By now, you have perused the results of the drug screening of my son, and see that he did not, and does not, abuse drugs.
...and yet, he falls asleep at a rate of once a month in Ms. 's math class. How do we explain this?
Let's look at the facts as I see them:
--My son is classified as learning disabled and has ADHD (attention deficit with hyperactivity). Despite being diagnosed as hyperactive, the child continually gets lulled to sleep in one specific class. He does not have this difficulty in any other class.
--My son gets 8 - 9 hours of sleep every night.
--My son reports that this class is "boring," he reports that Ms. (who is supposed to be there to help him) "yells at everyone," and from what I can see so far, despite this hostile learning environment he is achieving passing grades. In fact, he thinks he's probably going to get an A or a B in this particular class.
Despite having so much stacked against him: a learning disability, teachers that he feels uncomfortable with and a class that he finds tedious, the boy is getting either an A or a B in this specific class. He finds it difficult to concentrate as a matter of course for his particular learning disability. When combined with the sheer monotony of the subject matter and teachers seem less than supportive, my son manages to pass the class and the only problem that we seem to have is that this particular teacher lulls him to sleep once a month.
In response to this problem, My son is accused of drug abuse and is suspended for a day. I have to take my son to the hospital and have him urinate on command and be examined for track marks on the back of his knees while a doctor tells him not to worry about this incident being in his record, even Presidents Clinton and Bush managed to become leaders of our great country after having used illegal drugs. What kind of statement is that for a physician to tell a child?
Even though my son has never used drugs.
Even as my son blew a .000 on a breathalyzer.
The child that you have unjustly persecuted for the crime of dozing off still does things like mow the neighbor's lawn, helps his elderly grandmother run chores, helps me grocery shop and saves his allowance to buy gifts for his sisters. The boy is far from the drug-addled criminal this math teacher has accused him of being.
I am of the opinion that this teacher did not suspect drug use. I suspect she used this as a means to punish my son for the crime of dozing off out of sheer boredom. This makes this particular “random" drug test far from random, and makes her far from the picture of educational benevolence that I am to believe her to be. I view this as a vindictive act, sheer punishment for falling alseep. To hell with a child’s emotional well-being and sense of self-worth, there are rules to be followed.
So, how do we address this problem?
Should I force him to try to sleep 10 - 12 hours each day? 13 hours? Every moment when he is not in school, perhaps?
Should I pump him full of coffee? Perhaps this incident will teach him that stimulants are the answer to problems?
Or, maybe...just MAYBE , we could ask that this teacher make the class just a little more challenging and engaging, in order to keep her students from shutting her out and nodding off.
At this point, I am of the opinion that his sleeping is in direct response to his particular needs as a learning disabled student not being adequately addressed in this particular class. I demand that his curriculum continue to be fine-tuned to meet his needs, as is required by State and Federal law. I ask that this incident (including the absence from the forced suspension) be removed from his disciplinary record and I request an apology to my son for forcing him to undergo the indignity of being led out of school to a clinic as though he were a criminal where he had to sit with grown men of dubious background, awaiting his turn to be checked for track marks, to blow into a breathalyzer and be treated like a felon--all because he dared to sleep.
Your attention to this matter is expected, as is a response.
CC: Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Principal, Vice Principal
===
Was it a good enough start, you think?
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Comments
My ex and I had a similar problem with our daughters middle school science teacher. Our oldest told that the teacher belittled her and other students when an incorrect answer was given and was hostile to students who required an additional explanation of a topic - in essence - the children were afraid to ask a question. Other parents we knew also had or heard of other children complaining about this teacher. The oldest finished the class with a "B" so we had no contact with the teacher.
Two years later our youngest brought home an "F" on an interim report from the same teacher, when asked about the grade, she nearly explained verbatim what her sister told us two years before. After conferring with a classmates parents who also heard the same story from their child, we requested a meeting with the teacher and the principal. At the meeting my business background served me well, my ex-wife was agreeable and polite, as was the teacher, I was reserved and spoke only when a point wasn't being made. After all topics were covered and promises were made that our daughter would get the extra help needed, I'd decided my ex didn't fully articulate the children's and our displeasure of the teachers demeanor. Without being rude and still in business mode, I explained my requirements regarding my daughter and explained my expectations, using my higher education position and pull in state academic management explained earlier to subliminally plant a threat of repercussions for her that were real and imminent upon failure.
