My son is in the 1/2 day 4K program. Yesterday he had a timeout - he talks a lot and sometimes this bothers them. Well, apparently they put him in a timeout, and forgot about him! They took all the other kids outside for recess, and left him there by himself. My son told me this when he got home, it was so surreal that I didn't believe him. The teacher admitted it, said that they had a bad day. She even has an assistant who forgot him too! I asked her why she didn't tell me about it, she said "well, I told him that I was sorry." I want her reprimanded, this is pure child neglect. My son could've had an asthma attack, he could have been stolen, if there was a fire - no one would think to check that room because all the kids were outside... Problem is, the principal never called me back, and neither did the superintendent. So - who is supposed to care about my son being neglected, and who do I complain to now?
To the rude person - my son is a very bright, well-behaved child who apparently others believe may be a genius child like my others. This was his 1st time out - ever. He is not like other children who misbehave. I don't consider speaking one's mind misbehaving - if you had actually read the above, it's not the point of why he had a timeout, but that he was neglected.
Well, neither the principal nor the superintendent made any form of contact with me. I also emailed the WI dept of education, with no response. This really says alot about Oconomowoc, & Wisconsin for that matter! I did also email the news stations, and am meeting with the police dept tomorrow (it's snowing horribly today) - the dept said come on in & make a complaint.
My sons talks a lot to and has gotten into trouble for it at school as well. His teacher is very soft spoken and thinks he is very loud, but I strain to hear her sometimes. We went back and forth on this and then one day she too left him in the classroom when it was time to go home. I called the principal and since then everything has been fine.
I can't even imagine hearing that my son was left alone in a room, nevermind the damage it's caused to him. (I think some good talks with mom and dad could really help that.)
The teacher is human, and was VERY out of line. I would ask for a formal apology on paper, and if that's refused, (as others have stated,) I would run it over to the news, (but keep in mind that may hurt more than help.)
I am so sorry this happened to your little guy. I would not in ANYWAY threaten the teacher, (perhaps June meant you should just talk very sternly, and mean that you are very serious.) Threats wouldn't get you anywhere. Write down on paper, what your son has told you exactly. Fax it to the schoolboard, and mail it, certified. That way YOU KNOW it was delivered, and you'll have back-up.
If you want to contact a lawyer for any reasons, I can understand it. It's more than an issue with money, it's an issue with safety. You want to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else. I think people will respect that.
As for the advice that your son is not old enough for school? Ridiculous. Any child that is willing to be honest when a situation occurred that he is able to be truthful with shows maturity, and respect. You're a caring mom, and I'm sure your child is well-adjusted and DOES NOT cause trouble. (If the very basis of school meant that children had to 'sit quietly' and listen, most chilren would be held back years.) -Can you imagine? There are worse things in this world than time outs, and as much as you want to curb his behavior as a parent, all you can do is show him the right steps. He's still going to make his own decisions- you're a great mom because you're standing behind him.
Good luck, hang in there- and give your little guy lots of kisses and love. He was VERY brave to tell you about it, (that meant telling you about the time out, too!)
If you want an immediate reaction to your situation...run a letter to the editor in your local paper stating exactly what happened, who you tried to contact and who would not return your call. Trust me when I tell you...you will get a response and action will be taken. The school board is the next step up above the people in the office. Good luck.
I must be honest. When I read this letter, I wanted to figure out someway of excusing or forgiving the teachers/schools behavior, but I really can't. I mean, I think to imply that your son was put in a life or death situation due to asthma might be exaggerating a bit, however, that must have been very traumatic for the little guy and even as a teacher I have to say I would insist on the dismissal of this "teacher" immediately. That is just part of the job and while we are all human, it did not appear that she understood the implications of her actions nor did she seem to feel accountable for them which implies that this scenario or a similar one could again happen. The fact that the district superindendent and principal remain silent is equally reprehensible. I would add (and only because it is part of your description) that you might consider adding "humble" to the list of things you are teaching your children and perhaps not be so in-your-face with the gifted label. There are many gifts and all children posess them, to imply that your children are more special or better than others is not a humble attitude and speaks to your own insecurities. Your children will pick up on this believe me I have seen it a thousand times. Good luck!
Tracy,
I am the best person to respond to this. It happened to my son too...well, the assistant that was helping my son's teacher squeezed my son's wrist and told him to shut the f**k up. My son Tom told me this and he was in 2nd grade at the time. I went into school and got that assistant and I told her that IF she EVER even touches or looks at my son in a not nice way ever again, and I hear about it...I will ruin her career. I will go to the top and press charges....I said "Trust me, I won't be driving a Volkswagen anymore, it'll be a Lexus." I didn't even tell the teacher. I also made her apologize to my son. I said this in private and I told her the apology better be so sweet that even I'm convinced." No problems since.
