I don't like Jaden's kindergarten teacher.
What do you all think I should do?????
Here's what is going on:
1) she is a paranoid freak
2) when she found out that she has seizures, she insisted on a parent/principle/teacher meeting. Which is fine. I understand. She wanted an emergency plan set in place for if/when Jaden has a seizure. I thought it was overkill, but I agreed with a smile on my face.
This is the plan:
--all special teachers (PE, music, library) and the k-teacher will have a "special" card which is a "code" that Jaden is having a seizure. They will send one child to the office with this code card. When the office gets it they will send the principal to the classroom and someone in the office will call me. They were stressing out getting this all perfect. They asked me if I thought it was sufficient. I told them that it was more than sufficient and I also told the principal that unless he is standing right there when it happens, he will never see a seizure. She will be done and back to normal activity by the time he gets there. And she won't even remember that she's had a seizure. The teacher was trying to get it all just right. She wanted to know who in the office would be assigned to calling me. I piped in and said, if you'd like you can just send a note home with her at the end of the day letting me know. (I was really irritated and partially saying it to be sarcastic because she was driving me crazy.) I patiently listened, but deep inside was rolling my eyes. Until.......she told me that she wanted Jaden to wear a helmet at recess. I said, absolutely not. She was worried, but I said no way am I making her wear a helmet at recess. She hasn't even had a seizure during the day time for 3 months. (She's has a seizure every 5 nights during her sleep, go figure). The teacher was still worried, so I told her if she started having seizures at school we would reconsider.
3) okay, so I made it through the ridiculous meeting and we came up with an "emergency seizure plan". So now the first day of school, the teacher hands me the plan all typed up and tells me she wants me to take it to Jaden's Dr. and have him read over it, make sure we covered all bases, and sign it. Yes, the dr. sign it, and then return it to her. Are you kidding me??
4) Oh and don't think that I don't have to sign it. She wants a signed copy from me as well.
5) After the first day of school, I am picking Jaden up.
Me: from now on she will be riding the bus home with Jake and Brent.
Teacher: (with a worried look) have you told the bus company?
Me: No, (confused because here you don't have to register your kids to ride the bus, they just get on.) Brent and Jake ride it every day. She will just be getting on with Jake and Brent.
Teacher: No, they need to have an emergency plan in place for if she has a seizure.
Me: I'm not calling the bus company and wasting there time or mine to tell them that. It's overkill.
Teacher: Well, then I will let them know.
At this point, I walk away and went outside. One of my good friends, (Jake's teacher from last year. I also play basketball every week with her.) She followed me out. I was so angry and then when I started talking to her I started bawling. I felt so stupid. Mrs. Simpson, Jakes teacher knows the whole story and past with Jaden because Jake was in her class and I was gone for 2 months out of the school year down south with Jaden in hospitals. I told her I could understand if it was like last year, but right now she hasn't had a seizure for 3 months during the day. I told Mrs. Simpson, it's hard enough to deal with Jaden when she's having seizures, but to have to deal with this when she's doing so good. What would the K-teacher do if it was last year. Anyway, that conversation is irrelevant. It's just when I finally had had enough.
6) this doesn't have anything to do with Jaden, but it's another thing that happened that makes me not like this teacher. On Friday, when I dropped Jaden off I remembered that I hadn't given her medicine. So I went home and got it and went back to the school. Her class was out of the classroom, so I waited for them to return. While I was waiting a girl I know came down the hall with cupcakes. Her son is in the class next to Jaden's. It was his birthday. She set the cupcakes down on a desk across the hall. Then her and I were talking. Her name is Jamie.
Jaden's class is coming down the hall towards the room. Me and Jamie are standing right outside the door talking.
K-teacher: Vicki, are those your cupcakes?
Me: No, they are for Mrs. Wingrin's class.
Jamie: they are mine.
k-teacher: you can't leave them there. By the time all these kindergartners walk past there won't be any left. They will get into them.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME????????????????????????????????????
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Like me and Jamie couldn't handle telling kids IF THEY EVEN TRIED TO GET INTO THEM that they couldn't have them.
After the class went into their room, I told Jamie I wasn't liking this teacher very much. She said, yeah my daughter had her 4 yrs. ago and I thought she (k-teacher) was going to have a heart attack and retire after that year. For my son, I made sure he was in the other class.
