Just got off the phone with the Principal, school bus problem (vent)

First thing this morning, as my son (who is in Kindergarten) is getting ready to go to school, he tells me that he doesn't want to ride the bus any more. I asked him why, and he begins to tell me about a kid named Jonathan (4th grader) who is doing "some things that he shouldn't be doing." I start asking questions to find out what he meant and he tells me that Jonathan calls him and another little boy on the bus "Dick." I said "OK well, there are a lot of people who are named Dick, why do you think that is so bad?" He says "no Mom, he means it bad because he grabs his privates when he says it."

Not only that, but Nash continues on by telling me how this boy stands up on the bus, grabs his private area and asks other kids if they "want to touch his d*ck." At this point, I am pretty upset thinking that certainly there is a problem here, then Nash says that "Jonathan does something else too Mom." I asked him to tell me and he froze for a second, then said he didn't want to tell me. I explained that I needed to know, so he said reluctantly that Jonathan gets behind people and "tries to hump them." I said "he does what? What is that?" Of course I knew what he was saying, but I wanted to make sure that he knew what he was saying. So I asked him to show me what Jonathan does. He didn't want to show me, but finally, he stood up, grabbed his private area and started thrusting his hips back and forth and said, "he does this." This is the first time EVER that the word "hump" has come out of my child's mouth, except for the times that we have talked about a Camel having them on their backs! We do not use such words or actions in our home and I am pretty upset that this kid is doing this stuff.

I am not naive enough to think that kids are never going to be exposed to this kind of stuff, but come on! My son is only 6 and he should not be concerned about things like this!

I called the Principal a few minutes ago and told him what Nash had told me. The Principal has known my family for a long time and actually taught two of my younger brother's in school back in the early 90's. He is a very good man and he agrees that this is not something that should be happening. He told me that he would get to the bottom of it this morning and call me back to let me know what they did about it.

Thanks for reading and sorry to vent for so long. I am just one "ticked off" Mama this morning.

Andrea

I would be so upset right now. Your son should not be exposed to anything like this. I have to wonder where the bus driver during all of this. Hope the principal fires her/him.

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Originally posted by kvmj
I have to wonder where the bus driver during all of this. Hope the principal fires her/him.

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OMG that was my first thought too! What the heck is the driver doing to not see what is going on?! GRRRRRRRRRR You have every right to be ticked andrea!
:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

I wonder about the driver too. Certainly he would not knowingly allow this to happen, I hope not anyway. I talked to him at the beginning of the year. He is an older man, probably in his early 60's and he seemed very nice. His wife is the manager of the school cafeteria and I have met her too.

The only thing I can think is maybe the driver is concentrating on the road and is not paying much attention to what the students are doing in the back. If that is the case, then they need to find someone that can multitask. I do know that they have not had any problems with Nash on the bus. They started a monthly program to recognize good behavior on each of the school buses. So far this year, Nash has won twice for his bus number. He was given a certificate and they featured him in the monthly school newsletter.

I will post again when I hear back from the Principal.

Andrea

I'm sorry this is happening to your son and the other kids on the bus. Let us know how this comes out.
Hugs,
Angie

Sounds like Jonathan has some much older brothers who are leading him astray. I wonder what his mother is going to say when she speaks to the principal and finds out what Jonathan has been doing.

A fourth grader should know better. He obvoiusly likes the shock value it gets from the other kids.

I'm glad the principal is taking your concerns seriously. This is some serious acting out on the part of this child and it might represent that Jonathan himself is the victim of child abuse.

I just got the call back form the principal. He said that he went to the classroom and asked to speak to Nash. They went for a walk outside and he told Nash that I called the school to let them know about the problem on the bus. He said that Nash told him the same thing that he had told me.

The principal said that they went to the office and also talked to the bus driver. The driver told Nash that he was sorry for not realizing that there was a problem and he asked Nash to please let him know about things like this when they are happening, so that he can stop them right away. The principal and the driver both told him that they wanted him to continue riding the bus and that they thanked him for letting them know about the problem.

The principal also told me that he called in Jonathan and let him know that someone had complained about his behavior on the bus. The principal told him what had been reported and the child actually admitted to saying and doing those things. He told the child that it was not acceptable behavior and that if he heard about it happening again, he would be suspended off the bus for five days. After that, if it happened yet again, he would be suspended from school. The principal also told him that he was going to call his parents to let them know what happened.

The principal then apologized to me profusely and said that he would make sure that this kind of thing does not go on. I am very pleased with the swift action that he took. I knew that he would get to the bottom of it. He is really a great man and I am so glad that he is overseeing my son's school.

Again, thanks for listening, I really appreciate it.

Andrea

Wow... This is the system working as it should be.

I am still concerned for Jonathan. His actions are inappropriate and he must have learned the behavior from somewhere.

Andrea...you should also tell your son how proud you are of him. How wonderful that he felt comfortable enough to come to you and tell you the problems.

Oopsie. Double.

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Originally posted by Kelsey1224
I'm glad the principal is taking your concerns seriously. This is some serious acting out on the part of this child and it might represent that Jonathan himself is the victim of child abuse.

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Ditto