Chapter 7 — Protect Your Children

I brought the letter home but did not immediately give it to Tri Ha. I asked my child first: "Miss Hua wrote a letter of apology. Do you want to read it today or wait a few more days?" Tri Ha was doing a puzzle. The boy thought and said: "Read it today. Mom, read it with me." We sat on the sofa and read the entire letter together. When she read the sentence "that word doesn't belong to me", Tri Ha's eyes turned red. The boy asked: "Does she really know she was wrong?" I did not guarantee Hua Thanh Hoan. "At least she was forced to admit she was wrong. Whether or not she really changes in the future is up to her." Tri Ha folded the letter and put it in a drawer. "I don't want to forgive her." I hugged the boy. "Okay." "The teacher has apologized, can you still not forgive?" "Maybe. It's her business to apologize." I have to do it, whether I forgive you or not is up to you." Tri Ha leaned into my arms, as if she had finally breathed a sigh of relief. One week later, classes 2-3 held a new activity. The theme of the event is no longer improving hygiene but "Reminding friends how to study without hurting them". Tri Ha was not asked to speak. The new homeroom teacher just said to the boy privately after class: "We'll figure out how to organize your desk together. The teacher has prepared a cleaning list for everyone, not just you." When Tri Ha came home, in the side pocket of her school bag was a small card. Above was written: "Tri Ha, sorry. I shouldn't have shouted after everyone. Lo Minh Vien." There was another one: "Yesterday I wanted to talk to you, but I was cowardly. Wen Niem Niem." Tri Ha put two cards on the table, looked at them for a long time. "Mom, do I need to answer?" "If you want to answer, answer, if you don't want to, it's okay." The boy thought seriously and then picked up the pen. On the card for Wen Niem Niem, he wrote: "It's okay. Next time you can whisper to me." On the card for Lo Minh Vien, the boy wrote for a long time, and finally just wrote: "I know." I don't correct him. There are reconciliations that can slowly take place. Having uncomfortable feelings should also be allowed to exist. The parent group then reformulated the rules. The head of the parent committee was also changed. The first thing in the group's announcement is: "Issues related to individual children are not allowed to be publicly named in the group, ranking, voting or evaluation by labeling are not allowed." Lo Minh Vien's mother apologized in the group. She said that at first she only thought about class competition, did not look at the problem from the position of the hurt child, and also overlooked the fact that her child had been misled. That paragraph is not very well written. But at least it's no longer "don't make small things into big things". The day Tri Ha returned to school, cinnamon flowers in front of the school gate were blooming. The boy put on his bag, walked two steps and turned around. I thought my child was scared and was about to squat down and hug him. But the boy seriously asked: "Mom, today I brought three small trash bags. One bag for tissues, one bag for pencil scraps, one bag for spares. Is that okay?" I smiled and nodded. "Very good." The boy asked again: "What if someone continues to call me by that word?" I looked into the child's eyes. "You can say: Please don't call me that. Then tell the teacher and tell your mother." Tri Ha pursed her lips. "If the teacher also What if you don't care?" I adjusted the red scarf for my child. "Then mom will come again." Finally the boy smiled. It's not a smile that comes from being comforted by someone else. It's the smile of a child who knows there is someone behind him, so he dares to step forward. I stood outside the school gate, watching the boy run toward the classroom. It didn't run fast, the bag on its back bounced up and down, the edges of the pockets

Small trash in the side compartment is slightly exposed. That's not shame. It's just an eight-year-old child learning how to take care of himself again. In that same moment, I understood. Adults protect children not by creating a vacuum world, separating them from everything. But when someone calls humiliation education, silence is understanding, patience is thinking about the big picture, we have to stand up and tell the child: You don't have to swallow a mistake in exchange for a safe seat. That seat originally belonged to me.