So today was my second Monday off from school and I like it, I love it, I want some more of it! Kory went to work and I set things out for Kaleb so he could get himself off to school and I could sleep in. (I’m “training him up in the way he should go” – to become self sufficient). I was shocked that I slept until 11:18 and that I needed that much sleep, but thankful I was able to get it. The sun was beaming in the living room windows when I got up – which was a first for a while since the sun hasn’t been high enough to be above the mountains so we could see it – or feel it – or enjoy it. But today, it was OUT and I realized just how dirty the windows have gotten… but since it was my Sabbath, I didn’t even think for a second I should clean them. I just took it easy all day. I prepared my Bible study lesson and prayed and took a long walk through the neighborhood and recharged my batteries for another week.
Kaleb on the other hand didn’t have such a lovely day. He came home rather devastated saying this was one of the worse days of his life and he fought back the tears as he recounted the day’s events. First he said he got started off on the wrong foot. He biked over to Tobias’s house this morning so they could ride to school together. Once there he realized he forgot his helmet so he had to ride back home to get it. Tobias waited a while for him but then took off alone as Kaleb didn’t return quickly enough. So Kaleb had to ride extra fast, and without his buddy by his side, but he did make it to school just as the bell rang so he wasn’t late. Then, during all the breaks at school, one kid or another lit into him. I do believe only one time a kid came after him intentionally and kicked and hit him pretty hard, but the other times he went into the line of fire as he tried to go to the rescue of different kids getting beat up on the playground. The way he describes it, it’s like a war zone around there and the inmates are running the asylum. I have no idea where all the playground teachers are but it seems every day there is some scuffle somewhere and often Kaleb is in on it. If I understood correctly, he got beat up five times today and he had bruises and missing flesh to prove it. Two different kids kicked his shin on two different occasions so he now has matching skid marks on each leg where the skin came off from the impact. I am at a loss as to what to do but Kaleb and I talked a long time about the whole situation and tomorrow we’ll go in and see if we can talk to the principal (although I know it won’t do a bit of good). The only thing that irks me is that they say they have “zero” tolerance for this kind of thing but then they have ZERO consequences for when it happens. If they followed the same line of thinking as the government has with drunk driving for instance, if you get caught once driving drunk you lose your license, pay a huge fine and go to jail – no questions asked. The consequences are so dire that no one dares to drink and drive. So the fact the school SAYS they have zero tolerance for hitting, yet they don’t even kick kids out of school for doing anything bad, makes me wonder why they even bother with all the hype about zero tolerance. Ugh. Kaleb has had enough, he says, and if he gets beat up one more time he wants to drop out of school and have me homeschool him. All I could tell him is it’s partly my fault because he’s an only child. If he had siblings, he would have learned by now that kids hit and kick and he wouldn’t think so much about it, but for him, it’s all such a shock whenever it happens that he doesn’t know how to process the whole thing. Today he said, he fought back – which I actually hate to hear, but I understand completely. So we shall see. Kaleb is ready to go to the newspaper and have them write a story about it as he thinks the whole irony with the school slogan being “anti-bullying” is just a joke.
Kory had a fine day at work but his boss sure didn’t. Jonathan smashed his finger with a hammer so badly Kory said it split into. Jonathan just put a band-aid on it and went back to work. Uff da. Kory usually laughs about little accidents on the job site, but he wasn’t laughing about that one.
Tonight we held our first Bible study on the book of James. We had four people here from different countries in Africa (all asylum seekers). They each have a story that would fill a book so it will be interesting to get to know them a little better. They do have a desire to learn more about the Bible, so that’s the common thread, otherwise, where they have come from and what they have been through is almost unbelievable to me. I’ll write more about them in the future.
The photo today seemed appropriate. It’s a postcard of a place near Bergen that one of Kory’s cousins has been to and stood in the exact same spot – between a rock and a hard place with sure death in one misstep. It would be a good place to go when contemplating the complexities that life often throws our way. I know a few kids I’d like to put there.
Kaleb on the other hand didn’t have such a lovely day. He came home rather devastated saying this was one of the worse days of his life and he fought back the tears as he recounted the day’s events. First he said he got started off on the wrong foot. He biked over to Tobias’s house this morning so they could ride to school together. Once there he realized he forgot his helmet so he had to ride back home to get it. Tobias waited a while for him but then took off alone as Kaleb didn’t return quickly enough. So Kaleb had to ride extra fast, and without his buddy by his side, but he did make it to school just as the bell rang so he wasn’t late. Then, during all the breaks at school, one kid or another lit into him. I do believe only one time a kid came after him intentionally and kicked and hit him pretty hard, but the other times he went into the line of fire as he tried to go to the rescue of different kids getting beat up on the playground. The way he describes it, it’s like a war zone around there and the inmates are running the asylum. I have no idea where all the playground teachers are but it seems every day there is some scuffle somewhere and often Kaleb is in on it. If I understood correctly, he got beat up five times today and he had bruises and missing flesh to prove it. Two different kids kicked his shin on two different occasions so he now has matching skid marks on each leg where the skin came off from the impact. I am at a loss as to what to do but Kaleb and I talked a long time about the whole situation and tomorrow we’ll go in and see if we can talk to the principal (although I know it won’t do a bit of good). The only thing that irks me is that they say they have “zero” tolerance for this kind of thing but then they have ZERO consequences for when it happens. If they followed the same line of thinking as the government has with drunk driving for instance, if you get caught once driving drunk you lose your license, pay a huge fine and go to jail – no questions asked. The consequences are so dire that no one dares to drink and drive. So the fact the school SAYS they have zero tolerance for hitting, yet they don’t even kick kids out of school for doing anything bad, makes me wonder why they even bother with all the hype about zero tolerance. Ugh. Kaleb has had enough, he says, and if he gets beat up one more time he wants to drop out of school and have me homeschool him. All I could tell him is it’s partly my fault because he’s an only child. If he had siblings, he would have learned by now that kids hit and kick and he wouldn’t think so much about it, but for him, it’s all such a shock whenever it happens that he doesn’t know how to process the whole thing. Today he said, he fought back – which I actually hate to hear, but I understand completely. So we shall see. Kaleb is ready to go to the newspaper and have them write a story about it as he thinks the whole irony with the school slogan being “anti-bullying” is just a joke.
Kory had a fine day at work but his boss sure didn’t. Jonathan smashed his finger with a hammer so badly Kory said it split into. Jonathan just put a band-aid on it and went back to work. Uff da. Kory usually laughs about little accidents on the job site, but he wasn’t laughing about that one.
Tonight we held our first Bible study on the book of James. We had four people here from different countries in Africa (all asylum seekers). They each have a story that would fill a book so it will be interesting to get to know them a little better. They do have a desire to learn more about the Bible, so that’s the common thread, otherwise, where they have come from and what they have been through is almost unbelievable to me. I’ll write more about them in the future.
The photo today seemed appropriate. It’s a postcard of a place near Bergen that one of Kory’s cousins has been to and stood in the exact same spot – between a rock and a hard place with sure death in one misstep. It would be a good place to go when contemplating the complexities that life often throws our way. I know a few kids I’d like to put there.
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