Fil-Canadian boy called a pig for using spoon wins damage suit
By TheAdvocate
@TheAdvocate (2392)
Philippines
April 25, 2010 7:38pm CST
Remember the Filipino-Canadian boy who was scolded by his teacher for using a spoon also, instead of a fork only, during lunch? When he told his teacher that it was how they ate at home, the teacher said that was disgusting and she sent the little boy to eat alone in a corner. The teacher asked the boy also if Filipinos washed their hands before eating. When the mother complained to the principal, he told her "you are in Canada, and here in Canada, you should eat the way Canadians do. As long as he eats like a pig, he will go to another table because that is how we do it here."
The mother filed a case a damage suit. The court awarded her 17,000 Canadian dollars.
Do you think the school was right in forcing the boy to eat without a spoon? Did this rise to the level of discrimination or just punishment for not following Canadian culture? Is the monetary award of 17,000 Canadian dollars enough? Are Filipinos who eat with spoon and fork really disgusting?
1 person likes this
13 responses
@maanrodriguez (604)
• Philippines
26 Apr 10
I think people should respect each other's cultures and traditions. It doesnt matter where you live. yes we have to adjust to the place we are living at but that doesnt give the people from that country the right to disperect people from the other parts of the world. this is an outrage!
@TheAdvocate (2392)
• Philippines
27 Apr 10
That's right. It's not as if what the little boy was doing was criminal. We do have to make adjustments especially if you are migrating to their land. I do not think though that this should mean the loss of your identity. If its something that can be tolerated, then why not, right?
@angelajoy (1825)
• Philippines
26 Apr 10
I'm glad the boy and his mother won the lawsuit. The teacher's behavior is so discriminatory. Just because you are not a native in a country doesn't mean that people there can dictate what you should and shouldn't do. We should all learn to respect one another and to open our minds so that we could learn to tolerate each other. There's nothing wrong with doing things differently as long as we are not harming others.
@chateaudumer (10)
• United States
26 Apr 10
Amen to you, Angelajoy: The 17,000 Canadian dollars is not enough for the above discriminatory act. Eating with a spoon or fork is not disgusting, since I eat with both utensils. Some even eat with a knife. When my family and I am are in the Philippines ( 5 months every year), we used the spoon and when we are here in US, we eat with a fork. In some cases, we used both spoon and fork. In occasional cases, when the family has Dungeness crabs, we used our hands. We do indeed wash our hands before and after this delicious feast. Have you guys tasted Dungeness crabs ( Northern California) or for that matter coconut crabs( Philippines). If you do not used your hands to eat these delicious crabs, I feel sorry for you! I believe people who used only fork are ignoramus..there I go, I am starting to be discriminatory in my words..
1 person likes this
@TheAdvocate (2392)
• Philippines
27 Apr 10
Personally, i would rather have an apology from the teacher and the principal. I pity the little boy caught in the middle of a cultural battle, so to speak. As a teacher, I would have thought that she of all people would know about tolerance. Even the principal should not have uttered those discriminatory words.
@TheAdvocate (2392)
• Philippines
27 Apr 10
Hello, chateaudumer. I do think that there are certain foods that require utensils, and so do not. The poor boy was eating sinigang (pork broth). Using a spoon would be a lot better than drinking the broth straight from the bowl. Goodness, some people can be so narrow-minded!
@junmae (1586)
• Philippines
26 Apr 10
I hope all nations have a respect for each other's culture though they are already living in there country, they should respect on what is the way they lived in the previous country. That's why i am afraid in migrating to other countries because there are so many nations who discriminated my culture and they looked at it just like pig which are very disgusting to them.
@TheAdvocate (2392)
• Philippines
26 Apr 10
Discrimination is all over the world. Even here in the Philippines, we are sometimes guilty of that, in one form or another. We can sometimes be snotty. Don't we raise at eyebrows who eat with their bare hands, even if they are clean? Sadly, we still have a long way to go before we can truly be all equals.
@TheAdvocate (2392)
• Philippines
29 Apr 10
Was he by any chance Korean? I had a meeting once with a Korean. In the middle of the meeting, he suddenly raised one foot on the chair and put his chin on his knees. Without missing a beat, he continued on his train of thought and as his encore, he picked his nose. All the Filipinos could not wait to get out of the room to laugh. :)
@p3ks626 (6538)
• Philippines
27 Apr 10
I saw this news on TV maybe it was last year but I am not sure. Actually, I was disappointed when the child was called "a pig" for eating with a spoon and fork. Its a discrimination and and people ought to know how to respect how other people do in their own ways. Its very unfair if you are gonna be treated badly if you have your own ways. Its just rightful that the boy won the case. It will serve as a lesson that discriminating people is not something to be proud of. I mean, he was just a boy and he was called by a teacher a pig and imagine the effect its going to have on the kid. I dont think that any race is higher than another race. I think we are all the same and we are all of the same level.
@TheAdvocate (2392)
• Philippines
29 Apr 10
Yeah, I was outraged with the teacher and the principal's behavior. They are suppose to teach tolerance of other people, and so I cannot understand why they want the child to lose his identity. It was an opportunity for a lesson in cultural differences which the school missed.
@mspitot (3824)
• Philippines
27 Apr 10
awarding them the money is just right. the school must also give an apology to the child and the mother. the school shouldn't discriminate other people for their culture. instead, they should be ready on how to face diverse culture because it's a learning experience. what if their student's go to other countries that use other utensils in eating? would they call those people pig? or would they be happy if people from other country who use different utensils call them pig and disgusting? they should have thought of that because they are educators. i pity their students for having teachers like that.
