Chinese kindergarten treated to back-to-school performance of — wait for it — pole dancing
School is officially back in full swing, which means its the season for first day of school photos, reunions with friends, and apparently some pole dancing for a group of Chinese kindergarteners.
Administrators at Xinshahui Kindergarten in Shenzhen, China are facing a maelstrom of criticism following a ceremony that took place on Monday to welcome students back for the new school year. In what was allegedly an effort to introduce the kids to different genres of dance, schoolchildren watched a jazz performance and one of traditional Chinese dance, before being acquainted with a scantily-clad dancer who performed on a pole.
A Chinese-based American journalist whose child attends the school took to social media to share his outrage over the entertainment provided to the 5-year-olds. And he wasn’t the only one.
Who would think this is a good idea? We're trying to pull the kids out of the school and get our tuition back. They wouldn't give us the number of the company that owns the school, but looking into that. pic.twitter.com/vEdIhuq774
— Michael Standaert (@mstandaert) September 3, 2018
In a thread of tweets that have since started a great debate, Michael Standaert shared multiple videos of the performance, which took place on a flagpole displaying the nation’s emblem and was surrounded by a crowd of kindergarten students and their parents.
“Who would think this is a good idea?” Standaert questioned, after explaining that the school’s principal Lai Rong had previously sent the students off to summer with 10 days of military activities. After this second incident, Standaert is now trying to pull his children out of the school.
This was the military display from back in July. Almost took them out of the school then but they were a few days from finishing so just let them stay. It is hard to move the kids around to a bunch of different schools here, and they’ve made a lot of friends. pic.twitter.com/EkhGKyQJyq
— Michael Standaert (@mstandaert) September 3, 2018
Hundreds of people have responded to the tweets to express their disbelief, while some surprisingly say that they “don’t see anything wrong here.” But Standaert seems to have the biggest problem with how the principal has responded to parental concerns — including hanging up on his wife’s calls and even suggesting that they were going to provide pole dancing lessons at school.
That was one thing I hadn't mentioned. When my wife called her that first time the principal said they were planning on having pole dancing classes at the school.
— Michael Standaert (@mstandaert) September 4, 2018
The ceremony has stirred up conversation on China’s own social media platform Sina Weibo, where the majority of people are also criticizing school administrators. According to a Chinese news outlet, the Baoan District Education Bureau is now calling for the dismissal of Principal Lai.
“My whole career in education has been destroyed by just this one event, just five minutes of performance,” Ms. Lai told The New York Times. “The internet is too powerful.”
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
• Single mom suspended from teaching job after pole-dancing video is leaked to school district
• Parents outraged after 5-year-old son leaves school alone, walks nearly 3 miles home
• ‘Mom, I didn’t eat alone!’ Mother shares post about kind students who included her son
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