The dreaded 30cm ruler, image courtesy of Guangzhou Daily

An English teacher at a primary school in Foshan’s Nanhai District has confessed to having a system in which she would hit her Grade 3 students 5 times with a metal ruler every time they made a mistake in English dictation. The teacher claimed that some parents had requested her to use corporal punishment, but has promised to stop after complaints were made, Guangzhou Daily reports.

After receiving complaints from the parents of a boy named A Xiao (alias), Jiafu School in Dali Town disciplined the teacher, Miss Guo. A Xiao could not come in Monday (Dec. 30) because he had been hit ten times by his teacher the previous Friday and blood was drawn from three fingers. His parents say that every time they try to touch the 9 year-old’s palm, he cries out in pain.

It turns out that on the day he sustained the injuries, 40 other students were made to queue up and be punished with him. According to A Xiao’s mother, Mrs. Li, this is not the first time the teacher had wielded her dreaded 30cm ruler on the boy: “She also hit him some time before National Day. When I touched his ear, he would say it hurt, so I just had to give him some ice to rub on it.”

An image of A Xiao’s hand snapped by Guangzhou Daily

A Xiao refused to go to school Monday because there would be another session of English dictation and Miss Guo had allegedly pledged to punish mistakes even more severely.

When confronted by A Xiao’s parents, Miss Guo confessed to whacking the students’ hands with her ruler, but denied that she had ever hit a child around the ear. She justified her actions by saying: “I hope the children can reach a higher level as a result of my approach.”

Guo also claimed that when a child is visibly upset by one of her punishments, she makes an effort to comfort them.

The deputy principal of the school, Mr. Cao, claimed that this was the first time complaints had been made about Guo. He emphasised that corporal punishment is wrong and that the annual appraisal of Guo’s teaching would take this into account. She is also likely to lose her end of year bonus.