Hoping for a better week....
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| Sun, 09-30-2007 - 9:53pm |
Hoping for better things this week for last week was...well, crappy.
Started last Wednesday while I was sleeping (nobody should wake a sleeping Mother who works overnights.) and was told to get my son. We were informed that he was suspended for the rest of the day and the next. Of course, it was my husband they first spoke to who then woke me to say he was on this way to the school to get our son and perhaps I should call to find out the whole deal. Like I said never wake a sleeping Mother *haha*, because I call and I'm not so nice. The principal had gotten on the line and asked what was going on and then firmly told them that they will NOT be suspending my son...I wasn't too nice, unfortunately but I was very PE'OD and sleepy. Well he convinced me to come in and I did. At the school my husband is sitting in the office, as well as my son, his case manager, who was his special ed teacher the last two years; and the principal.
Quick back ground this is my son's first year in a regular classroom and is in now in third grade with an IEP. Okay back to the ordeal....apparently my son has been teased all day (this has been happening & just not on this day. Sad to say he stands out like a sore thumb in a class like this.) After a full morning of some teasing at lunch it came to a head. A child, one that keeps picking on him, was humming or singing and my son didn't like it. He is quite sensitive to noise and he told this kid to stop. The kid says "make me." So my son (wrongly) jabs him with a plastic fork. (I, of course, am not happy about that.) This kid says "that didn't hurt." This upsets my son and he hits the kid. The kid still is not phased so my son says "I'm going to bring a knife to school and stab you." Not sure where it went from there but that phrase alone is why my son was going to be expelled.
He has never, ever said that before at home or at school. Nor did my son realize saying something like this would have sparked such an strict action. I know for a fact as well as his case manager knows that my son would never have brought one om. The words were the result of teasing that was getting out of hand. When I saw my son in the office, he was scared and was hard to get him to speak. Plus seeing a very emotional Mom didn't help.
I also know that if he is suspended for saying what he said he will say it again since he'll learn that it is a free ticket home to get away from the mean kids in his classroom that pick on him. He is such an emotional child.
They did make a deal where he had to go home that day but the next two days he wouldn't be going back to his regular classroom but to the 3rd grade special ed classroom run by his case manager and then on Monday will return to his regular classroom. I was also told the kid that was teasing him was getting discipled as well. Then he says if it wasn't for the IEP, my son would have been suspended or expelled from school for sure.
Funny 10 years ago saying that phrase may get you in trouble but sure wouldn't have been suspended for it. I believe they should look at the situation before taking such drastic measures.
Anyway, he got punishment at home, too. Was grounded off the computer and playstation and wasn't able to watch his fav movies for the duration he was in the special ed classroom. Plus we had a long discussion on what is appropriate and what wasn't.
The local university offers some social therapy groups and such so I may be calling them tomorrow to see if I can my son enrolled or something. I think he needs it to help him deal with these social situations.
I do believe my son needs to take responsibility and tell the teacher right away that someone is teasing him but I also think the teacher is responsible, too. If this teasing has been going morning long, where was the teacher??
Okay off my soapbox...Monday will be a better day.
Shell


Oh Shell, I could of told your story word by word with my son last year.
Thisn is what scares me most about Liam being mainstreamed in 3rd grade. He's too high functioing for the class he's in but he'd be an accident waiting to happen in reg ed, especially with the 3rd/4th grade level boys. Sigh...
Dee
Didn't mean to scare ya. :-)
Minus the bullys, fortunately a few, he is doing great in reg 3rd. He has already been pulled out of class for advanced math & currently earning a high B. So far more positives than negatives...but the negatives are mainly social interaction among his "NT" classmates. He talks highly of some of his classmates so I know not all of them give him a hard time. Just recently he told me of a girl in class and he says "I have a friend. She is from Korea, that's a peninsula. It's South Korea." and another time said "I have another friend and she is from Tokyo. That is the capital of Japan." Where they are from is why I think he is interested with them but they must treat him nice since he talks highly of them. I asked if he talks to them and he says "A little but I'm not used to talking to friends." To tell the truth this is the first year ever that he ever mentioned friends he has at school.
I just feel the teacher knowing he's coming from a special ed classroom and knows of his "problems" should be a little more responsible. For example, if he is being teased like the previous entry "all day" then the teacher should have long before taken action to stop it. But that is my thought.
I did remind Dakota today since he's off to return to his reg classroom...if they start teasing, you must tell the teacher immediately. I explained it will be better that the teaser gets in trouble instead of him. The more the teaser/bully gets in trouble the less he would be picked on.
Like I said so far more pros than cons.
Shell
I'm sorry about what happend. I agree with your point of view.