Re: Lenora / Attendance awards

[Guest guest]

Tammy,

I can see both points of view for Brittany. It's not fair she's

excluded because her health interferes. On the other hand, she's the

one who has to face her peers everyday, and she's right. Lots of kids

will point out that they think she's getting special privileges.

It's easy for us to say " So what? Don't worry about what the other

kids say. " But these are her peers, and going to school is not just

about academics; it's learning about other people -- and how to work

with others to prepare you for life in the adult world.

You really have to wonder about the priorities of a school that

rewards kids just for showing up. They're teaching kids to value

external rewards instead of learning self-motivation. These are the

types of kids that become adults with a " What's in it for me? " type of

attitude.

It's time to call a meeting with the school principal, Brittany's

teachers (all of them), school counselor, and school nurse to figure

out how they're going to turn this into a win-win situation. Go armed

with your own reasonable ideas because they might not have any

immediate solutions of their own, especially if they've been holding

this Friday party for a long time.

Collecting letters written by other parents from the list is a

very good idea. In the past, some of us have done that for other

parents of children with CF.

It helps if the letters stay focused -- meaning, parents should tell

how this type of treatment made their child feel, and suggest

alternative solutions. Success stories that end up benefiting the

whole class or school will especially attract their attention.

The teacher and school staff are missing a golden opportunity to teach

children about diversity. USE the word diversity -- it catches the eye

of any smart principal. Most get locked into thinking that diversity

is only about race, creed or culture, forgetting that diversity

extends beyond those borders.

Diversity is the basketball player in the wheelchair, the marathon

runner with the prosthetic leg, the child without hair because of

chemotherapy...

My daughter attended school with a girl in a wheelchair. A drunk

driver hit her mother's car at 8:00 one morning, sending the 8-month

old baby's car seat flying through the windshield. The baby girl was

left paralyzed in both legs even before she had the chance to take her

first steps. She attended school in the wheelchair accompanied by her

companion dog. The kids all thought it was pretty cool having a dog

in the classroom. But on a larger scale, there was a wonderful

combined effort of the parents, teachers, and staff to be sure this

girl was treated just like the others, instead of pitied.

You have to start young and hand-pick your child's teachers to be sure

your child is put in a classroom with someone understanding and

willing to be flexible.

Good luck! And congratulations to Brittany for keeping her chin up!

Kim

Mom to (23 with asthma and cf) and (20 asthma no cf)

I don't have the address handy but I will get it. Brittany will miss

school again tomorrow, she has to see her surgeon. I will call her

teacher again, but I don't feel that Im going to get anywhere with it.

I did talked to Brittany about it, and she said that it's more

embarrassing if they treat her different, if she misses school and

still gets to participate, the other kids are going to call her the

teachers pet, or thing thats shes being pampered by the school cause

shes sick. I try to look at it from her point of view...but Im just

not seeing it! So she would rather be excluded because of her CF, then

to not worry about what the other kids think? I have a hard time

understanding....what would you do? Tammy

[Guest guest]

Tammy,

I can see both points of view for Brittany. It's not fair she's

excluded because her health interferes. On the other hand, she's the

one who has to face her peers everyday, and she's right. Lots of kids

will point out that they think she's getting special privileges.

It's easy for us to say " So what? Don't worry about what the other

kids say. " But these are her peers, and going to school is not just

about academics; it's learning about other people -- and how to work

with others to prepare you for life in the adult world.

You really have to wonder about the priorities of a school that

rewards kids just for showing up. They're teaching kids to value

external rewards instead of learning self-motivation. These are the

types of kids that become adults with a " What's in it for me? " type of

attitude.

It's time to call a meeting with the school principal, Brittany's

teachers (all of them), school counselor, and school nurse to figure

out how they're going to turn this into a win-win situation. Go armed

with your own reasonable ideas because they might not have any

immediate solutions of their own, especially if they've been holding

this Friday party for a long time.

Collecting letters written by other parents from the list is a

very good idea. In the past, some of us have done that for other

parents of children with CF.

It helps if the letters stay focused -- meaning, parents should tell

how this type of treatment made their child feel, and suggest

alternative solutions. Success stories that end up benefiting the

whole class or school will especially attract their attention.

The teacher and school staff are missing a golden opportunity to teach

children about diversity. USE the word diversity -- it catches the eye

of any smart principal. Most get locked into thinking that diversity

is only about race, creed or culture, forgetting that diversity

extends beyond those borders.

