The bully

There is a girl in Ashlyn's class and, well, she hasn't been in the class the whole year, she's just been in there since she was kicked out of one of the other third grade rooms, and she's bullying everybody.  Ashlyn told me she was 11, and though I've never personally seen her I've heard from other parents that she's only 9 or 10 but that she is freakishly tall.  Ashlyn's teacher told me that she "was not a positive addition" to their class.  Well, want to know how bad it is?

This girl has kicked people and been sent home.  She has hit people and been sent home.  She has thrown things at people.  There is a list of children that are going to be moved out of the classroom should any more incidents occur because there's no place else to put M******, and the kids are scared to death of her.  And she graded one of Ashlyn's papers (apparently the teacher "just cannot find the time" to grade her own papers so she has the kids grade each others) and she changed all the answers to make them wrong.  

Now that little incident led to my first talk with the teacher about M******, and how first of all I think kids grading each others papers is a violation of their privacy (yes, I'm that mother) and second of all she'd better change the grade since Ashlyn didn't miss anything.  So the grade was changed and the teacher told me she guessed she needed to keep a little closer eye on things, and she guessed it wasn't a good idea to let the kids grade the papers.  Well, I guess she's right, maybe because she's the one getting paid for it?  We could talk about why I feel this teacher is incompetent, but there are just too many reasons, the main ones being how she averages 2 absences a week (I'm not even exaggerating), how she never sends any papers home so you can see what's going on, how sometimes she gives the spelling words out on Monday, but sometimes she oops! forgets and doesn't send them until Wednesday, but still tests on Friday, how the class is behind the other classes in every subject, or how she doesn't get substitutes and sometimes the kids sit for 2 HOURS WITH NO TEACHER OR SUPERVISION until someone passes by and notices they are all alone, which is kind of the one I have the biggest problem with.  I've tried to give the lady the benefit of the doubt, but seriously there are several parents who are actively working to get their child moved to another class/teacher this late in the year.  If you want any more details I'll have to call you, because I could really just about write a book here, but anyway, back to this M******....

She has been ugly to Ashlyn on several occasions, from calling her names to telling her to "shut-up".  Let's face it, Ashlyn is kind of a target, because she is the best in her class (read: total big fat nerd) and everybody likes her and she's never in all her years of school pulled a stick or got a conduct mark.  When it first happened I told Ashlyn to buck up and get over it.  People are going to be mean to you, and that's because their lives suck, so don't take it to heart and move on.  So M****** persisted.  Then I told Ashlyn to walk away from her.  Don't go near her, don't go around her, just avoid her and if she tries to talk to you or call you names just walk away.  Well, M****** just followed her.  Next I told Ashlyn that if she did it again for her to say "Look, I'd really appreciate it if you'd just not talk to me.  If you can't be my friend and be nice, then I'd rather not be around you."  Well, yesterday M****** started in on Ashlyn again and Ashlyn gave her my politically correct line.  And M****** told her "Shut-up stupid!  I can talk to you however I want to talk to you!!  And you'll listen or I'll hit you!"  

Um, no no no no no.   

So I asked where the teacher was, and she was in small groups (I have no idea what that is) and she IS NOT TO BE BOTHERED when she is in small groups.  So I asked who was supervising the rest of the class while the teacher was not to be bothered and turns out no one was.  No one was watching the others to make sure they were enjoying a positive learning environment without being bullied around the classroom by M******, who apparently never gets any supervision because no one can control her.  

And well I called up to the school today, to set up a conference, and the teacher's conference time was at 9:40a and she was going to call me because "this is something I'm sure we can handle over the phone" (??) and now it's 12:15 and conference time is long over and she hasn't called.  So that's fine really, she doesn't have to call me, but her and everybody else up at that school better hope and pray M****** doesn't lay a finger on my kid or it'll take me about 2 seconds to be all over them like white on rice or stink on shit or however you want to put it.  'Cause then by God it's ON, and I've taken myself off the pills now and YOU DON'T WANT ANY OF ME.