BEING ASSERTIVE
An Angry Mother Delivers a Scathing Response to School Officials
After her daughter was punished for punching a classmate
We love to root for the underdog.
David and Goliath. Oliver Twist. The Karate Kid.
Here is another story that got me where it matters.
(I’m an A&E nurse. We’re not allowed our phones on us; they’re to be kept in our lockers. A call for me comes into hospital reception on a private line.)
Phone: “This is [Teacher] from [School]. There’s been an incident involving [Daughter]. We need you to come in.”
Me: “Is she ill or injured? Can it wait until my shift is over in two hours?”
Phone: “[Daughter] has struck another pupil. We’ve been trying to call you for 45 minutes. It really is very serious.”
(I go to the school and am ushered into the head’s office. I see my daughter, her head of year, a male teacher, the headmaster, a boy with blood around his nose and a red face, and his parents.)
Head: “Mrs. [My Name], how kind of you to FINALLY join us!”
Me: “Yeah, things get busy in A&E. I’ve spent the last hour administering over 40 stitches to a seven-year-old who was beaten…
