There was one year when I was "invited" to a dialogue session with an MOE official who was seated in a group of my colleagues and the school leader were seated in a room in school.
At that time, the climate in the school was not conducive to a candid expression of views, so I had only two KPIs for the session - keep quiet and eat free food. (Catering was provided).
Throughout the session, I said nothing. I only opened my mouth to eat sandwiches.
One of my colleagues asked a question about ranking.
If an older and a younger teacher of the same grade were ranked together, wouldn't the older teacher be disadvantaged? I felt it was a fair question and the questioner was a veteran teacher.
The principal immediately became defensive. "That is a dangerous assumption." She interjected. She must have talked more but that line is the only one I can recall. I understand that the colleague was later called in for a reprimand.
Why was it "dangerous"? Probably because the school leader was insecure and worried that such a question implied that her ranking system was unfair.