As written by a Stomper to MOE:
"The parents learnt of this when the child was complaining of pain. Imagine the dilemma of the parents who have never slapped their child since birth.
"What right had the teacher taken to do such an act? No physical action should be taken at any one time which is in line with MOE rulings.
"I made a call this morning (Monday 28th July 2008) to MOE and spoke to a kind lady to get the director of the school to return my call. Unfortunately, she will only speak to the parents concerned.
"The father of the kid has spoken to the vice-principal on this issue and is awaiting their investigation. We want to expedite this issue and that is why I decided to help the parents concerned to get things done.
"Since things are moving too slowly, we would like to seek your urgent help to investigate this issue and if necessary, we need a public apology in print from the teacher or school to the parents concerned.
Thanks."
I read that article on Stomp an hour ago. Needless to say, I was shocked, not by what the teacher did, but what the writer wrote. "Imagine the dilemma of the parents who have never slapped their child since birth." Can such a thing happen? Not being slapped since birth? The child must be the most obedient child ever!
There can only be two reasons, the child's parents are parents by name and not by role, or the parents are not the main persons in charge of the child's life. Even animals chide their young when they do something wrong, and not just by screaming or shouting. It could entirely not be the parents' fault. Perhaps they were not around when the child does something wrong, thus not being able to serve out the necessary punishments.
How harmful is a slap anyway? For an adult, it would mean a lot. Loss of pride, status and respect. Unhappiness, perhaps hatred towards he that slappeth me.
What about a child? A child's mind is more sensitive to actions, feelings and events. It could affect him mentally; could result in a fear towards teachers or towards the mandarin language. If he has a younger sibling, he might actually imitate what the teacher did, that is, slapping the sibling when he or she does something wrong.
It would even cause conflict between the parent and the child, at the very least. While the matter would be cleared much quicker by posting online or generating publicity, how about the child? Parents always say they know what's the best for their child. Bullshit, I say. They think they know what's best for their child because it's best for them themselves. Maybe sometimes they are right. Maybe they are not. Which child wants to be known as the one that directly indirectly fired a teacher?
Not many.
And, I would know.
I was one.
"Dear Sir
"I would like to draw your attention to an incident which occurred at Fuchun Primary School on Friday 25th July 2008.
"A student was slapped on the face by the teacher for the simple reason that he was unable to translate "Zebra Crossing" from English to another language.
"I would like to draw your attention to an incident which occurred at Fuchun Primary School on Friday 25th July 2008.
"A student was slapped on the face by the teacher for the simple reason that he was unable to translate "Zebra Crossing" from English to another language.
"The parents learnt of this when the child was complaining of pain. Imagine the dilemma of the parents who have never slapped their child since birth.
"What right had the teacher taken to do such an act? No physical action should be taken at any one time which is in line with MOE rulings.
"I made a call this morning (Monday 28th July 2008) to MOE and spoke to a kind lady to get the director of the school to return my call. Unfortunately, she will only speak to the parents concerned.
"The father of the kid has spoken to the vice-principal on this issue and is awaiting their investigation. We want to expedite this issue and that is why I decided to help the parents concerned to get things done.
"Since things are moving too slowly, we would like to seek your urgent help to investigate this issue and if necessary, we need a public apology in print from the teacher or school to the parents concerned.
Thanks."
I read that article on Stomp an hour ago. Needless to say, I was shocked, not by what the teacher did, but what the writer wrote. "Imagine the dilemma of the parents who have never slapped their child since birth." Can such a thing happen? Not being slapped since birth? The child must be the most obedient child ever!
There can only be two reasons, the child's parents are parents by name and not by role, or the parents are not the main persons in charge of the child's life. Even animals chide their young when they do something wrong, and not just by screaming or shouting. It could entirely not be the parents' fault. Perhaps they were not around when the child does something wrong, thus not being able to serve out the necessary punishments.
How harmful is a slap anyway? For an adult, it would mean a lot. Loss of pride, status and respect. Unhappiness, perhaps hatred towards he that slappeth me.
What about a child? A child's mind is more sensitive to actions, feelings and events. It could affect him mentally; could result in a fear towards teachers or towards the mandarin language. If he has a younger sibling, he might actually imitate what the teacher did, that is, slapping the sibling when he or she does something wrong.
It would even cause conflict between the parent and the child, at the very least. While the matter would be cleared much quicker by posting online or generating publicity, how about the child? Parents always say they know what's the best for their child. Bullshit, I say. They think they know what's best for their child because it's best for them themselves. Maybe sometimes they are right. Maybe they are not. Which child wants to be known as the one that directly indirectly fired a teacher?
Not many.
And, I would know.
I was one.
