And....

The meeting was this morning. Josh was anxious about it because he really wants change. I was so anxious that I even put in my contacts!!! I never wear them on Friday's for some reason. Hannah and I got dressed and ready to go. She made me laugh. I don't wear a lot of perfume because it gives me a migraine (in large amounts). It also makes me nauseous. Sometimes I will spray some in the air. Then I wait a second or two, and walk through what is left of the mist. Very little actually gets on me, but my room smells nice for a while. Hannah came into my room excited. She thought we were going to church. I had to tell her that we were not going to church, but going to Josh's school. She told me, "NO, it smells like church! We are going to church." Marc and I got a good laugh this morning. It sure helped lighten my mood some.

We arrived at the school and went to check in. I signed in and asked if the $100 was claimed yet. It wasn't claimed, but it is in the safe. I feel bad because that is such a lot of money. I know if I lost $100 we would hurt! I was hoping someone would be able to find their money.

While I was signing in a teacher was standing there waiting for a conference...turns out it was one of Josh's teachers. We waited for the other 2 teachers to come out. Then we headed to the conference room to wait for the principal. While we waited the 4 of us just sat there uncomfortably. When someone finally said something it was about Hannah. Finally, the principal came in. He started off the conference and asked the teachers about Josh. They all just gushed about him. No one had a bad thing to say. Apparently, this surprised the principal. He started inquiring about any kind of bad behavior. The teachers couldn't give him any. I spoke up and told him the ONLY time Josh had ever "moved his color" was in Kindergarten. It meant he got an S for that day. He hated it. He hasn't had any conduct or behavior problems since.

Then the principal (who is a man) went on about 6th grade boys and how they have shifted from being nice little boys who care about their teachers to "all about me" boys who are out to impress their friends. I told him Josh was not like that. Very quickly ALL 3 teachers agreed. I explained how Josh was feeling bored and unchallenged. Two of the teachers said he was very fast doing his work, but sometimes would overlook stuff. He "gets" everything. They said that they have had to ask Josh to give other kids a chance to answer some of the questions in class. These two teachers were not his homeroom/science teacher. Both of them said that over the next few weeks the kids will be divided up into groups based on their knowledge. From there some of  those groups will have more challenging work, while other will be getting more basic instruction. I am ok with that. Then the conversation went to more individual problems. Turns out his homeroom has 24 kids and only 7 are girls. One of those kids (the one in ISS) came from a less structured school. I won't go on about that though. Josh told me last night that he likes his teachers, so that was a plus. The real problem (other than his boredom) is the lack of respect in the class. I voiced my concern. We talked about keeping him in the same team, but switching his homeroom. The other homerooms are full though 29/30 kids. It would mean that another kid would have to be moved. His homeroom teacher doesn't want him moved either. She said, "I want to keep Josh!" Sigh.... In my opinion that would have helped solve some of this.

The principal asked if he could call Josh down. Poor Josh was terrified! He was shaking and his heart was pounding. We all assured him he was not in trouble, but with the principal, 3 teachers, and your mom looking to you for answers...well, he was just scared. We asked him questions, but he just couldn't bring himself to answer them. He looked at me. I told him it was ok and that he would be ok. I also told him that if I was in his place, I would have thrown up already. That made him laugh a little. He told them that he liked the teachers. He told them he wanted to stay with the same teachers, but switch his homeroom class. He told them that the kids in his class are just mean and he doesn't like it. Then the principal went on about how in life that just happens sometimes. We will have to work with people we don't like. He said some other things about education...not necessarily stuff I agree with though. Josh and I will talk about it when he gets home. Then Josh went back to class.

I told the principal after Josh left that I have explained many times that sometimes we have to deal with people we don't like, and that we still need to be respectful to those people. The principal told me that not everyone is raised with those same values...duh! He said that what we have now are classes made up of kids, some with good values and some with bad...or none. That's life....

Basically, what it comes down to is Josh stays where he is at right now. Hopefully, he will learn more in the coming weeks. Josh did mention that he didn't like HIS privileges taken away because some kids can't be good. His teacher said she didn't plan on doing that anymore. She was going to pull out the kids that were behaved and let them have whatever privilege they were supposed to get. I left feeling a little better about Josh getting more work in the future, but not really reassured. I was told to call back in a few weeks if things didn't improve. There really is nothing I can do. I really did make sure all of my concerns were heard (not the spelling). Now I just wait and hope things improve. At least now his teachers know that I am a parent that is involved and does care. Maybe with that knowledge they will work a little harder for my son. I know that good kids often get overlooked because they are always doing the right thing. Bad kids get more attention because they obviously need it. Maybe he won't be overlooked anymore....