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Dangerous potion created when helpers assume parental duties

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I would like to thank Theresa Cunanan ('My Wonder Girl and a quest for justice against racist remarks', May 23) for taking the time to speak to her nine-year-old daughter's teacher about making racist remarks in the classroom.

The teacher had said that Filipino domestic helpers do not have good English, and possess undesirable accents. A few years ago, I researched the influence of Filipina helpers on the English level of children in Hong Kong Chinese homes.

Every parent told me the same three things:

The Filipina domestic worker had taught his or her child some English;

The helper had assisted the child with homework and, in a number of cases, had assisted in dictation and/or exam preparation;

The parent felt uncomfortable with this due to worry about the child picking up errors or speaking 'like the maid'.

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