We had another transition day at Emerson today. Unfortunately today’s didn’t go as well as the last two. When we got there I spoke to ‘Sue’, the coordinator, about the boy Beth calls Bob who she said bullied her last time she was there. I said that Beth was worried about him and that I had told her to tell Sue if it happened again or to point him out to Sue so that she at least knew who it was. I did this in front of Beth so as to reassure her that it would be dealt with. Instead though Beth became all whingy, doing her exaggerated lip quiver and as she left with Sue she called out “Mum, don’t leave me.” I don’t know if it was because I brought ‘Bob’ to her attention or something else.
When I went back to pick Beth up Sue told me that Beth had continued on like that for most of the day. She had also not been as cooperative in the classroom. When told to get out of the beanbag where she was reading she didn’t want to. And when asked to put the book back she said to the teacher “You can do it for me.” When Beth came out and Sue was asking her about her day she had such an attitude to Sue that I had to step in and tell her to cut it out. When she acts like this she becomes very animated, almost like she has live punctuation. For example she’ll put her hands on her hips in an exaggerated manner. When asked if she’d had a good day she threw her hands on her hips and said very loudly “No!” She commented how a boy had been annoying her and how really, everybody was annoying. I said that was too bad, I was sure she had been annoying to other people too. When we left I told her how disappointed I was in her and that she had to get used to being there because it is going to be her school next year.
I knew that this was too good to be true. I’m not saying that she wont settle in but she is bound to have issues with having to step up to the plate of independance. She’s so reliant on others that it’s going to be a hard road for her. Where my heart says that I could handle her being at home and that it’d be easier in a way, my head tells me that this school is what she needs. We need to try and give her some form of independance, I wont always be here to look after her. And I’m damned if I’m going to burden Bill and Bridie any more than they have to be.
We’ve got another transition day on the 13th December and I’m going to the uniform shop with Beth next week to buy her one for the transition day. She’s home with me Monday to Wednesday next week as there is school camp and she doesn’t want to go. I’ve decided to keep her home with me, I just want this term to be a happy one for her and if her friends aren’t at school then she wont enjoy herself.
Hopefully her attitude will pick up. I just thank God that they’ve already said yes!
