So, school and my boy

I'm not a huge fan of the school these days.

Not sure exactly what it is but I'll admit that it has crossed my mind that it may not be the school, it may just be me and my "exacting" standards.

Because the truth is... this was the cleanest and most organised school for kilometres around here. And if we decide we don't like this school, then there is a COMMUTE in our future..........and huge logistical challenges.

I love K's teacher entirely and totally. K does too and tells me often how much she loves her teacher. So much so I let her at the washi tape (!) and she made a card for her on the weekend. The feeling is mutual because teacher C tells me also how much she loves having K in her class.

Happy days.

As for C and his teacher, things are better, I think, but we'll see in a few weeks when we have the next parent-teacher meeting.

C said last week he doesn't want to go to school because his throat is sore (this was true - end of summer little colds) and he has to sing 20 songs and don't we know it's sore to talk and sing when your throat is sore?! These are the concert songs. D wrote an email and the reply was that he has to stand wherever they say but he doesn't have to sing loud.



Then I hear K saying things to C that he's lazy. People, if you don't know this about me already, unhelpful labels like these are like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Me being the bull. I LOSE IT.

When I asked K where she gets language like that (we don't say lazy at home), she said Teacher J calls Connor lazy. And then I truly lost it.

At home, not at school.

Because Connor is the last person I would ever call lazy. Both physically (tonight he cleaned the entire bathroom - I gave him two stars) and mentally. He gets frustrated if he can't do things nicely (as he calls it) but he's not lazy. I would call him stubborn and emotional - it may be 4-years-old, it may be Connor.

I said to D that night that you can smack a child and he's forgotten it an hour later but labels stick and do deep damage. (you might disagree with me - that's fine)

There was another incident, small but niggly in that way you can't quite put your finger on it.

And again, I just have a sense something's not right. He looks like Charlie Brown when he's at school. That sad and quiet and downcast look (kind of like I feel nowadays! :)).

Now again, I'm well aware that my emotions are all over the place with the work thing (cried again today - nothing "happened" - just I feel so hopeless - my word for this month is hope - I just want to be able to see a path out) but I don't have the peace of God about this school thing.

Of course, if you're a Christian you'll know it's madness to even THINK of starting that conversation with the school. "I can't quite put my finger on it but I just feel like God's telling me there's something not right over here" - let's see how that one goes down!

So I just kept quiet and continued praying and praying.



And then the other night D said to me as we were falling asleep, "Marsh, I don't know if this school is right for Connor. It feels like there's something going on" and I shouted, "BINGO!"

Seriously :)

They have assessments this week and next week and after that we will have another meeting.

This post is going nowhere fast!

What do you think is going on?

I thought maybe because of the sweets thing, they don't like me (this is probably true) but I'm really not sure anymore.

D and I just talked some more - he thinks C lacks confidence because of his teacher's "hardness". Since he's the more easygoing of the two of us, he's going to go snoop a bit at school in the mornings. I'm also going to ask Nanny S to get Connor talking and to chat to the teacher's assistant. And of course, I'll keep praying.