Letter to the Editor

Reader expresses thanks to school

Sunday, February 24, 2008

To the Editor:

I am writing this letter because it hurts me to see how different children are treated in our school system after reading and hearing all about the teachers getting raises.

All my children went to Clay County Schools. I never had any problems and now my granddaughter is going and when it was time for her to go to Kindergarten, I talked with my daughter and asked her to please let her go to the school you greatly enjoyed and she did.

Well, was I ever disappointed.

The first week, she got a paddling and that made me mad, because first of all, we as parents and grandparents are told we can't punish our children with weapons. What gives the right for you as our educators to do it?

So I called and asked her, 'Couldn't you have dealt with this issue different?' and that was over, but from then on, things got a little worse.

Now, she is in the second grade and we knew she had a problem, but it takes a little time to get things done. But we found out she has a learning disability, called Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).

Now the reason for this letter is I don't understand why some teachers think they have to treat these children differently. They are very bright children. They just get lost and lose track of what they are doing. They put my granddaughter at a desk by herself and made her feel like an outcast.

She came home everyday crying that she didn't want to go back and that no one liked her.

We had a very hard time with her. In fact, she lost some days, so we decided to change schools, because this was not the understanding school. It was, 'you just can't treat children this way because they are different.'

It messes with their self-respect and they will grow up scared and timid of everything. These children are our future.

I don't know about you folks, but I want my grandchildren to be whatever they want and to be strong and get every chance out there they can get.

So we did change her to Forest Park Elementary and my Lord, what a complete change for her. As day and night.

After just one day, she came home and was so happy. I haven't seen her that happy ever after school.

She did her homework right away and before it was always a hassle or she always forgot it.

Do you know what? She has not forgot it since she started, and ever since she does her homework and neatly as ever. She says, 'Do you know what Nana? I love my new school.'

And of course, I cry, but the point I am making is you as our educators cannot treat children different because they have a problem. You've got to work with them.

A good teacher would and that was showed to me in my granddaughter.

She worked so well this week, she earned some reward dollars and got a prize. See, that's what a good teacher does. They build a confident child, as they did with my granddaughter, just in this short time she's been there.

I want to say to all the teachers out there who do their jobs well like they should and you know who you are: Thank you. But my hat goes off to the teachers at Forest Park.

You have made an unhappy little girl happy and to love school again. She smiles again and in my heart, that's the greatest thing ever.

One big thank you Forest Park,

Lorri Davis-Bohannon,

Brazil