몸부림치는 모성애

Tasha Henderson, right, and her daughter, Coretha, left, pose for a photo

outside their home in Edmond, Okla., Friday, Nov. 11, 2005, with the sign Coretha was forced

to hold for an hour at a busy intersection so that passing motorists could read it. The 14-year-old

freshman already has been forced by her parents to give up basketball and track because of

slipping grades, and said she hopes to improve in school so she can play next year. (AP Photo)

학교 성적이 떨어지고 상습적으로 지각하고 선생님에게 말대꾸하는

고등학교 1학년 딸을 가졌다면 어떤 기분일까요.더웃 낙제 유급의

위기인 데도 공부는 안하고 운동만 하는 딸을 그냥 보고만 있으실래요.

이 엄마는 얘에게 피켓-나는 숙제를 안해요 학교에서는 아무러케나 행동해요

그래서 부모님께서 나의 앞날을 위해 이런 일을 준비하셨다-을 들리워

복잡한 교차로에 서 있게했데요. 아동인격모독이라 분통을 터뜨리는 사람,

정서적으로 장애를 준다고 말하는 사람,교육적으로 신경 쓴 엄마가 보기

좋다는 사람 등등. 지나 가는 운전기사가경찰에 알리고 경찰이 왓으나

범죄 행위가 아니라 한 시간 후에 떠날 것응 요그했다. 우리네 옛절에 이불에

지도 그리면 키를 씌워서 옆집에 소금을 억으러가게 하고 소금 주는 집에서는

부지깽이로 키를 두더렸다는 데...

Mom Makes Teen Stand on Street With Sign

By SEAN MURPHY, Associated Press Writer Wed Nov 16, 9:42 PM ET

EDMOND, Okla. - Tasha Henderson got tired of her 14-year-old daughter's poor grades,

her chronic lateness to class and her talking back to her teachers, so she decided to teach the girl a lesson.

She made Coretha stand at a busy Oklahoma City intersection Nov. 4 with a cardboard sign that read:

"I don't do my homework and I act up in school, so my parents are preparing me for my future. Will work for food."

"This may not work. I'm not a professional," said Henderson, a 34-year-old mother of three. "But I felt I owed it

to my child to at least try." In fact, Henderson has seen a turnaround in her daughter's behavior in the past week

and a half. But the punishment prompted letters and calls to talk radio from people either praising the woman or blasting

her for publicly humiliating her daughter. "The parents of that girl need more education than she does if they can't see

that the worst scenario in this case is to kill their daughter psychologically," Suzanne Ball said in a letter to The

Oklahoman. Marvin Lyle, 52, said in an interview: "I don't see anything wrong with it. I see the other extreme

where parents don't care what the kids do, and at least she wants to help her kid."

Coretha has been getting C's and D's as a freshman at Edmond Memorial High in this well-to-do Oklahoma City

suburb. Edmond Memorial is considered one of the top high schools in the state in academics.

While Henderson stood next to her daughter at the intersection, a passing motorist called police with a report of psychological abuse, and an Oklahoma City police officer took a report. Mother and daughter were asked to leave

after about an hour, and no citation was issued. But the report was forwarded to the state Department of Human

Services.

"There wasn't any criminal act involved that the officer could see that would require any criminal investigation,

" Master Sgt. Charles Phillips said. "DHS may follow up." DHS spokesman Doug Doe would not comment on whether

an investigation was opened, but suggested such a case would probably not be a high priority.

Tasha Henderson said her daughter's attendance has been perfect and her behavior has been better since the incident.

Coretha, a soft-spoken girl, acknowledged the punishment was humiliating but said it got her attention. "I won't talk back," she said quietly, hanging her head.

She already has been forced by her parents to give up basketball and track because of slipping grades, and said

she hopes to improve in school so she can play next year.

Donald Wertlieb, a professor of child development at the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development at Tufts University, warned that such punishment could do extreme emotional damage. He said rewarding positive behavior is more effective.

"The trick is to catch them being good," he said. "It sounds like this mother has not had a chance to catch her child being good or is so upset over seeing her be bad, that's where the focus is."