Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Brain Explode Now

I'm so glad I talked to Blink about bullying this weekend. He came home from school on Monday with a most disturbing story.  There's Blink, in a bathroom stall doing his business, when his nemesis and tormentor tries to barge into the stall, yelling at him and presumably, aiming to attack him. Blink reports that he managed to hold him at bay with the stall door until he gave up and left. Here's the thing, though:  no staff were even aware that this even happened. Blink didn't tell anyone, either.

I did, though. I called an emergency meeting with the principal. Oh lord, what a miserable meeting that was. I don't understand what kind of principal, what kind of human being, could hear someone share their concerns about their child's safety at school and instead of being appropriately concerned and reassuring could instead be dismissive and hostile. My favorite quote was this:  "Gosh, you know, if I were you...  I know you're planning on enrolling him elsewhere next year. If you're this concerned, maybe you should consider moving up that transition."

Ah, nothing like a lovely exchange to set the stage for a collaborative, productive IEP meeting, right?

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