Why Sierra's school can go f*ck itself...Or reason #52 I wish I could just homeschool

Around noon yesterday my telephone rang.

"Hello." "Ms. Sullivan this is Principal Noonan calling from the school."

I stop breathing, my heart starts to sink...

"Nothing is wrong! I just want you to know nothing is wrong I know it's scary when the principal calls you. Sierra is ok."

Breathing resumes....

Basically she goes on to tell me that Sierra was sent to her office because she told someone she was going to "kill them." Sierra had told this person a secret and they went and told the whole class. She got upset and said that (to quote the principal) "in passing". Sierra spent her lunch and recess in the office writing letters of apology to the kid she said it too, the person who overheard and the teacher. That those notes were going home and that she was going to call their parents.

Now at first I was pretty upset because...my KID got sent to the principals office. MY KID!? The kid who spends her free time drawing pictures of rainbows and people holding hands? The kid who bandages up her stuff animals and writes us all love notes on a daily basis? The kid who hasn't had a time out since....I don't remember when?

WHAT!?

So I apologize, ask what I can do to follow up at home ect. Principal is almost laughing about it because Sierra is such a harmless little thing. Comments how she doesn't expect she'll ever see her in the office again ect.

I get off the phone, I start digesting what happened, I become LIVID. LIVID!

Sierra should not have said that, obviously it's not a very nice thing to say but kids say that to each other ALL.THE.TIME. My GRANDMOTHER says that to us. When I was a kid if I got in trouble I would say "Oh no my mom is going to KILL ME!" And quite frankly if someone told the entire class my secret I wouldn't be surprised if those words came out of my mouth. Not in a "I have you up against the wall with my switch blade" way, but in a figure of speech way.

Then I picked her up from school and I got even more upset. She burst into tears the second she saw me. She wouldn't talk for an hour. Finally when she was ready to talk about it I asked if they had explained why that is not a nice thing to say.

No.

So I explained it.

I asked if they had said that she had ever right to be upset with the person who told her secret to the whole class.

No. They didn't even bother to validate her feelings.

So what happened is they sent these letters home with the kids involved. They CALLED THEIR PARENTS to tell them what had happened and they made my child feel like a fucking criminal. Last year Sierra was PUNCHED in the stomach by another student. Did I get a phone call? Did I get a letter of apology sent home?

No.

The year before a kid intentionally slammed her fingers in a desk. Letter? Phone call? No and No.

I understand that the world is crazy today. I understand that there are school shootings and teachers need to be on the look out for these kinds of things but for crying out loud this is an 8 year old girl who hasn't even SEEN a gun. An 8 year old girl who has never touched a hair on another human beings head in a violent way. The way they reacted to this was so completely over the top and inappropriate that I wish I could just pull her out of that stupid fucking school and be done with it.

She spent all this morning crying and not wanting to go. She asked if she could switch schools, or take a sick day. I want to go in there and yell at people but I know that isn't the solution. And then I start to think "Gosh, if Scott's mom was here she would know *exactly* what to do" and then I cry.

awesome today is really starting out super swell. At least it's sunny, I think if I can get the house in decent shape (boy does it ever fall apart when I am sick!) I am going to sit out on the deck in a big patch of sun and read something lighthearted.

** not edited. In fact I doubt i'll ever edit any of these so just embrace my typos. Ok?