@TheAdvocate (2392)
• Philippines
29 Apr 10
That is an excellent point. It was an opportunity to teach not only the Filipino kid, but also the other students about diversity.
Also, even if the award did not include an apology, it would be also be a good opportunity for the school to use them as a lesson on humility. Wouldn't it be nice if they apologized even if it is not part of the award.
@krischine (269)
• Philippines
26 Apr 10
Yes, I have heard of that news before about the boy who was being scolded by his teacher because he used fork instead of knife. I disagree with the school policy, they have no right to force a person to use a spoon. The boy has his own freewill, and using a spoon when eating is not a crime. As we all know, spoon and fork goes along and with knife, when we used to eat in a fine dining restaurant. It's not disgusting to use spoon and fork in my opinion, what's the use of the spoon? if it is not allowed to used it.. spoon shouldn't be made, i guess.
@TheAdvocate (2392)
• Philippines
27 Apr 10
When I first heard the story, I thought that the school's policy was unreasonable. What about the Chinese and Japanese people who eat with chopsticks, are they also going to be forced to eat with a fork only? I actually just found here in this discussion that the boy was eating sinigang. So how did they expect the boy to eat that with a fork? I'm all for disciplining children but it has to be with reasonable bounds.
@TheAdvocate (2392)
• Philippines
27 Apr 10
When I first heard the story, I thought that the school's policy was unreasonable. What about the Chinese and Japanese people who eat with chopsticks, are they also going to be forced to eat with a fork only? I actually just found here in this discussion that the boy was eating sinigang. So how did they expect the boy to eat that with a fork? I'm all for disciplining children but it has to be with reasonable bounds.
@TheAdvocate (2392)
• Philippines
27 Apr 10
Thank you cher, we appreciate that someone from your country sympathizes with us.
Just curious, and without any malice at all, how do canadians eat? The boy was eating sinigang, a Filipino pork broth, when the teacher scolded him. How should the boy have eaten the broth without a spoon? Thanks, appreciate your participation here.
@grecychunny26 (9483)
• Philippines
26 Apr 10
I was hurt after reading your discussion. We really don't know if there is such rules about eating in Canada, if there is a rule like that why the court awarded him of 17,000 Canadian dollars. It is obvious that these teacher of him was just discrimating him. There is nothing wrong in eating with spoon, and it is really not disgusting. We used spoon and fork to get the food to put into our mouth and that is being clean for me.
@TheAdvocate (2392)
• Philippines
26 Apr 10
It's not actually a rule, more of a way of living. The award was for the discriminatory act, that is, for the act of the teacher and principal of punishing the child in using the spoon. It's not like a jaywalking violation.
European societies frown on using the spoon. I forget why, but they think anyone who uses one is uncultured. It is not really a matter of hygiene. I think he used a pig because to him a pig is uncultured.
@ybong007 (6643)
• Philippines
26 Apr 10
I heard of this news and i can't help but be disgusted to the teacher and the principal. I can't help but think that there are still backward thinking people in that place, who don't even respect the culture of other people. It's really discrimination and i have to give the mother and the kid credit for being brave enough to go against the school. Winning the court battle is proof that this is not how Canadians should treat other cultures. The money is just a bonus. What i want to know is what are the sanctions given to the school to avoid similar type of complaints. Were they able to get an apology from the school as well?
@TheAdvocate (2392)
• Philippines
26 Apr 10
The irony of the situation is that they considered eating with a spoon backward. In "teaching" the child culture, they disregarded other cultures. So who is backwards?
About the sanctions, the news report says that the child transferred school because he became antisocial. There was a first case filed against the school but that was dismissed. The court said then that it was an isolated act, thus not discriminatory. I doubt if they got an apology from the retarded school.
@junrapmian (2169)
• Philippines
26 Apr 10
Why call us pig by using spoon and fork in eating? I haven't known any pig who uses silver wares in eating, have you? The teacher served her right, the teacher should learn to know the cultures of other countries and how to respect them. It's definitely a discriminating act. The Canadian dollars was just a bonus, if my child is the one involved here, I will have the teacher sent here in our country and eat with the pigs so she will know the difference!
@TheAdvocate (2392)
• Philippines
26 Apr 10
You just echoed my mother's sentiments. LOL
Yes, pigs don't eat with cutlery. They don't eat with hands. Come to think of it, they don't have hands! I don't know there the principal got that. He has probably been nowhere a pig farm.
@Eppie2010 (509)
• Philippines
26 Apr 10
Hey good thing you posted this one, I already forgot about this. Anyway, when my friend from Canada emailed that story to me I was very furious. Good thing the mother who complained won the suit, that gives a lesson to everyone - Don't mess with Pinoys! ^^
@TheAdvocate (2392)
• Philippines
4 May 10
Amen to that! The family was interviewed by Channel 7 and they were happy to have been vindicated by Canadian courts. I am sure the family had a difficult journey in pursuing justice. I am glad too that they stuck it out even though they initially lost the case.
@ersanmiguel (476)
• Philippines
26 Apr 10
"When in Rome do what Romans do"...yeah right. Maybe if it's all right. They were awarded 17K Canadian Dollar so that means they won the case? Well if it's me i think i won't take it. It's like a slam in their faces.
@TheAdvocate (2392)
• Philippines
26 Apr 10
Yes, they won the case. Unlike in the US, Canada is not known for making big awards in damage suits. They are a bit stingy on that.
