I Think I Might Spit Nails at the School

Disclaimer: I apologize ahead of time for any poor grammar I use or if I offend anyone.

For the last few days I've had a blog topic swirling around in my brain. It's a pretty good one too that I don't see addressed anywhere but alas that will have to wait as I have a more pressing topic that is just begging to be written.

I like to be pretty methodical and to think things through when I write but sometimes that is not the case. Today is a vent or a rant. I'm calling this my creative vent and yes I coined that term. You may borrow that term if you wish since I did not copyright it.

But I digress.

On my Facebook page which you can find here, I have been writing about the possible new school that we are looking into Princess attending in the Fall or possibly in the Summer. Two weeks ago I sent a letter via certified mail to Princess'  school district case manager  and another to the  NPS administrator telling them of our desires and why. Last week was Spring Break so Princess' current school did not get the letter until Monday. Ever since then they are putting up a fight to hold on to Princess. Unfortunately they are going about it the wrong way. I'm hoping that will work to our advantage but in the meantime I'm getting angrier by the minute with their treatment of my daughter.

Yesterday Princess informed me that her class watched a Goosbumps movie at school. I have a few problems with that the most important one is that Princess gets anxious after watching these kinds of movies and has nightmares afterwards. I had previously told the school I didn't want Princess to read any of the Goosbumps books for this very reason. Silly me I forgot that was two therapists and three teachers ago. (Yep my daughter, who needs stability, has had three therapists and four teachers this year at the same school. Just one of the reasons why we are asking for another NPS placement.)

After Princess left for school today, I emailed her school therapist and her classroom teacher my concerns about this and a couple of other things. To her credit, the school therapist emailed me back rather quickly. She stated that since it was windy yesterday the class stayed inside to watch a movie. She said that the movie was rated G so they thought it would be OK. My husband said that just because the Motion Picture Association of America gives a movie a G rating doesn't mean it is good for all kids. Parents and teachers must still use their common sense.

Once I read the email, I requested that the school give me  advanced notice of when they were going to show a non-educational movie. So we could choose whether or not to opt Princess out of the show.

At the end of the day when Princess got home she was so angry with me. Apparently not only did they tell her that I said she couldn't watch movies and would have to sit outside while her class had fun, they also told her that I wanted her to practice her cursive more. Smooth move school to pit my child against me, to make me out to be the bad guy here. What about an apology to me for  subjecting my chhild to something that could cause her more anxiety? What about telling my child, "It is important for you to learn your cursive so that you will learn how to write your signature, a skill that you will need all of your life."?

I was going to get on the phone right then but since I am creating a paper trail, I did not. What I will do next time is make the phone call to clear this up and then follow up with a phone call. (Don't you just love hindsight?) I chose to shoot off another email but this time I CC'd everyone who has any part of my child's education or mental health so they will know what is happening. I got a response right away stating that the school doesn't know what I want. What?? The therapist also said she wanted to discuss this further at my daughter's IEP in two weeks. So what is going to happen in the meantime? As a side note: I have had no communication with the teacher, just the therapist. I want to know her thoughts on all of this.

I am going to call the school tomorrow to request a meeting with the classroom teacher and the therapist to see if we can get this cleared up so that my daughter is not singled out and that they stop telling her that it is my fault for xy and z. I am not sure why I cannot talk to the teacher directly but this is the protocol at the school so I must follow the rules.

OK, Thanks for letting me vent. I feel better already. I still might need some ice cream though. LOL.