Diversity is the basketball player in the wheelchair, the marathon

runner with the prosthetic leg, the child without hair because of

chemotherapy...

My daughter attended school with a girl in a wheelchair. A drunk

driver hit her mother's car at 8:00 one morning, sending the 8-month

old baby's car seat flying through the windshield. The baby girl was

left paralyzed in both legs even before she had the chance to take her

first steps. She attended school in the wheelchair accompanied by her

companion dog. The kids all thought it was pretty cool having a dog

in the classroom. But on a larger scale, there was a wonderful

combined effort of the parents, teachers, and staff to be sure this

girl was treated just like the others, instead of pitied.

You have to start young and hand-pick your child's teachers to be sure

your child is put in a classroom with someone understanding and

willing to be flexible.

Good luck! And congratulations to Brittany for keeping her chin up!

Kim

Mom to (23 with asthma and cf) and (20 asthma no cf)

I don't have the address handy but I will get it. Brittany will miss

school again tomorrow, she has to see her surgeon. I will call her

teacher again, but I don't feel that Im going to get anywhere with it.

I did talked to Brittany about it, and she said that it's more

embarrassing if they treat her different, if she misses school and

still gets to participate, the other kids are going to call her the

teachers pet, or thing thats shes being pampered by the school cause

shes sick. I try to look at it from her point of view...but Im just

not seeing it! So she would rather be excluded because of her CF, then

to not worry about what the other kids think? I have a hard time

understanding....what would you do? Tammy

[Guest guest]

Tammy,

I can see both points of view for Brittany. It's not fair she's

excluded because her health interferes. On the other hand, she's the

one who has to face her peers everyday, and she's right. Lots of kids

will point out that they think she's getting special privileges.

It's easy for us to say " So what? Don't worry about what the other

kids say. " But these are her peers, and going to school is not just

about academics; it's learning about other people -- and how to work

with others to prepare you for life in the adult world.

You really have to wonder about the priorities of a school that

rewards kids just for showing up. They're teaching kids to value

external rewards instead of learning self-motivation. These are the

types of kids that become adults with a " What's in it for me? " type of

attitude.

It's time to call a meeting with the school principal, Brittany's

teachers (all of them), school counselor, and school nurse to figure

out how they're going to turn this into a win-win situation. Go armed

with your own reasonable ideas because they might not have any

immediate solutions of their own, especially if they've been holding

this Friday party for a long time.

Collecting letters written by other parents from the list is a

very good idea. In the past, some of us have done that for other

parents of children with CF.

It helps if the letters stay focused -- meaning, parents should tell

how this type of treatment made their child feel, and suggest

alternative solutions. Success stories that end up benefiting the

whole class or school will especially attract their attention.

The teacher and school staff are missing a golden opportunity to teach

children about diversity. USE the word diversity -- it catches the eye

of any smart principal. Most get locked into thinking that diversity

is only about race, creed or culture, forgetting that diversity

extends beyond those borders.

Diversity is the basketball player in the wheelchair, the marathon

runner with the prosthetic leg, the child without hair because of

chemotherapy...

My daughter attended school with a girl in a wheelchair. A drunk

driver hit her mother's car at 8:00 one morning, sending the 8-month

old baby's car seat flying through the windshield. The baby girl was

left paralyzed in both legs even before she had the chance to take her

first steps. She attended school in the wheelchair accompanied by her

companion dog. The kids all thought it was pretty cool having a dog

in the classroom. But on a larger scale, there was a wonderful

combined effort of the parents, teachers, and staff to be sure this

girl was treated just like the others, instead of pitied.

You have to start young and hand-pick your child's teachers to be sure

your child is put in a classroom with someone understanding and

willing to be flexible.

Good luck! And congratulations to Brittany for keeping her chin up!

Kim

Mom to (23 with asthma and cf) and (20 asthma no cf)

I don't have the address handy but I will get it. Brittany will miss

school again tomorrow, she has to see her surgeon. I will call her

teacher again, but I don't feel that Im going to get anywhere with it.

I did talked to Brittany about it, and she said that it's more

embarrassing if they treat her different, if she misses school and

still gets to participate, the other kids are going to call her the

teachers pet, or thing thats shes being pampered by the school cause

shes sick. I try to look at it from her point of view...but Im just

not seeing it! So she would rather be excluded because of her CF, then

to not worry about what the other kids think? I have a hard time

understanding....what would you do? Tammy