We all know that the internet can be a boon or a bane. Unfortunately for a Kindergarten principal in Xinshahui Kindergarten, Shenzhen, China, it happens to be the latter. Her actions – and Internet infamy – got her fired from her job.
Students from Xinshahui Kindergarten and their parents, were made to watch a scantily clad pole-dancer perform on stage in the school courtyard, on the school’s opening day on September 3, according to Channel NewsAsia reports.
A pole dancer performs in front of parents and their kids in a Kindergarten in Shenzhen, China, on the first day of school. | Picture credits: Screengrab from South China Morning Post
The pole dancer flung herself around the pole and down on the floor, flicking her hair suggestively.
Shockingly, the little boys laugh and mimic the pole dancer’s moves and swing around each other; while the girls in red marching band uniforms in the front seemed to be rooted to the ground.
It’s too much for some mothers — they hurriedly drive their children away from the scene.
The principal, Ms. Lai Rong was apparently under fire for having organised the pole-dancing performances. The performers were members of her pole-dancing class.
Pole Dance Show at Kindergarten Causes Uproar Among Parents
This incident created a stir on social media after a parent, Michael Standaert, who sends his children to the privately run Xinshahui Kindergarten in Shenzhen, recorded videos and shared them on Twitter.
The videos subsequently went viral on Weibo as well, China’s microblogging platform.
Ms. Lai Rong, the principal herself was in the performance too, as seen below.
And That’s Not All…
There was also a burlesque performance by a second dancer, reported Reuters. There were multiple adverts placed for a pole dancing school, just outside the school, added Standaert.
“Who would think this is a good idea?” said Standaert who has made efforts to pull his children out from the Kindergarten. | Source: Standaert’s Twitter
The performance even had the China-based freelance journalist tweeting that he would be pulling his kids out from the Kindergarten to get his tuition fees back.
Obviously, no parent would approve of such inappropriate “actions”, especially by the Principal of a school.
The local Bao’an district educational bureau stepped in only after the matter blew up over the internet. In a statement last Monday, they said they have launched an investigation into the kindergarten and have ordered a dismissal of the school’s principal.
“The bureau believes that it is not appropriate to perform pole dancing for children in kindergartens,” as seen from this statement on Weibo.
The principal, Ms. Lai Rong, stepped up when parents demanded an apology from the Kindergarten. Ms. Lai apologised saying that she thought “inviting professional dancers to the kindergarten to perform for the parents would liven up the mood”. It would be a good welcome for the children on their first day.
Never Assume, Even with Children
“I did not think through the contents of the performance… It was a very terrible viewing experience for the kids and the parents. For that, I sincerely apologise,” Ms. Lai Rong said, according to a report on Weibo of her text message to parents.
There were 500 children aged three to six and 100 parents in attendance, according to State Media.
Standaert said that some students were “uncomfortable” with the performance. This is unlike what Ms. Lai Rong has said in a telephone interview.
“Children are quite simple, they wouldn’t think such complicated thoughts about this,” she said. “They’d just think that it’s amazing for someone to be able to fly on a pole like that.”
Perhaps, it could be that “her intentions had been misunderstood” as Ms. Lai Rong only arranged the dance because of the dancer’s “excellent skills”. But it has cost her career.
“My whole career in education has been destroyed by just this one event, just five minutes of performance,” she said. “The internet is too powerful.”
Thankfully, now things are moving back to normal with a new principal in command.
Source: Channel NewsAsia, Global Times, Reuters