I am heartbroken.
He’s sad and frustrated.
No longer is school a safe haven.
Instead, it’s a place where he’s called names – -
made fun of because of what he struggles with.
He asks to be picked up before the “teaching” time.
No longer does he want to stay through recess.
He sleeps harder in the morning, and struggles to get ready.
He avoids by slowing down or fighting against preparations.
There, he says goodbye with reluctance.
He rarely smiles as he walks away.
Yet, he tries to pretend it’s all good.
And then he tells me at home:
“Mom, at school the kids think I’m dumb. I can’t do Mrs. R’s work. They call me dummy.”
And I die a little.
How can I subject him to this trial?
Why is learning these figures and symbols –the numbers and alphabet — so hard?
And blends and phonics? Now reading circles?
How can he catch up?
At night he tells me:
“Goodnight, Mom, I’ll love you forever”
And I want to hold him in my arms (I do).
I want to stand in front of him and chastise name-callers.
I want to bully the bullies.
I want him to succeed. To feel confident. To love learning.
I pray with him, for him.
And look forward to when his prayers move forward and beyond:
‘I wish for good lunch. Amen.’
Because, though food is important, it’s not the best part of education.
This is a difficult time.
We’ll work together to practice – -
lessen already brief relaxation time.
Childhood shouldn’t be filled with disappointment
or feeling like a failure.
Can we restore his faith?
Rachelle, this is so heartbreaking to hear. Where is his teacher in all of this? Why isn’t there communication/dialog at his school about acceptance/tolerance? My daughter starts school next year and I’m so worried about bullying. I hope things improve soon for your boy.
His teacher says she doesn’t notice the taunting… It’s a Christian school. And the saddest thing is it’s a k-4 class. He’s got years of school to go!
This absolutely breaks my heart to pieces!! So not fair!! Praying!
Why are kids so mean to each other? So sad to hear. My nephew is going through the same thing. Keep building him up – a momma’s love does go a long long way.
Rachelle, I’m so sad about this and dread it for my own child. I think things will get better. There may only be one real bully and others are just chiming in because they are pleasing the bully, drawing the attention away from themselves. I hope that is the case…I do wish there was some way of determining how exactly it’s going down and help the teacher find ways to identify it and put a stop to it. I worry that the teacher themselves may have unknowingly trasmitted to other students some kind of frustration with his learning. I find that it is very easy for the authority figure to shape the feelings of the class. (Just watch that old video Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes). Very upsetting!