Parents must realize it's normal for pupils to argue and fight

On Sept 21, a man surnamed Lin reportedly beat up a student in Ruian, East China's Zhejiang province, who later died in hospital. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

Police have already detained Lin and he could face criminal charges. According to a police news release, his daughter had an argument with the student when Lin intervened and thrashed her injuring her in the eye with a knife. She did feel some pain but did not see the doctor as the injury seemed light.

The local procuratorate has taken up the case, and the local education department has arranged for counseling the other students.

Many have condemned Lin for acting like a criminal. However, some comments online seem to defend him, saying his action is "understandable" because he wanted to protect his daughter from being bullied. Such voices reflect a dangerous mindset in society.

It is natural for students to quarrel, even fight in school. Yet some parents are rather intolerant and get furious when their children suffer injuries, and tend to take the law into their hands, without thinking that their actions might cause damage to both families.

In Lin's case, the family of the dead student will suffer. But his own daughter will suffer, too, because she will not have the company of her father for a long time if he is sentenced to prison.

In 2015, the Ministry of Education issued a guiding document requiring education departments and schools nationwide to work with other organizations and departments to educate parents as part of their extracurricular activities. The idea is to teach the parents to be more tolerant. To redress their children's grievances, the parents can seek the help of the school authorities or legal channels, so as to avoid tragedies like Lin's.