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webgranny April 8, 2008

My child was kicked in the stomach one day by another student. He told the teacher (gym) in the class as soon

webgranny
as it happened. The teacher told him to tell his regular classroom teacher who saw nothing. My son told his teacher and her response was she couldn't do anything about it because she wasn't there which was appropriate. 2 days later when he had gym again the same kid knocked him down and kicked him in the back. Again the teacher was told and this time he made fun of my son for telling on this kid, for not just sucking it up. This time when he told his teacher in his regular classroom she took my son to the principals office to give her his account of what had been happening. Nothing was done. I went to the school and met with the principal who said she was going to have the teacher apologize to my son and the class and to let them know from now on it is not okay to be bullied by anyone and to inform him. That never happened. My son had become so frightened and full of anxiety about going to school I had to put him in a private school. I get no response from the superintendent.
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Parent Answers to "My child was kicked in the stomach one day by another student. He told the teacher (gym) in the class as soon"

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irishwhistle
irishwhistle April 16, 2009
Sometimes the message you need to send your kid is that you aren't just going to send them back to be destroyed. I wish I had gotten that message as a kid. Instead, the message I got was that I was that the school adults pretty much thought the kids were justified in calling me every name in the book, and that my mom was too busy to do much but pity me.

I used to dream of school transfers the way some kids dream about having super powers.
Anonymous
Anonymous April 9, 2008
I believe I would write a full summary of the events to the Superintendent of Schools, and copy the principal and each member of the board of directors. This is unacceptable.

In our school, the offender would have been immediately suspended, parents brought in, and charges possibly pressed with juvenile authorities. Our school district is very strict on violence, has a strong no bullying policy, and operates in a zero tolerance manner.

I agree with Luv-Bn-Mom about the need to make our schools better; and you still have the opportunity to have a tremendous impact, even though your child has gone on to another school. Most parents would have pulled their child in this situation, because we would fear for their safety; who is to say the next punch won't have damaged a kidney or caused other permanent damage.

You are now in a pretty strong position to hold the school accountable for their actions, and getting the superintendent and school board into the situation will increase the likely hood of change.

Hang in there.
notsosmiley
notsosmiley April 8, 2008
Wow. That sounds like a terrible school. I hope the private school works out for you. I think it might happen again though if you don't talk to your child about dealing with bullies. Eventually someone will pick on him, because it does happen to all kids. It is like a pecking order.
Luv_BN_Mom
Luv_BN_Mom April 8, 2008
Please don't take offense but I feel by pulling him out and putting him in private school may send the wrong message. Speaking with the school counselor may have helped. We need to teach our children that solutions to problems can be found. I'm not trying to attack you so please don't take me wrong. Public schools need to be held accountable for what happens in the schools. How can we improve public schools and make them safe if we constantly get mad and put our children in private schools. I think parents lost track of the whole idea of private schools. Private schools were a wonderful place to learn academics and incorporate religious beliefs into every day life. Now it seems many people lost sight of that and seek it as a paid shelter from the public school system. We need to stand up and support public schools instead of turning our backs and walking away.

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