I think when rules are to strict it hurts your child it ruins there self confidence my advise is talk to the teachers the principal and if that does not work then I would consider pulling your child out! I have a horrid senario. My daughter was suspended for supposedly "cutting" someones hair but yet a girl who assaulted my child and called her names was not suspended. Now how fair is that they say they have a zero tolerance well in my eyes they play favorites. I had my now 16 year old 3 days before the end of school year was beaten and dragged off the bleachers but they did not suspend the kids because it was finals! If they can suspend a kid for hair cutting whether she did it or not is still yet to be determined, they should of suspended the kids who did what they did to my son. I think they pick and choose kids who will be suspended or not. I think somethings need to be worked out in the classroom and suspension is not the answer. Your child will be labeled as a disciplinary child. My findings are they play a different role for each child. I don't agree with what they did to your child. Kids learn from there mistakes and I think the school needs to help work with us parents whether it is private or public to fix and resolve and suspension should be for the more serious offenses. This is how it starts trust me from experience. You do not want your child labeled as a problem child because it will never end! My kids were in counseling for being hyper and turns out I have 2 with add and one with adhd and tourettes syndrome.. You may want to have your child tested for it as well. Not saying he has it because he is only 5 but by the 3rd grade or age 7-8 it will become more obvious if he has it. Try sitting him down and explaining the rules and expectations and praise him when he does make good choices. Remind him he is there to learn and do your best. Try to get the school to explain to him consequences for being hyper and that there are rules and they do need to be followed but they should work with you not against you. Good luck to you... The positives are more important once they focus on the negative thats exactly what your going to get.

John, I totally know what you mean. My son is 5 and just started Kindergarten and it's the same thing. My son is a good kid, a normal 5 yr old and they all are but they treat them like their teenagers and expect them to read their minds and expects way too much out of them. I want to know what to do myself because it's stressing me and my son out to the point where he doesn't want to go to school and wishes he was still 4 again and makes me not want to send him, but he has to go or I go to jail. What do we do? I feel like my hands are tied and they have all the control over my child. I have soo many issues with my son's school and his teacher, I went there today and spent some time helping out and I could not believe how they treat those 5 yr old kids. Good Luck !

I understand. Throught out my schooling, the administation has always been way more concerned with the rules than the education. NO talkin, Dont chew gum, tuck in your shirt, constant bicker about the rules.

I recently entered highschool and let me tell you, it is AMAZING. rule free as far as im concerned . . . other than the big stuff, dont smoke pot in the bathrooms, dont keep a pochet knife in you back pack. thos kinds of things.

Im sad to say, but your son is probably gonna have to wait til highscool til the teachers stop nagging.
I have sympathy, my second grade teacher did that to me constantly. She had these slips of paper called " no-nos" I swear I probably got one everyday.

Good luck =)

I have also noticed that a lot in school these days. Administration seems to be much more focused on maintaining extreme standards of discipline than academics. If your child psychologist found that your child is developing normally and does not any learning disabilities than it may indeed be the school you chose.

I would suggest since you feel so strongly to start looking for another school. However, I would not pull your son out of this school until your sure that you would be agreeable with his new school. The last thing your child needs is to repeatedly change schools.

My son went to pre-school. But he is very creative and an independent spirit. He is disciplined but not over disciplined. He's such a good kid, but he is not a robot.

He started playing drums at age 3 and is now heavily into drawing and art. I know there is something about him: he really does fall outside the middle of the bell curve.

Actually, I now consider this a badge of honor. When he is older, I will laugh with him how he got basically got kicked out of Catholic school after 3 weeks at age 5 and how organized religion can often be a farce.

I don't know what I was thinking sending him there. I am an accomplished person and a good citizen but I am unorthodox and so isn't my son.

We will never be fully understood (who really is anyway) and certainly not in a place where thinking or being outside the box is frowned upon.

But it was those who were unquestioning rule followers who helped give Hitler and Stalin and the Spanish Inquisition its power.

Who wants a beautiful child to be trained to be like that?

He needs to find a place where he is free to grow at his own pace.

"Different hearts see different things. Different hearts beat on different strings."
-- Geddy Lee

It could be that this school is not a good fit for your son. I work at an elementary school (public) and have 3 grown children (all went to public school). I work primarily with 1st graders and know that 5/6 yr olds come in all shapes, sizes and personalities. It sounds like the school you have your son enrolled in is focused on order and rule following. Although rules are important and necessary, a childs self esteem is equally important. Did your son go to preschool? There is an art to knowing how to wait your turn, stand and walk in line, raise your hand to answer a question, etc.
It is harder for some children to acclimate to the new routine of school. Is your child an only? Sometimes it is more difficult for only children to accept that they will not always be first.
The fact that you've had your son evaluated by a psychologist before he started school tells me that you have some concerns as well for your son. Most parents don't see a need for this.
We have students transfer from private to our school and generally it is because of behavior problems. Your son may also have a hard time at public school if he is not used to structured days and rules.

john i was alway told to pay attention to the red flags. my daughter went to a private christian school for pre kindergarden. omg the kids were caddy and the teachers were very mean and strick. every day my child would say please dont take me back to that school. it thought she was just missing mommy issues and dont get me wrong she was learning a lot. but she was never happy. due to the economy. i had to put her in public school. scared me to death. she started school aug 11th. and not once have she said dont take me back. and she is upset because school is closed on the weekend. maybe look into another private school that not ran like a prison camp LOL good luck

I think it is important to follow your gut! God has given us all as parents the ability to know when something is wrong concerning our kids. If you don't feel this is a good school for your son, by all means get him out of there!!! There is a good school out there for him!