School in China literally cracks down on students' phones
Many schools frown upon students bringing phones to school. And this one means business.
A middle school in Guiyang, a city in southwest China, is going viral for actually destroying phones that it confiscates.
And as if it couldn't get any worse, the phones, which are first soaked in water, are then smashed with a hammer in front of the entire school.
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The video shows a discipline teacher in the school smashing three phones with a hammer and bending them in half as students look on in horror.
One guy, who is seen covering his eyes, looks like he literally can't stand to watch it happen.
"If students attempt to privately bring their phone into school and don't report them, and if they don't have a permit to carry a phone, we'll soak them in water and smash them," a school official told Pear Video.
"It's a school rule. You're not allowed to bring your phone to school," she added.
Students who bring their phones to school must hand them over to a teacher, the official said.
"We've repeated this a lot of times, and there is nothing more we can do for [students] who try to hide their phones, except to destroy the phones right in front of them."
Parents were "agreeable" to the school's policy, she said.
People on Chinese social media outlet Weibo, though, not so much:
"School is where you go to learn and grow -- is such a violent and rough method education?"
"Is this a school or a prison?"
"This feels sick. Since parents agree to this, can't they just leave the phone with the parents? Why smash them? When I was in school, I was forced to smash my MP4 player in front of my teacher. It's sick, really."
"The school, teachers and parents agree to smashing the phones, but do their real owners -- the students -- agree to this? Nobody cares about how our children feel, and this is our education system."
So the next time you get your phone confiscated -- remember, it could be so much worse.
I am an intern with Mashable Asia, focusing on viral news, lifestyle news and feature news in the region.
