parents do?” should be avoided. Other unmentionable phrases teachers should never say are “It’s OK if you don’t want to learn, but you should not affect other people”, “Be quick, I am busy” and “I have never seen a student like you”, the report said.

Teachers should also never tell students “How come you are getting worse and worse”, “I really cannot stand you” and “I know that you cannot change”.

The report also said that, although teachers would find sometimes students that didn’t want to learn, they should still avoid telling them to “Go to sleep” or “Go back home”.

Teachers should always avoid using language that blamed students for not being young and energetic, it said.