Chapter 1 — Protect Your Children

After my son came home, before he could even put down his bag, he went into the bathroom and cried. I knocked on the door and asked what was going on. The boy choked up and said, "Mom, am I really disgusting?" My head immediately pounded. After asking for a long time, I found out that today the homeroom teacher asked the whole class to vote to choose "the most disgusting child". My son got the highest number of votes. I was so angry that my hands were shaking. I immediately opened the parents' group and asked: "Whose child is participating in this vote today?" The homeroom teacher immediately replied: "Parents, don't make a big deal about the little thing." I stared at the screen and laughed. "What about the little thing? So now I will tell you what the big deal is."... After sending that sentence, I did not continue arguing in the group. But the messages in the group were as chaotic as water poured into an oil pan. Lo Minh Vien's mother was the first to speak up: "Mom Tri Ha, normally Ms. Hua is very responsible, she certainly doesn't mean to hurt the child." Immediately someone continued: "Do your child's hygiene habits really need attention? The teacher just wants the best for you." "Lately the class is emulating the civilized class, everyone don't make a big deal out of it." The last sentence was especially glaring. Looking at the three words "civilized class", my palm gradually became cold. I didn't answer them, just lightly knocked on the bathroom door. "Tri Ha, I won't ask anymore. You go out first, I'll cook noodles for you." Inside was silent for a long time, then the door opened a small crack. My son, Tham Tri Ha, stood behind the door. The boy's eyes were swollen as if he had just been soaked in water. He was only eight years old, the collar of his uniform was wrinkled, and on the name tag in front of his chest was a piece of transparent tape that had not yet been peeled off. I squatted down, looked straight into the boy's eyes. "I'm not disgusted." Tri Ha stared at the tip of his shoe, his voice was very low: "But everyone raised their hands." My chest felt like it was hit hard by a heavy object. The boy said again: "Miss Hua said the minority must obey the majority. Mom, is it true that many people think so?" I put my hand on the boy's shoulder, trying not to cry immediately. "No. Even if many people do the same thing wrong, it is still wrong." Tri Ha looked at me bewildered. I said: "Tonight, you only need to remember one thing. You are not the word they chose. You are my son, Tham Tri Ha." The boy's lips trembled, and he finally threw himself into my arms. I held my child and sat on the living room sofa for more than ten minutes. During those more than ten minutes, new messages continued to appear in the parent group. Hua Thanh Hoan, also Tri Ha's homeroom teacher, sent a long paragraph: "Today is just a small activity to correct hygiene habits. Students use humor to point out problems, the purpose is to help you improve, there is absolutely no humiliating behavior." There is also a smiling emoticon behind it. I placed the phone face down on the table. Tri Ha raised her head and cautiously asked: "Are you going to scold Ms. Hua?" "No scolding." "So will you let me miss school tomorrow?" This question hurt me even more than when the boy asked me if I was disgusted or not. I patted my child's head: "Tomorrow morning, you'll take half a day off. Mom will go to school with you to clarify this matter." Tri Ha immediately panicked. "Don't go to class." The boy grabbed my shirt tightly, his knuckles turning white: "You will say I'm a tattletale." I slowly grabbed the boy's hand. "I won't push you out in front of everyone. Adults' mistakes must be made clear by adults." I cooked something for the boy. bowl of clear noodles, add a fried egg. He only ate two bites and then said his throat was choked. I don't force my child. Waiting for the boy to sleep, I gently picked up his schoolbag. In the secondary compartment of the briefcase there is

