March 2, 2009

From Complete Crap to Above and Beyond

Last week was one of those weeks that you don't ever want to repeat. My students were all out of sorts last week, sick and late with their speeches. On Wednesday, I said my final goodbye to Lisa and that was hard, really hard. I spent the rest of the week feeling miserable about it. On Thursday, Big I walked in the door from school, told me some kid had hit her in the face, and then quit karate that night. Friday night, Lisa passed away. I spent much of Saturday breaking into tears and feeling miserable. Sunday I woke up with eyes that were obviously having serious allergy problems. The crying from Saturday didn't help much either. Big I also woke up and promptly puked. . . again.

I decided to clean and organize. Cleaning and organizing always makes me feel better when it's done.

While I was in the middle of cleaning and organizing Big I's room, the doorbell rang. On the way down the hall and stairs, I was psyching myself up for what I thought was going to be an encounter with the hitter from Thursday. Instead, I opened the door to find Big I's teacher standing on my porch.

I was shocked to see her, but invited her in.

Last week, she was out sick on Thursday and Friday, when everything was going down between Big I and 'J.' She had gone into school to take care of their classroom hamster and decided to check her email. When she saw my email about the incident at school, she was livid, so livid that she ripped 'J's' desk away from the other kids and put her back in a corner by herself.

Big I's teacher adores her and she is the type of teacher every parent hopes for when it comes to their child. She is super knowledgeable about many different content areas, and she runs a tight ship in the classroom. She's also developed a great relationship with Big I, one where I know she goes off to school to spend time with someone who truly cares about her.

She sat in our family room for a good 30 minutes. She wanted to get Big I's side of the story without other little ears hearing her. Apparently this kid has been a real problem all year long and this is not the first time she's been physically aggressive toward another student.

Big I's teacher said that for the foreseeable future, 'J' now has her own isolated location in the classroom. She also has a personal escort from Big I's teacher down to the bus line each day, where she'll be separated from the other kids and prevented from getting on the bus until last.

She also said she's going to talk to some of the other kids in class about sticking up for others when something bad happens to a classmate. She'd like to employ some positive peer pressure to get 'J' to straighten up. It shouldn't be a problem since the other kids in Big I's class fight over playing with her on a regular basis.

She decided, also, that if Big I has a non-serious problem, she wants her to wait until she gets home and tell me, so I can email Miss W. That way Big I doesn't appear to be tattling. Miss W. assured me that she will not allow a student to create a bullying atmosphere in her classroom and in the school. She said she's going to take care of it and will keep me informed of how it's going.

Frankly, I was shocked. Miss W. had no idea where we lived, but she knew our address and set out to find it. Seeking us out and assuring us that she's on the job went completely above and beyond the call of duty.

I'm going to take this as a sign that things will start looking up this week.

For those who have commented or emailed and asked about ways to help Lisa's family, there is now a donate button on her site where people can contribute. I know her family has serious medical bills from a 5-year cancer battle in addition to other future needs like the schooling of her daughters. If you're interested, you can go here to donate.

Also, stay tuned because Admired Martial Artists Month kicks off soon!