Home » Health & Wellness » Canadian Health Care » From A Bleak World to A Bright Future - Page 2

From A Bleak World to A Bright Future - Page 2

© Mary M. Alward

In the Principal's Office, Brandon spent his time with the Vice Principal. He liked Mr. Walker and while there, he did his work quietly with no problem. Alarms went off! Why was Brandon only misbehaving in the classroom? On the playground he went off by himself. There were no problems there unless other kids bullied or teased him.

At the time, I watched the boys after school. Every day when I went to pick them up, there was consistent complaints from his teacher and the principal. Then, one day I got a call at home. I was the boy's emergency contact. The school secretary advised me that she couldn't get in touch with his parents. I was needed at the school. There was a problem with Brandon.

When I arrived, Brandon was in the VP's Office doing his work. He was totally engrossed in his task and didn't realize I was there. While waiting for the principal, I observed him. He had no supervision. The VP was out of the school at a meeting. The secretary could see him from her desk and assured me that Brandon had been working quietly since just after lunch. It was 2 pm.

When the principal came to talk to me, she told me that Brandon had touched another kid's hair. I was stunned! If he'd pulled another child's hair, I would have accepted the punishment, but touching..?

I asked the principal for an explanation. What she said, floored me.

"There is absolutely no body contact at my school."

Body contact? Since when is touching hair body contact? I knew right then that we were in trouble. Every kid in that school was potentially at risk. In order to grow into empathetic adults, we all need body contact when we're children. I was beside myself. What kind of school was my grandsons attending?

The phone calls home continued. And from home many calls were made to the School Board. The teacher and principal at the school were constantly phoning or stopping us when we picked the boys up. Brandon was a troublemaker. He liked to touch other children. He called out in class. He wasn't doing his work properly. He wasn't learning. One thing after another. Some were legitimate complaints. Some were not. Finally, the principal asked that Brandon be tested. She was sure he had a learning disability as well as other problems. We agreed to the test.

Brandon excelled on the test. He possessed knowledge high above his grade level. He'd told us he didn't like school because it was boring. Now we knew why. He needed to work at his own level.

The copyright of the article From A Bleak World to A Bright Future - Page 2 in Canadian Health Care is owned by Mary M. Alward. Permission to republish From A Bleak World to A Bright Future - Page 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.