No one is too short to teach

Recently, a female in Shaanxi Province was denied a teaching certificate because she was too short. According to the Education Department of Shaanxi Provincial Government, female applicants must be over 150cm. The woman, surnamed Li, at 140cm, did not qualify, although the Teachers Law of China does not set any height limit for teachers.

Following public outrage on Li’s behalf, the local education authority responded by saying that they would make an exception for Li. But why should height restriction be instituted for teachers in the first place? Some argued that short people cannot comport themselves well in a teaching position. This isn’t a very convincing argument at a time when multimedia teaching aids more than make up for any deficiencies. In essence, teachers are expected to educate students, spread knowledge and serve as a role model. There’s no direct correlation between their height and their ability to teach.

To determine whether a person is qualified to be a teacher, one’s moral height and scope of knowledge need to be valued over physical stature. Besides, enabling people like Li to teach could inspire students that size does not matter — it’s quality that counts.