April 19, 2009

vigilante justice?

here i was minding my own biz...on a hot and humid sun afternn.....my neighbour screaming at the kid over some homework issue....
2hours later she was still at it...even me talking to C on the phone, C can hear la.......the poor kid whimpering in fear....made me and mama pea feel super uneasy...this is outright abuse lor....and not the 1st time we've heard her at it.......we went to the neighbour's door...but it was closed n we figured maybe this was not the best idea...don't want to kena blue black for being kaypoh....so went home n came up with what we hope is a better and wiser alternative.

typed up a short n sharp letter and went to slide it under the neighbour's door. Mama pea thot i shld ring doorbell then run..but i didn't think it was necessary to behave like we were doing something wrong.

reproduced here for posterity...
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Dear Mdm of unit #XX,

We can’t help but overhear your scolding of your child for the last 2-3hrs. We realize that you are trying to coach the child in homework. We can also hear your child’s whimpering and crying.

We would like to just appeal to you to calm down and give the child some breathing space. No child that is so scared and terrified would be able to absorb what you are trying to teach.

A suggestion perhaps is to hire a tutor who would be able to guide the child in a more neutral and constructive way. Sometimes it’s hardest to listen to people who are closest to us.

We are not trying to be busybody and have considered knocking on your door to speak with you however we are not sure how you would react and would prefer this method as it is less confrontational. It is not our business how you discipline your child, we just want to gently bring to your attention that perhaps there are more effective and less painful ways for your child.
yours sincerely
your concerned neighbour
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I hope we did the right thing, the screaming and scolding stopped after about 15mins.....then it was quiet.......just hope the child didn't/won't kena whack even more or something.....
i figure as the lady reading the letter, she will react in one of two possible ways....get even angrier and try to find out which kaypoh neighbour it is......or hopefully feel embarrassed enough to calm down and reassess the situation...

quite a exciting sunday at home i must say...must go speak w my cousin later..she's in social work...she'll be able to provide better insights into these matters....

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

good job! the mother really can scream man!
maybe the kid is slow - what to do right?
a tutor is a good idea!!! guess why teachers hire us though they can teach their own kids! :)