Now in your case.......VERY bad behavior by the whole school. I say contact a lawyer. One that will do it on a contingency case. Make sure you get things documented. Now if you feel that's too serious. Go to your son's teacher and put the FEAR of GOD in her. Tell her that your son has done enough time outs to last the whole year, never mind the psychological effect it had on him........and IF there was a fire...he wouldn't have even been here today-you are right. Show this teacher that you mean business and if you can, bring a witness with at all times when you have one on one conversations with her or the Principal. If you decide to do the legal route, contact other parents that have children in that class and make sure they testify to the neglect. They wouldn't want that happening to their son or daughter.
Be sure to do everything in writing as in sending e-mails to the Superintendent of Schools,the teacher,all the Assistants that were working that day and the Principal. CC everyone....people get embarrassed when other peers know they screwed up.Mention your son's health issue and also ask for your son to be switched to a different school or teacher. I also recommend volunteering in his classroom 2x or more a month.
Good Luck and you know...we as Moms need to stick up for our little defenseless children. We trust them from 8-3pm to treat them well, and they get PAID for it......they need to do their jobs and take it seriously.
J. N in Lakeland,MN
I agree with you about what should happen to the teacher
That is TERRIBLE! I am so sorry this happened to your son! As another poster stated, I would give them a full 24 hours to respond.
In the mean time, I would leave them another message giving them a time that you expect to hear back by. Tell them if this situation isn't important enough for them to respond to, in a timely manner, that you will take the matter to the police and the media. Make sure you give this message to a live person, as well as leaving another voice mail, just in case the principal is lax in checking voice mail.
That's terrible!! I'm sorry about what happened to your son. I've found that complaints only get acknowledged when I take them to the school board. Good luck! I hope they can set up a system to ensure this never happens again to any child!
T.,
I think what happened to your son was terrible, and at his age, it must have been extremely scary and upsetting to him. How long ago did you contact the principal and superintendant? I would give them a full 24 hours to respond, because often they are out of the building, in meetings or classrooms. If they still have not responded and you can confirm with the secretary that they did, indeed, receive the message, then contact higher up. I would then start with the police and file a report or "press charges" if that is what needs to be done.
Considering how mad you are with this, I would keep it in their faces until something is done and you feel the teacher has been fairly reprimanded.
If you are still not satisfied, there is always the media. They can definately put pressure on a school district with bad reports about them.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Oh My How Awful!!
I have to give you a pat on the back, I am so happy that you are taking this to the news and looking at all diffrent directions, especially when the teacher didn't contact you, nor will the school call you back.
You should be proud of yourself for standing tall, you could be helping so many more children, by changing thier way of thinking now :)
T.,
I too have had some issues with school with my children, luckily, I have several friends that are teachers that were able to counsel me through the conflicts. The first thing you should do is get your complaint down in WRITING. I sent an email out to the principal, super & director of pupil services for my school district. I assure you that a letter/email WILL get you some sort of response. State the facts and get directly to the point, my question would be "how am I supposed to feel that my child is safe while in your care?" Also, then there will be an actual record of the event happening, and you should also request that a copy of your letter be placed in the teacher's personnel file. If you truly feel that this is something that you and/or your son will not be able to get past (I don't know if I would be able to get past it!), you should be asking how they are planning on rectifying the situation, whether it is putting your son in another classroom with a different teacher, or some other solution. Finally, I would stress the fact that you were not notified about this misconduct directly. As I'm sure you would have still been upset that he was forgotten, perhaps you would still have some faith/trust in your child's teacher if she was more forthcoming about the incident. Also, the "we had a bad day" excuse just doesn't cut it for me! That teacher should be counting her lucky stars that your son didn't hurt himself or as you stated, had a asthma attack (I would CERTAINLY mention the fact that your son has asthma in your letter - completely IRRESPONSIBLE!)or wasn't caught in a fire - or a fire drill for that matter!! In the end of my conflict, I was given a formal written apology, and the school psychologist who committed the offense was handed his hat . . . and replaced.
Feel free to send me a message if you want to discuss this further . . . and good luck!
P.
I am so sorry for your little boy! I have a kindergartener as well and I can't help but tear up thinking of this happening to him. Please share what school district this happened in. It is a lesson to all of us to talk to our kids about what happens to them in a "safe" place like school!I would call the police they should make sure that everything is investigated as it should be!!!
Hi T.:) This story just makes me so sad. I hope that everything works out. You should definitly follow up on this (with the media if you have to), it is just not right.
I would call the school and ask the person who answers who you should talk to about......If this dosen't work I would visit the school and wait in the office until someone was able to discuss this issue with me. If things don't work out ask if he can move to another class. This is a hard one. We had teacher issues this year. My daughter was left out side once when she was 3 years old in the winter, I did not let her return to this teacher. I think by law the have to report anytime the leave a child. I hope things get worked out. If you don't feel comfortable sending him don't. Moms have the best intuition.