So, here is the question?????
What do I do? I mean come on Jaden is going to be hard enough as it is. Do we really need to add all this stress to it. I'm getting some opinions to put her in the other class, no questions asked.
What do you all think I should do? Because here's another thing......the office ladies who know Jaden's story very well, suggested this teacher. They thought she would be really good for her. The other teacher is an older lady, very grandma--ish, and very gentle with the kids. The office ladies thought that because the other teacher was more stern that she would be better for Jaden's spirited personality.
So please tell me if you think I should put her in the other class or just leave it be. What more could she get paranoid about. The worst is over, or is it over? HELP!
8 comments:
Hi Vicki,
How are you?? It sounds like you guys are loving it up there in Alaska. Well to answer your question about the teacher thing I would go with your gut. If you feel like you should change her then you should. I have had to change one of my children against the advice of the principle but I just didn't feel right about it. I hope that helps. It is so good to see you guys even if it is in pictures. Time sure flys doesn't it. Michael and I will by taking our oldest daughter to college next fall. Crazy huh. Well email me or call me sometime I would love to talk. Take care. I am one of Rons friends on facebook and my email is on there. I think its on my blog also. Talk to you soon.
Get her out of there yesterday! All I have to say is Dr. Elizabeth Moore! It's deja vu. When things are ALREADY this jacked-up it's not going to get better it's going to get worse. I'd tell her that based on your experience with all of the professionals you have worked with that are knowledgeable about this, you feel that her inexperience, lack of empathy, insensitivity, and outright ignorance regarding Jaden are unexcusable. You has overstepped her boundaries with your child. Also tell her, she sounds like she needs to have a seizure or two. It might lighten her up. AND, tell her to go back to her igloo, light a fire, and lighten up! Maybe nobody else lives in her igloo. BTW, I can call her--I sound enough like you. I did fire your maid for you once.
I think you should talk with the other k-teacher and let her know Jaden's situation and see how she responds to it before you do any switching. She may be just as bad or better. But get a feel for her attitude. Requesting a different teacher doesn't make you an annoying parent when it is in the best intrest of the child. This situation requires being choosey.
I think what Jaymi said sounds really good.And she should know beings she is a teacher and has been around kids and teachers.
Hey Vicki,
if it makes you feel any better I changed Eli's teacher this year and I might have to do it again if things don't improve. It truely is about the best intrest of Jaden. it can be uncomfortable at times however you will have Jaden for eternity and only have to deal with teachers for a short season. go with your gut. You are an awesome mother and very in tune to the spirit.
Mandy
P.S. I miss you tonz!!!
SWITCH HER NOW!
(After the hell I have been through with Brock...) That K-teacher is not going to get any better than right now. She already has her radar out for any potential problems YOU MIGHT CAUSE. {please} Can the other teacher really be any worse that the one you have? {+ it might send a message to the other teacher--or even both of them--that you're not going to take their ridiculous crap.}
also, you like your doctor, right?
Have him write a note telling them that they are being extreme and Jaden is perfectly "cleared" to attend kindergarten, without a SUPER-DUPER, INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH, EMERGENCY PLAN.
(Sorry if it seems like I am shouting a bit.)
(I am.)
I just finished taking a Subsitute teaching class, and they did discuss seizures and what to do. They told us here that they do have aplan for all the kids who do have seizures. Because of privacy laws we as substitues can not know which kids have sezuires, only the office and teachers can know. We are not to make a big deal out of it, so as not to worry other kids. That may be why the K teacher wants a card to be taken to office. They told us we have to be very careful in everything that we do because with the sue happy world not only can the school be sued but us as subsitutes too can be personally sued. She is probablly just covering all her bases. They probably didn't want Jaden with the older lady because if Jaden is hard, Jaden may need more structure. I would check with the other teacher and get a feel for what she may be like and see if you think she can handle Jaden first. It is sad that the sue happy world makes us have to be this way, but maybe she has had a bad experience with a parent that now makes her gun shy. Maybe she needs to be told where you are coming from and she where she is coming from.
I'll call you! In the mean time, hang in there. Love you, Eva
Ps. Tell Jennifer to let me get to her blog :)
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