Well, I received a call from the principal last night. We spoke for a while... and I think/hope that we may have a clearer understanding between us. One thing that was bothering me/us the most, is that we did not feel that there had been adequate resolution to the situation. The resolutions that we were told of, did NOT fit the "crime".... and if there had been other resolutions, we were never told that something had been done (again, we did not need to know specifics). But, low and behold, last night I was told that steps had been taken, but because the schools hands are tied due to privacy laws, they could not tell us what steps (that's fine, we just needed to know in general terms). I hope that I was clear in stating to him that it is quite frustrating on this side of the "fence", especially when the lines of communication were so foggy.
I also expressed frustration with the comments of me being "over the top", as well as the response to our request for the kids to be in separate classrooms next year... not a request for what classroom or a specific teacher... just separate rooms. I hope he understood our frustration there as well.
So, let's all cross our fingers and hope that we don't hear one more smidgen of a complaint from my son or his friend!! At this point, my son is experiencing headache's and belly aches almost every day. Stress is a nasty thing!
My goal is to not feel the need to post ONE MORE THING on this blog, which would mean that all is well. But, I will continue as long as these issues continue.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Quick update
I spoke to my husband this morning. He said the Superintendent told him that they are in agreement with the Principals course of action and that we should be hearing from the principal early this week (nothing yet).
How disappointing! Not sure where to go from here? If we don't know the whole story, i.e. how they are handling the bully, we don't know if action has been taken. But, thus far... very, very disappointing to say the least.
How disappointing! Not sure where to go from here? If we don't know the whole story, i.e. how they are handling the bully, we don't know if action has been taken. But, thus far... very, very disappointing to say the least.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
The basics...
It's not hard to believe in this day and age that Bullies are amongst us... schools, work and out on the streets. But, I thought the days of teasing about wearing glasses or having braces were over?? Apparently not!
I have recently found out that for the last 2 years (yep, that's right, 2 years!) my 8 year old son has been the victim of bullying. Now, this is not just on the level of calling him "four eyes", but has grown to hitting, kicking, headlocks and comments like; "I am going to take your sister home and tie her up, drag her upstairs and kill her"... oh, and the others... "I'm gonna kill you", "I am going to bring a gun to school and kill your father". Comforting huh?
The story came through his friend, while talking to his mom. Then, eventually got over to our family. We found out that most recently the bully was challenging my son to a fight. Constantly. Each time they entered the bathroom after recess, the bully went to work on him... trying to get him to fight. What followed the nasty comments was a whole slue of physical choices; punching, slapping, head locks, kicking, etc... In addition, my son's best friend was stepping in, taking some of the hits to "protect" him!! Don't get me wrong. My son is an average 8 year old boy with the the "little devil" sticker to prove it. But, this is too far.
Upon bringing it to the principal, the resolution was that the boys "just liked drama", that none of them "meant to hurt the other" (even though it was only happening in one direction??) They, the principal and parent of the bully confirmed the hitting... but the solution to the problem was simply removing bathroom privileges (i.e. all at the same time). As you can imagine, I disagreed with this, but nothing was changed. In fact, I was told that I was being "extreme" by the principal.
When we reviewed the bullying policy at the same meeting, we asked why it was not followed, we received no response. Not sure what the purpose of having a policy (via the state of Maine) is, if you don't follow it. Additionally, he would not commit to putting the boys in a separate class next year or even keeping them apart this year.
Next day at school, after the parent/principal meeting, another incident. When I asked the principal about it, he said the boys were just playing dodge ball (okay, first, why were THESE boys allowed to play dodge ball, when there is a known issue between them??). Nothing has been done about it since.
We have brought this to the Superintendents office and are hoping for help for this bully (who is only 8!) and to have a stronger resolution to the problem. Keep your fingers crossed!!!
I have recently found out that for the last 2 years (yep, that's right, 2 years!) my 8 year old son has been the victim of bullying. Now, this is not just on the level of calling him "four eyes", but has grown to hitting, kicking, headlocks and comments like; "I am going to take your sister home and tie her up, drag her upstairs and kill her"... oh, and the others... "I'm gonna kill you", "I am going to bring a gun to school and kill your father". Comforting huh?
The story came through his friend, while talking to his mom. Then, eventually got over to our family. We found out that most recently the bully was challenging my son to a fight. Constantly. Each time they entered the bathroom after recess, the bully went to work on him... trying to get him to fight. What followed the nasty comments was a whole slue of physical choices; punching, slapping, head locks, kicking, etc... In addition, my son's best friend was stepping in, taking some of the hits to "protect" him!! Don't get me wrong. My son is an average 8 year old boy with the the "little devil" sticker to prove it. But, this is too far.
Upon bringing it to the principal, the resolution was that the boys "just liked drama", that none of them "meant to hurt the other" (even though it was only happening in one direction??) They, the principal and parent of the bully confirmed the hitting... but the solution to the problem was simply removing bathroom privileges (i.e. all at the same time). As you can imagine, I disagreed with this, but nothing was changed. In fact, I was told that I was being "extreme" by the principal.
When we reviewed the bullying policy at the same meeting, we asked why it was not followed, we received no response. Not sure what the purpose of having a policy (via the state of Maine) is, if you don't follow it. Additionally, he would not commit to putting the boys in a separate class next year or even keeping them apart this year.
Next day at school, after the parent/principal meeting, another incident. When I asked the principal about it, he said the boys were just playing dodge ball (okay, first, why were THESE boys allowed to play dodge ball, when there is a known issue between them??). Nothing has been done about it since.
We have brought this to the Superintendents office and are hoping for help for this bully (who is only 8!) and to have a stronger resolution to the problem. Keep your fingers crossed!!!
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