For the rest of the year the teacher couldn't be nicer to my daughter and even commented once "let's not disappoint your dad".
Sweet...
Anyone else.
He told me once that he still has the letter that I wrote to the board of education in his drawer, to "remind him."
...remind him of what, I do not know. May how not to talk to children?
Anyway, now the Board of Education is going to basically say, "oh no, not her again" and tell THIS principal in charge of discipline to do anything but piss off Mrs. Sanchez.
I'm almost sure of it.
But that math teacher and the in-class special ed teacher both have targets on their heads as well, IMHFO. I won't be appeased until they do their jobs and stop putting their best students to sleep, and stop punishing kids for showing them how boring they are by sleeping.
...hell if it were me, I'd be asleep every day.
Gather up a group of students who have been treated the same as your son. Enlist their parents as well, if you can. Enlist other students from this teacher's class. Go as a group to the next school board meeting. Have a presentation all written up. Present your son's case, and have the other kids and their parents present their cases. Better yet, allow your son, if he is willing, to do most of the speaking. Describe the teacher and all her shortcomings. Have each of the kids describe the suspension and drug testing process in detail. Tell them everything you told us in your LJ.
Use your radio contacts to make it known to the media that you are doing this. If you can get a media presence at the meeting, so much the better. Watch them all squirm.
That's where I'm at a disadvantage to you.
You, if you have a grievance, can try to get media attention.
I, as an employee of one of the largest media companies in the world, cannot.
There are rules concerning airing personal grievances on the air in the FCC, and influencing the media, etc etc. Even the implied threat of it could get my employer a hefty FCC fine and me fired.
Imagine, if everyone with a personal media connection got to air their greivances over the airwaves: eventually, there'd be little time for actual programming. :)
No, I could NEVER do what you suggest. I must handle my personal problems on my own two feet.
I haven't lost a battle yet.
I have three children; even the board of education is suprised when they realize that three of my kids have wandered their halls. They only hear about one, most of the time. When I even think they are questioning my ability as a parent I always have to shoot back with the "my eldest is in her _th year at Seton Hall; I think I know how to raise children" diatribe.
...and yes, EVERY parent at one time or another runs into an educator who thinks that they know better than the parent, or that the parent does not know how to raise their own kid.
It's just magnified when you have a child who is classified and has different needs. There are two roads that you can go down: give your child over completely and do whatever your local board of education wants you to do, whether it's pumping your child full of medications he or she does not need, or teach your child at two grade levels below where he or she should be, or allow teachers to never give homework so the child falls hopelessly behind in development...
...or you can take charge and be your child's fiercest advocate.
The latter is the hardest one. But it's the only one that makes any sense whatsover. Your children have to fend for themselves once they're grown and you're gone; they can't do it if they don't have a basic education.
I really must remember to thank my mother again for the private schooling.. I think I would have exploded had I been in schooling situations like this that I hear about all the time from friends who have kids in public schools.
--Vinnie
Sorry I couldn't chat before, but I was formulating a letter regarding my union, a problem only briefly touched on here in my LJ.
I fgiured I can't drown visitors completely in drama. :)
I think your son's school is about to get more publicity than you could ever hope for. :-)
I saw your other e-mails to me as well when I got up; I'm checking out everything as I have my "morning coffee" (yeah, I know it's 2 pm, but it's morning to me!). I have to head to job #2 in about an hour, but I'm going to read all this stuff before I leave.
You're the best! :)
Thanks. Money is accepted in lieu of sexual favors. Just remember: if I don't get money, the terrorists win! :-)
If I recall correctly, current thinking on ADHD is that it is the result of a brain that doesn't fire neurons quickly enough for a human mind to be comfortable with. In order to feel comfortable, the ADHD kid seeks out stimulus as a sort of self medication. Hence prescription of amphetamines to speed things up and remove the bad behaviour. The opposite is the extreme intorvert who due to having easily triggered neurons blocks out stimulus in order to be comfortable.
Sounds to me as though she has systematically been depriving him of an environment in which he can feel comfortable and through a massive feat of willpower, instead of kicking up and getting the stimulus he needs, he has stayed bored and eventually his brain seeks sleep as a solace for the highly uncomfortable state that a bored ADHD kid experiences.