Feels like forever since I've done this blogging thing. I'm hoping that I'll finally be able to get back in the swing of things. Not that I care that much about posting myself, but I sure do miss reading all your posts!!!
Summer is finally approaching, and I could not be happier about it!!!! I finally managed to get everything done for Annie's school year. Hopefully she will finish up tomorrow, so I can write up the final quarterly report over the weekend. I tell you, my brain is just drained beyond drained. I am soooooo glad we decided to take the summer off from school this year!
The boys' field days are tomorrow. And then they just have Monday and Tuesday before their school year is over. That is if they don't come down with the swine flu before then. I really wish I was joking about that. But I got a call last night from my neighbor across the street. Her son, who plays with Gray and Max nearly every day after school and who Gray sits with most days on the bus, has it. Actually our health department has declared it's at epidemic levels in the county. Whatever that means. I know, I know, it's just the flu. But Annie and Max both have lung issues so we tend to worry more about them with things like this.
And I got a call from the school today. Seems there was an "incident" on the bus. I was told that Max got a cut under his eye when a 5th-grader stupidly opened an umbrella. I was told that Max's teacher and the assistant principal talked to Max, Gray, and this kid, and all assured them that it was not malicious, just bone-headed. However, when the boys got home, I got a totally different story. The boys both told me that the kid not only definitely aimed the umbrella right at Max's face, but then laughed when the umbrella hit Max and Max started crying. I also found out that this is the kid who has bullied Gray in the past. And the boys both said they told the assistant principal this. Needless to say, the school got a call from one very upset mommy! Max is fine, but this cut is seriously only about 3/4 of an inch from his eye...and I'm just so angry that they're just trying to sweep it under the rug. I was promised that they would speak to this boy again tomorrow and see if they could get him to admit that he did it on purpose. Otherwise, what can they do? Gee, I don't know...I guess wait until he "really" hurts someone. Sorry, I know I don't sound particularly forgiving here. But I wasn't angry when I believed it was just a kid not using his common sense...heck, that can happen to anyone. But when I found out that not only was it deliberate, but that the school lied to me about what my boys told them had happened, well...let's just say I'm not feeling particularly happy right now.
Geez...I'm just a rambling barrel of laughs here, aren't I? Perhaps I should go back into exile...
I promise if my attitude doesn't improve by tomorrow, I'll just extend my "blogging break" and spare you all, okay?
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17 comments:
So is it only Annie that's homeschooled? I hope you guys don't end up with flu troubles. :(
That bus thing is horrible. When my middle son was in Pre-K, a classmate of his attacked him on the bus and scratched his face, and that kid got written up and kicked off the bus. So there are consequences the school can hand out. It's not right of them to lie like that. That's horrible.
Oh no, that's awful! The flu thing and the bus incident. I hope you all are okay and that those bullies will be punished.
No Debi--don't go back into exile! I've missed you! And Yay for Annie's school year being over. What are her plans for next year? Will she coenroll at the college again? Keep us updated!
I'm sorry to hear about Max's eye and I'm glad to hear he's OK. What an ordeal! Makes you wonder what else is going on that parents don't find out about.
Omg! I totally squealed when I saw your post in my reader. :D
But I'm sorry to hear about poor Max. I think you have a total right to go Mamma Grizzly on their asses. I think elementary schools are way too tolerant of bullying. One of my best friends was bullied so unmercifully that his parents finally decided to move when he was in seventh grade. His mom also put him in Tae Kwan Do (sp?) just to give him more confidence. When my sister was in kindergarten, another little girl kept bullying her. So my mom went in to the room with her one morning before school began, sat down next to the little brat, and just said very quietly "Are you being mean to my daughter? Because you shouldn't do that." And then left.
Ok, enough with the bullying stories. But if you need to vent, go ahead and do that! Don't stay away from blogging unless you have to!
And I'll keep Annie, Max, and Gray in my thoughts with the swine flu thing. *hugs*
Poor Maxie. Being bullied just stinks. Sometimes kids can just be so mean.
But don't stop posting, even if it's only the bad stuff. I miss you!
Noooooo! No exile! You have every reason to be upset. Like Eva was saying, schools are much too tolerant of bullying. If they keep communication to these kids that they can get away with it, that excuses will always be made for them...well, what kind of people will they become? At the very least they'll become adults who believe that asserting your power by stepping on others is okay. And not a single one of the ways in which that belief is expressed is pleasant. Some, in fact, are so unpleasant they can land you in jail.
Give the boys a hug for me. And give Annie one too, just because. I hope they're all in good health and that the little boy who does have swine flu gets well soon!
Nice to have you back, Debi! And good to hear that you're almost done with school. As for Annie and next year, have you thought about just enrolling her at the community college full-time? Our local community college just graduated a 15-year-old girl who started at the age of 12. I'm betting that Annie could handle it and might even like the challenge.
In terms of the bus incident, if there's a discrepancy in the stories told to/heard from the assistant principal, ask to talk to the principal about it. Ask him/her why the version of the event your kiddos told was apparently discounted. What kind of message does that send the kids? You might also ask Max and Gray if there were other kids who saw what happened and who could back up their side of the story. Schools have to keep records about disciplinary events, and it could be that they don't want to have to report this up the line. OR they may be thinking, incorrectly, that because this is so close to the end of the year, they don't have to deal with it in terms of discipline.
As for the flu, keep a careful eye on the kiddos and get them to the doc at the first sign of anything amiss. If they come down with it, you want to start treatment ASAP.
geez.. i hope Max is ok.. makes you wonder where a young kid learns to be cruel..
