The Ultimate Bollocking

The Wrath of Mountain Man knows no boundaries. What is surprising that it is three of my Grade Three students who are at the receiving end.

I have special love for my Special Needs students and i’m proud to have developed our inclusive developments this year. One of these students is Rediet, an autistic plump girl in Grade Three. We quickly built up a rapport, assisted with silver star stickers which she wins off me for quality work. I have upped the tempo and making greater demands on her performance and she responds accordingly. She regularly visits my office, hugs me and giggles. Most unusual for autistic kids.

Her class teacher comes to me after break and informs me that Rediet was taunted continuously over her weight over recess time and reduced to trembles and tears. I demand names, and the teacher scurries off – i’m fuming.

Five minutes later she has collected the names - Kevin (my school’s most visible student with the mad mum) and two other boys, both newly arrived. One is a refugee from Yemen who has already threatened to slash a classmate’s throat and the other, a very fat Pakistani boy. I burst into their classrooms and abruptly call them out to my office, with the dreaded words “bring your Communication Book.” They know from both my silence and demeanour they are in Big Shit!

I instruct them to sit down as i close my office door. Then i bollock them out completely with genuine anger and rage, and they are all trembling with fear. Rediet is Special and we are blessed to have her here. If they can’t respect our Special Friends i don’t want them in “my school of Love and Peace”. 

Ginger Warrior (Head of Secondary) is a master of sanctions in accordance within Ethiopian Law, and has used “Internal Suspensions” as part of the course with his miscreant students. Thus, i issue my first ever suspension of any kind. I tell them i will write and inform their parents whilst they are going to write a formal letter of apology to Redeit. They will stay out of their classes for the rest of the week (luckily it’s Friday, so i only need to keep them out of class for the next few hours. I will keep them in my office till after lunch and then will move them to our designated SEN classroom to offer help and assistance to my Special Ones.

I need to inform their respective teachers and tell them to remain in my office in silence . I open the door to find three teachers standing in complete shock in front of me. They have never heard me shout before, and equally amazed that the recipients are my kids, all of whom i love unreservedly.  

I literally bang out formal letters to the boys’ respective parents / guardians informing them of their internal suspensions, and that if anything similar were to occur again in this academic year, i would be requesting an immediate transfer to another school. I will not tolerate bullying in my school.

At the end of the day i call the boys back into the office, and i make them read out the letters. And i know they will never repeat such ignorant behaviour again. As i reflect on the day, i am wondering if the boys were just victims of my stress and insomnia. I have never had to shout at any of my children for more than a decade. And i am appalled at myself.

I immediately set about developing a Behaviour and Discipline Policy.