Greetings my dear readers, and friends, and fellow moms and dads!
I have warred for a week now about how to proceed to be the best voice on behalf of my son, and other students, at our local public school. We have a bullying issue that is being ignored and swept under the rug. My student was expelled after being physically assaulted. His expulsion was based on what he wrote/drew in his journal in the process of coping with how he was being treated. We have our son in counseling to cope with his big feelings, but all I keep hearing from professionals is, “It’s okay Momma, this is normal.” “It’s okay Momma, middle school boys draw crazy stuff.”
In fact, our counselor asked him a series of questions to determine if he had a plan to go with the drawings. Guess what guys? No plan. Just some really big feelings because being treated poorly and pushed around creates really big feelings – especially when the adults that are supposed to be helping, aren’t.
I am going to continue the dialogue with the school. I’m going to call the principal for another meeting today. I want to see him learning how to deal with kids that may struggle with depression and/or suicidal thoughts. I want to see him learning how to deal with bullying.
Pretending that bullying is not happening at his school is not dealing with the problem. In fact, it gives the bullies the false notion that what they are doing is okay. It robs the victims of feeling safe, or being able to focus on school. It creates an unhealthy environment, that allows the power imbalance amongst peers to continue growing. It gives the bully the upper hand – because their actions are met with little to no consequence, while their victims are pushed aside.
I think we would have quietly gone back to homeschooling had I not learned that bullying has been a recurring problem at this school, under the current and former principal. Had I not learned that other kids are being picked on mercilessly by a particular kid and the gang assembled by said kid, I may have left well enough alone. If you know me, you know that going back to homeschooling isn’t a bad thing in my opinion. Sending the boys to public school was a hard decision, but they wanted it so bad, I decided to honor their wishes.
I need a favor, dear readers. I need help sending relevant, reputable, study based info to the principal and the school superintendent. I need help writing letters about how bullying affects the victim for years to come. I need help writing letters about how kids have suffered because bullying goes unaddressed. I need help sending letters about how to help someone struggling with depression and/or suicidal thoughts. I need help sending articles about effectively communicating with parents to build a good relationship so kids can flourish in school.
I know you all have some amazing things up your sleeves. You can email things to me, and I’ll send them. reginawalker86@gmail.com or you can send them directly:
Attn: Mr. Meek
Luther Middle School
320 SE 2nd St.
Luther, OK 73054
smeek@lutherlions.org
Attn: Mr. Gunn
Luther Public Schools
PO Box 430
Luther, OK 73054
bgunn@lutherlions.org
