A recent Canadian Broadcasting Corporation report on corruption in China took an unfair turn when they stated that corruption runs so deep that "even schoolchildren understand it." They described how students were constantly witnessing parents offering lavish gifts to teachers. Although I am not in a position to evaluate how pervasive Chinese corruption is relative to Wall Street scandals, Montreal city hall/construction kickbacks or Mafia-related white collar crime in Italy, the school-gift issue also exists in Britain, Singapore and in North America. But in most cases, although giving an expensive gift to a teacher is inappropriate, it does not necessarily translate into bribery.
I appreciate chocolate gifts, Bob Marley CDs and periodic table-socks from my students. Of course, home-made thank you notes are just as effective, and because the latter can't be eaten or worn out, they last longer.
Although I have never received a gesture of appreciation with a price tag exceeding $15, I imagine that I would refuse expensive offerings. But it would be mostly to avoid an atmosphere of suspicion because in reality I am, like many teachers, a fair grader. Even when questions are not multiple choice, the playing field can be leveled by marking page by page without looking at names and constantly going back, cross-referencing so that the same mistakes are penalized in an identical manner. The problem of grade inflation is not tied to gifts; it has a whole other set of causes.
There is also the issue of how big a gift is relative to the donor's wealth. Many years ago, I worked at an American private school where, to fund the building of a new gymnasium, a woman had donated one million dollars. But she was worth $12 billion. Her act was equivalent to a person with $250 000 in assets donating $20.* Another individual, nowhere near as wealthy as the woman, left in his will between $1 and 2 million but specifically to build new chemistry and biology labs. A gift to a school is not exactly the same thing as giving it all to one individual, but in general, a school with competent teachers has less to worry about potential strings attached to a gift of any magnitude.
*Of course, good luck to any gymnasium-fundraiser who is trying to collect $20 from each of 50 000 middle class citizens! There's no doubt that the gym would not have been built without her generosity.
Sources:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2178455/Lavish-end-term-presents-force-increasing-numbers-teachers-register-gifts-prevent-bribery-accusations.html#ixzz2CadRTZqX
http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/ID/2305931285/
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-09/12/content_15753867.htm
http://www.tremeritus.com/2012/08/24/catholic-high-school-openly-solicits-teachers-day-presents-from-parents/
I appreciate chocolate gifts, Bob Marley CDs and periodic table-socks from my students. Of course, home-made thank you notes are just as effective, and because the latter can't be eaten or worn out, they last longer.
Although I have never received a gesture of appreciation with a price tag exceeding $15, I imagine that I would refuse expensive offerings. But it would be mostly to avoid an atmosphere of suspicion because in reality I am, like many teachers, a fair grader. Even when questions are not multiple choice, the playing field can be leveled by marking page by page without looking at names and constantly going back, cross-referencing so that the same mistakes are penalized in an identical manner. The problem of grade inflation is not tied to gifts; it has a whole other set of causes.There is also the issue of how big a gift is relative to the donor's wealth. Many years ago, I worked at an American private school where, to fund the building of a new gymnasium, a woman had donated one million dollars. But she was worth $12 billion. Her act was equivalent to a person with $250 000 in assets donating $20.* Another individual, nowhere near as wealthy as the woman, left in his will between $1 and 2 million but specifically to build new chemistry and biology labs. A gift to a school is not exactly the same thing as giving it all to one individual, but in general, a school with competent teachers has less to worry about potential strings attached to a gift of any magnitude.
*Of course, good luck to any gymnasium-fundraiser who is trying to collect $20 from each of 50 000 middle class citizens! There's no doubt that the gym would not have been built without her generosity.
Sources:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2178455/Lavish-end-term-presents-force-increasing-numbers-teachers-register-gifts-prevent-bribery-accusations.html#ixzz2CadRTZqX
http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/ID/2305931285/
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-09/12/content_15753867.htm
http://www.tremeritus.com/2012/08/24/catholic-high-school-openly-solicits-teachers-day-presents-from-parents/
As Shi-min Fang puts it, China's odd confusion between totalitarianism and extreme capitalism makes it possible. I would put the weight on totalitarianism, it won't surprise anyone who knows me, because I see it happening every day in America whereas capitalism is nothing new.