Undoubtedly, education has been a subject of concern for years. It is believed by some that high schools should encourage students to criticise their teachers in order to improve the academic quality, whereas others think that this way of teaching would lead to a loss of principle in class. From my perspective, while this can help teachers be aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and blur barriers between teachers and students, some students may cross the line.
On the one hand, there are two major advantages. One benefit is that this way of teaching would provide teachers with opportunities to assess themselves. For instance, there are situations where teachers assume that their knowledge are always accurate, thereby denying all answers and questions that students give. As some teachers’ views are quite narrow, such situations may sometimes result in incorrect information, which negatively affect both teachers and students’ knowledge. Therefore, allowing students to point out teachers’ faults would create a favourable condition for teachers to reflect their weaknesses, and continue developing their strengths. Another benefit is that criticism would act as an effective way to strengthen the bond in class. This is because everyone in a class can freely give opinions about others, which would enhance naturalness. Thus, above a class, teachers and students may see others as a small family, and a comfortable space for studying. As a result, students are motivated to work hard together and achieve good marks, a healthy source of joy.
On the other hand, criticism may undermine classroom discipline. This is largely because some students may take advantage of this way of teaching in order to insult teachers, showing their rudeness and disrespect. Once they push the limit, they are likely to do it again multiple times due to assumption of being cool if no one warns them. As a result, not only do teachers feel a sense of sadness, but other students in class and their parents are also uncomfortable. It will be hard for others to focus on studying if there are students with uneducated behaviours. This would definitely not the initial aim of student criticism, but a loss of morality.
In conclusion, I believe that high school students should be enabled to criticise their teachers. However, this way of teaching needs to be strictly controlled, aiming at avoiding bad behaviours.
