Hit a road block

It was glorious weather on Tuesday. I even took my coat off as I walked back from school. The grassy banks were slowly turning from soggy brown to fresh green. Then on Wednesday we had a foot of snow.  That walk to school was less fun for sure.  Why walking to school? Small person has been given a red card and banned from the bus for a week.  Aged 6 he finds it hard to be sensible at the required moments.  Apparently he swapped seats as the bus was moving.  Without seat belts to restrain them they expect good behaviour. It's a struggle.

So we walked to and from school for a week.  It's not far, less than a mile I think, but the trek plays havoc with my work schedule, On Wednesday I lost track of time and only realized the time 10 minutes before the school bell.  I don't run, knees won't let me...that was a very fast walk but I still got there late.  No sign of him. Checked on the embargoed bus...nope. Checked the classroom and the hallways...nope.  Found him after 15 minute search, in the playground waiting with the kids who get collected in cars.  Too much excitement.

The previous day I had been called into the school at 2pm because "he's having  a few problems".  Transpires that he had had enough and gone on strike, demanding to go back to England the next day.   It's been a tough month, with him getting picked on at school, and most likely he has been mean to others in return. I know I am biased, but he is only 6. He feels angry and alone, he wants friends or more accurately he needs to feel that he has friends.  He doesn't feel that. He is sad, he gets distracted easily, he falls behind with the tasks that he is set.  They have incentives most days...finish your sums and you can have some friendship pie.  He fell behind, no pie.  Finish your sentences and you can play outside.  He fell behind, no recess.

It looks to me like the system is not helping him to integrate and is actually making him feel worse.  On the open house on Wednesday I went in to spend an hour in the classroom.  "Show me your desk"... I almost cried. They have isolated him at the desk next to the teacher, with his back to the class.  The Principals words earlier that day about inclusion and integration suddenly very hollow.   I know he can be a little sod, but it just shows that education needs to match the style of the child, not the majority.  It'll get better I am sure.  We have reward charts and the promise of kittens if he listens to the teacher. He has joined a sports class on a Saturday morning and we are looking at soccer club.  I have promised him that we will play together after school no matter how busy my work is.  Basement ping pong is the sport de jour.  We just need to get past the anger. They don't tell you this stuff when you have a kid do they eh?