A crumpled sheet of graph paper had seven words written on it: "Pledge to improve hygiene." The first line below was Tri Ha's crooked handwriting: "In the future I will not let people feel disgusting anymore." My fingertips stiffened. In the lower right corner of the paper, there is also a comment in red pen from Hua Thanh Hoan: "Tomorrow will share during class activities, receive your opinions." I sat in front of the desk, not moving for a long time. When she turned on her phone again, the parents' group had turned into a place where Hua Thanh Hoan summarized everything herself. She said: "There is no ill will between the children. If the parents continue to raise their opinions and make a big deal out of the child's story, it will destroy the spirit of solidarity of the class." Finally, I answered one question: "Miss Hua, I will go to school tomorrow morning. Please prepare an explanation of the process of today's activity, the person who proposed the vote, the full text of the voting question, as well as the reason why you forced an eight-year-old child to write this pledge."I spread the paper flat on the table. Under the light, the two words "disgusting" are so bright that it hurts the eyes. The group was silent for three seconds. Lo Minh Vien's mother jumped out again: "Mother Tri Ha, if you do that, it will make the teacher very embarrassed." I looked at her profile picture and calmly typed: "She is embarrassed because she did something wrong." This time no one responded immediately. The next morning, Tri Ha woke up very early. The boy was not wearing a uniform but was holding his coat and sitting next to the bed. I asked my child if he wanted to stand at the school gate and wait for me. The boy shook his head and nodded again. Finally he said: "I want to know if Ms. Hua said I lied." I asked for permission to give the boy half a day off and then took him to a breakfast restaurant next to the school. The boy sat next to the window, clutching a straw in his hand, not daring to look towards the school gate. I didn't rush my child, just texted Hua Thanh Hoan: "I've arrived at the school gate. Is it convenient for you to meet now?" Eight minutes later, Hua Thanh Hoan replied: "I have class in the first period. If parents are agitated, you should calm down first." I replied: "I'm very calm." Two minutes later, she said: "Then go to the moral education room." The moral education room is on the second floor, in front of me. The door had a colorful slogan: "Let every child see." Standing under those words, I suddenly felt ironic. Hua Thanh Hoan arrived very quickly. She was in her thirties, had short hair, wore a white shirt, and had her homeroom teacher's ID card on her chest. When she walked in, she didn't look at the paper in my hand but sighed first. "Mother Tri Ha, I understand your desire to protect your child." "But the scariest thing in communication between family and school is acting on emotions." I pushed the commitment in front of her. "This is not emotion, this is the truth." Hua Thanh Hoan glanced and frowned. "This is just for the child to self-criticize. Recently, Tri Ha's hygiene problem has been quite prominent. The desk drawer had scraps of paper, after lunch the clothes were stained with soup, the used tissues were still stuffed in the bag." I asked: "So you forced the whole class to vote for the most disgusting child?" Thanh Hoan felt a little cold. "Children today have a very rich vocabulary, parents should not underestimate them." The director of the moral education department sitting next to him coughed softly. His last name was Chu, his hair was gray, and he spoke very skillfully. "Let's do this, Ms. Hua's original intention was definitely good. Perhaps the wording was not satisfactory, we will warn internally." I said: "I didn't come here today to hear about the 'original intention'." Smile

Chairman Chu's face stiffened. I put the phone on the table and opened last night's message from Hua Thanh Hoan in the parent group. "Miss Hua said this was a small activity to correct hygiene habits, and said it was in a humorous way. So may I ask if the school allows the use of offensive labels in managing young students?" Homeroom Chu's finger tapped twice on the table. Hua Thanh Hoan spoke first: "Mother Tri Ha, if you keep wearing hats like that, it no longer has any meaning. Our class always has a civilized and hygienic grading system. Every child will have a time when it's their turn to be reminded."It's their turn. Those two words made my heart sink. I asked: "Has it also been the turn of other children before?" Hua Thanh Hoan realized he had said something wrong and immediately corrected himself: "I mean every child must receive a collective assessment." At that moment, someone knocked on the door outside. A mother wearing a blue coat stood in front of the door, looking a bit awkward. "Director Chu, I am Wen Niem Niem's mother. May I come in?" I recognized her. Wen Niem Niem is Tri Ha's tablemate, normally her mother almost never talks in the parent group. Director Chu was stunned: "Are you also here because of yesterday's incident?" Niem Niem's mother nodded. After entering, she looked at me first, as if she had to muster up her courage for a very long time. "Last night my daughter cried. She said Ms. Hua forced each group to nominate a candidate. Anyone who did not raise their hand had to explain the reason. At first she did not raise her hand, but then everyone at the table looked at her so she also raised her hand." Hua Thanh Hoan's face completely changed. "Mom Niem Niem, you have to. Be responsible for what you say. Children's memories are easily distorted." Niem Niem's mother took out a Literature book from her bag. On the back of the book cover is a note. On it was the girl's immature pencil line: "I didn't mean to vote for Tri Ha. I was afraid Ms. Hua would ask why I wasn't honest." The moral education room was silent. In the end, Director Chu also regained his smile. I didn't touch the note, just asked Hua Thanh Hoan: "Is this also a child's joke?" Hua Thanh Hoan pursed her lips. A few seconds later she said: "Parents arbitrarily joining together behind the school's back does not help the school's work." I almost burst out laughing. "Miss Hua, yesterday I only asked one question in the group. Today Niem Niem's mother came here because her child was also pushed into the position of accomplice by her." Niem Niem's mother's eyes turned red. "My daughter said that when Tri Ha went out to get water, the children behind her covered her nose and ran away. She wanted to run away. talked to Tri Ha, but was afraid that others would say he was hanging out with disgusting people." My throat felt blocked. But Hua Thanh Hoan said: "That's why I have to correct it. A child's bad hygiene habits will affect relationships with friends." I looked at her. "You ruined the relationship between the children, then you said my child is not sociable." Headmaster Chu sat up straight. "Miss Hua, did you have a lesson plan for yesterday's class activities?" Hua Thanh Hoan paused. "There is a simple process." "Bring it over." Here.” Director Chu's voice was not loud but firmer than before. Hua Thanh Hoan did not move. She looked at me and said: "The lesson plan is in the office. This afternoon there was an open day for parents, I also planned to introduce the results of the class's self-management. At that time, everyone can watch it together." I immediately noticed one word. "Introduction?" Headmaster Chu also frowned: "Introduction of what?" Hua Thanh Hoan's expression looked a little unnatural.