When I was in school...I never had to go to the Principles office My brother of course, spent plenty of time there. In fact, school administration wondered if the two of us were really related. After all I was such an angel and he was...well, not an angel. Well, now I get my turn to visit the Principle and I know all of the school administration on a first name bases and it's not just because I'm a regular volunteer. They know my kids, and they know them intimately.
I actually called this meeting after getting one of those infamous phone calls just as I was finishing up a nice leisurely lunch with a couple of girlfriends. You know when you see the caller I.D. on your phones says the name of your child's school and your heart stops for just a second. You wonder, "who did what now?" Well, this call was to inform me that my son was being pulled from all "regular education" classes and back into the special education setting for the balance of the school year. What!? Excuse me...what the hell are you talking about? I'm thinking as my heart starts racing and my head starts swimming. So much for that glass of wine with lunch. They just killed my buzz!
The call caught me off guard to say the least. They explained how this was for the safety of my son as well as other students. "We're trying to keep him from getting himself into more serious trouble. We would appreciate if you would support us on this decision." I reluctantly agreed in order to end the phone call, but my like I said, my head was still spinning.
When he got home he let me have it! "How could you agree to that?! Why are you letting them do this to me?" I stood strong and replied, "You have not been listening to reason. You've been upsetting two students consistently for most of the year and you don't understand the seriousness of your actions. It is my job to protect you when you can't seem to protect yourself. I don't want to see you in serious trouble that I can not protect you from."
His "mind blindness" does not allow him to see how his line of thinking is completely irrational. His lack of empathy will not allow him to understand how it makes others feel when he will not accept that someone does not want to be his friend and they don't have to be his friend, just because he wants them to. He can not see that constantly asking someone every day...why are you mad at me? Why can't I call you? Why can't we be friends?" could potentially drive someone nuts! He can not see that other students have their own social and emotional issues that have nothing to do with him. They have their own moods, feelings and baggage that have nothing to do with him. All he can see is what he wants.
