Teachers in a Jiangsu town practice being a Teacher Mum, a phrase that has been coined to a number of teachers who have taken on an additional more nurturing role for the children who are “left-behind”.
After China opened up to the world 40 years ago this year, millions of children were left-behind by their parents who migrated to the cities for work and for many, never returned. As a result in present day China millions of Children have been left to be raised by their grandparents or left to the state.
The group Teacher Mums began 10 years ago in response to children in need of support, reported South China Morning Post. Now, a total of 220 teachers from different schools across the town have joined the group.
Teacher mum member Jia Yuehua told reporters, “You need to act like the children’s mother if you want to be a good teacher”. The group has since helped over 1,000 children.
“The key to being a good teacher mum is love”, said vice-principal Chen Jinghua said.
