英文阅读：Kind lessons for robber and society
A media report last week of how an elderly woman foiled a robbery attemptand even saved the wounded burglar's life has triggered debates among
netizens.
Li Jianhua, a retired teacher from Weihai, Shandong province, was attacked
by a burglar in her home but fought back bravely. The man stabbed Li on her head
and neck. He was also injured in the fight. In the end, the 19-year-old robber
collapsed, partly because of injury and partly because of the psychological
strain. He asked Li to kill him. Li said to the boy: "You are my son's age. Your
parents must have undergone many hardships to bring you up. How can you do such
a thing? If you have difficulty, I can help you. Now you go; I won't call the
police. Or we go to the hospital." The young man was so moved that he called her
"Mom".
Readers were divided in their understanding of Li's action. An online
survey found that 55.2 percent of the netizens supported her while 38.4 percent
expressed disapproval. While expressing admiration for Li's kind-heartedness,
the second group said she was too lenient to a criminal, citing the story of a
farmer and a snake, and even accused her of conniving at the crime. The first
group said she did nothing wrong for she was trying to save a "degenerating
soul".
I think both sides are right in their respective ways of assessing Li's
action but both have rather one-sided approaches.
Generally, one should not hide a crime. But in this particular case, it
might be better to emotionally move a misguided youth so that he gets a chance
to reform himself than to put him in jail, which may ruin the rest of his life.
The question here is whether the young man was really repenting what he had
done. He looked so, for he appeared panic-stricken as if it was his first ever
attempt to rob a person. But who knows? Nowadays, it is never easy to tell a
person's real intention.
Before this question is answered, it is not meaningful to argue whether
Li's protection of the robber is reasonable - or legal - or not. What is more
important is the motive behind Li's action.
In what Li said to the young man, we see a loving mother and a professional
teacher.
"Your parents must have undergone many hardships to bring you up. How can
you do such a thing?" This is the typical language a teacher uses to urge
his/her students to learn to be good. But the robber is not Li's student. And
this is exactly why Li is admirable.
Faced with a robber who had lost his weapon in the tussle, the former
teacher chose not to run away from possible danger but to educate the young man
on ethics. This may appear to be "pedantically doltish", as Li's critics put it.
But it is actually the natural act of a conscientious teacher. She did so out of
both a mother's and a teacher's love for youngsters.
What a noble feeling.
This is - or should be - an intrinsic feeling of all teachers as a
profession. However, this feeling is dying among a considerable - though small -
number of teachers. There are two reasons why this is happening.
First, some teachers are too occupied with their efforts to earn money from
parents who force their children to attend extra-curricular courses. Their love
for students has been overtaken by their desire for money.
Second, the education authorities' excessive emphasis on "respecting
students" encouraged some students to hurt their teachers' feelings. For many
years, the authorities and "education experts" have encouraged students to be
defiant to their teachers. And incorrect interpretations of the Law on
Protection of Minors by parents have deterred teachers from criticizing students
for their misconduct.
Something has to be done to stop the trend and help teachers preserve their
professional ethics.
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