Spane has been really acting up. At first I thought it was because we had lost our home, and were living with friends. Then I took him to the park so we could talk privately.
Apparently, despite a policy prohibiting such things, Spane has been a victim of bullying. He said that kids were calling him dumb, stupid, and other degrading names. I asked him when this was happening and he said mostly at lunch. He told me he was spending his recess in the bathroom because he wanted to be left alone.
I felt horrible. I promised that I would let the school know right away, and that very night, I wrote a letter to the principal.
The next day was Student Store, and I spoke with both the Principal and his teacher. By that time, he had been in conference with both, and had named names. His teacher was just aghast that such a thing was happening in his classroom, and he made sure those children were told not to do or say these things again. His school has a Zero Tolerance on Bullying, but I still think there are some things that can be done.
We'll see how it goes. The bullying was affecting his grades, homework and reading. He started liking to read, but then felt too pressured to enjoy it. Maybe this will help. I hope so, because I love to read, and hope he will, too.
