As Teachers Day (Sept 10) approaches, a recent article on xici.net titled "On Gifts on Teachers Day from the Perspective of a Teacher" has drawn great attention. The author, Ms. Chen, a primary school teacher in Dachang District of Nanjing, appealed to parents to stop sending gifts on Teacher's Day.

The author has been a teacher for nearly 20 years and in her article Ms. Chen quotes an old Chinese saying: "Who receives a gift sells his liberty", and states her own wish, "All I want is to teach my students well and fulfill my responsibilities at work. I hope the parents would release themselves as well as the teachers from this trouble."

After this article was posted online, it provoked a heated discussion and was placed at the top of the page. Some netizens reacted with virtual applause; while others issued their own opinion. One of them, a netizen with the online ID "Light of the Soul", echoed the author's view: "if you don't accept, parents would be unhappy; if you accept, you will lose your dignity and honor. Some parents just go to the classroom, slip money into teachers' hands, and leave. The teacher may even not know who they are. This is really absurd."

Nevertheless, some netizens feel that there seems to be no choice but to follow the status quo: "My friend is a kindergarten teacher himself. Even he admits that he sends gifts to the teacher of his son"; "I heard a teacher say that he would remember those who don't send gifts. I can't speculate what this implies, but I hope all the teachers can refuse the gifts and remain innocent. Don't spoil the reputation of this holy profession."

In response to the online discussion, Ms. Chen told reporters that she wrote the article to illustrate the disturbing experiences she, and other teachers, had endured: "We resent some parents' behavior of giving gifts, because we know for sure that they do this for utilitarian purposes rather than out of respect for the teacher."

As to what kind of effect the gifts may have, she replied, "I can only tell you that few teachers would change their attitude to the students as a result of gifts from the parents, and no child would make great progress just because his/her parents give the teachers gifts."

"My favorite gifts are the cards in my drawer, made by the children themselves. I also ask my son to make cards for his teachers, because I know what the teachers really value", Ms. Chen said.