I come with - "No Sparing Required," didn't you know that? :)
Amanda,
Yep, for right now anyway, it's just Annie. And thanks...like I said, I know it's just the flu, but we'd really rather avoid it. Obviously. :)
And yes, I think that's what upset me the most--the fact that I was lied to. And I e-mailed Max's teacher to ask her what happened...she totally backed up Max's and Gray's versions, so there is absolutely NO doubt that the assistant principal simply lied. I'm sure she was just trying to make as little trouble for everyone as possible...I'm not even sure if they called the other little boy's parents.
Melody,
Thank you, sweetie!
Trish,
Awww, thank you! You're too good to me, you know!
Yep, Max really is fine. I think I've been caused more stress over than he has...simply because I'm so angry that the assistant principal chose to lie to me. (And as I told Amanda above, Max's teacher backed up Max's and Gray's versions...they never told anyone that it was an accident.)
Annie will be taking another cc class in the fall. And frankly, I'm a tad jealous--it's a Children's Lit class.
Eva,
Any idea how good you just made me feel?!! I swear it was like I could physically feel a genuine Eva hug. :D Thank you!
By the way, your Mom is just the coolest! But you already knew that, didn't you?
Stephanie,
Thanks! I've missed you, too!
And yep, bullies suck, don't they?
Nymeth,
Okay, no exile. And thank you...you always make me feel so loved. :D
I agree about the bullying. You know, honestly I don't want to raise a big stink or anything. But the way this was handled just really gets to me! But to just sweep it under the rug? What good does that do? All it does is tell the kids that he can get away with. I'm not saying the little boy should be suspended or anything, but "something" should have been done. At least a call to his parents. The assistant principal told me that they were going to make him apologize to Max yesterday, but they couldn't even manage that because of the crazy schedule. And how this lady could just blatantly lie to me...yeah, leaves me feeling a little less than confident in the school right now. And like I told Amanda above, I know she lied to me because Max's teacher backed up Max's and Gray's versions of the story. Frankly, the whole thing has left me sort of flabbergasted.
And thanks for asking about the little boy across the street. He's not allowed to go back to school for the rest of the year, but he's already feeling much better.
Oops...I'll be back to answer comments later...it's time to head off to field day festivities. :)
Looking forward to seeing you back in full swing. Swine flu - for real! I had totally forgotten it was circling as it has been so low in England. Fingers crossed your kids don't get it. That kid sounds horrible. I have a headmaster at the girl's school who likes to brush everything under the carpet rather than deal with it. I think he hates me now as I never let these kind of things drop.
Jean,
First of all, thank you! :D
To to be allowed to graduate from college in NY you must have a high school diploma (which a homeschooled kid can't get), a GED (which Annie isn't eligible to take for several years yet), or go through this program of 24-credit hour program of college courses (which cannot also count towards a college degree--no double dipping). Most NY homeschooled kids take the GED route as they're not ready to start a college program before age 17 anyway (the age you must be to take the GED except in very specific circumstances). Annie will be in 8th grade next year, and the regulations state she has a full year of math, English, history, and science, plus art/music, library skills, phys. ed., practical arts, and health. So requiring her to take all that through college classes would be a bit much. She could skip another grade and move to 9th, because the requirements are much less (would amount to about 4 1/2 college classes each semester). I'm guessing she'd do fine on the year-end testing even if she did skip another grade (she still had a composite score in the 99th percentile this year despite having skipped a grade), but I'm not sure we want to put that much pressure on her. So anyway, I think for the coming year, she's just going to take one college class each semester (maybe two in the spring?), and then start with a fuller load when she gets to 9th grade. I just keep telling myself that it's just one more year of overwhelming work for me, and then it should get much easier. And as she is so obviously thriving the way things are, it's definitely worth it!
DesLily,
He really is okay. Thank you so much for your concern!
Joy,
Thank you! That's very nice to hear, and much appreciated! :)
ScrapGirl,
Thank you! I've missed everyone so much...I'm really looking forward to getting caught up again.
And hooray for you! It may be easier, but I don't think it does anyone any good to just sweep things under the rug.
I keep forgetting how strict New York is with homeschooling. Virginia is much looser, which can be good or bad, I guess. Will you be following through on the bus incident?
Wow, you can't get a high school degree with homeschooling? That's really strange. I've never heard that.
Amanda,
Since homeschooling is a state regulated thing, I'm sure there most likely are states where homeschooled kids can be a high school diploma. But not in New York. (New York and Pennsylvania are somewhat notorious for having the toughest homeschooling regulations in the country, though I don't personally have much knowledge about particulars of other states.)
First off, I'm glad to hear the boy with the flu is feeling better now!
Secondly, *hugs* I totally agree with you that the assistant should not have tried to sweep it under the carpet like that! Though I hope that the school has taken some more/better measures now that a few days have passed. *hugs* I'm glad to see/hear you haven't gone back into exile. Your reaction is completely understandable! *hugs*
I'm glad to hear Max is doing well too, though getting bullied is no fun. :( *hugs and sends good thoughts to Debi and family* (Tell Annie I'm jealous of that children's lit class too!)
I loved all the pictures of your kids-I continue to be amazed at how grown up they all look. And then I am reminded of how long it has been since I have seen all of you and been able to have a good, long conversation with you...I miss you!
I can't beleive the assistnat principal flat out lied to you and tried to sweep the incident under the rug - did he think your boys were going to be too intimidated to tell you what really happened? That is just throroughly disgusting and a real indicator of what is wrong in schools today. I will keep from jumping up on my soapbox...I am just glad Max is OK.
Make sure you get to some of those "would be nice to do" things on your list...especially the ones that are just for you! Hope you have a wonderful summer and that it is starting out fantastically!
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