I despise that word.  And, I was (and am) dreading Emma ever being on the receiving end of it. I was surprised when Mason came home and told me of getting bullied on the school bus. Last week got off the bus on Thursday and was very upset.  I asked him what was wrong, and he told me that a boy on the bus told him he had a pocket knife.  According to Mason, this boy had a pocket knife, was going to “stab Mason”, and that Mason would be “gone forever.”  I was baffled.  I was actually almost in disbelief.  First of all, who says this to a kindergartener?  And secondly, if you’ve met Mason, you know he has the kindest heart ever.  Ever.

I talked Mason through it.  Told him that nothing like that would ever happen to him.  This kid was a bully and he was picking on Mason.  I calmed Mason down.  I took all the information that he remembered and wrote it down.  And then I had to just think about it.  I had to process it in my own head.  I’m not sure what my deal is, but I can’t process events like that quickly.  It takes time for things like this to sink in.  We went about our day with homework and baths, the same routine.  In the evening, I was able to sit down with  the piece of paper that had the details.  And I started writing.  I emailed the teacher, principal, director of transportation, and cc’d my advocate for good measure.  I knew they would take this very seriously, and I needed them to know that we were taking this very seriously.

I got an email from the principal that night reassuring me that they would be looking into this.  Come Friday, I found out that the principal talked to Mason (who was definitely a bit nervous going into the principal’s office!) and Mason pointed the boy out, and watched video of the school bus.  Side note- so happy they have video on school buses now, but how sad that it’s come to that, right? Mason was sitting in the front of the school bus so we actually couldn’t see him or the boy in the video.  She did mention that she saw other disturbing things on the video…standing up, switching seats, throwing things, etc.  I’m glad she saw this as our bus driver isn’t as strict as I would like to see him.

The director of transportation emailed later on Friday and said that he spoke with the bus driver who didn’t hear anything.  And also corrected any behaviors that don’t fall in place with transportation procedures.  I certainly hope so.

I emailed the principal again today to follow up.  I asked if the boy in question had been called to speak with her, questioned about the incident, or confessed to anything.  I am awaiting a response.

I hate bullying.  I severely dislike bullies.  They make me mad.  No one has the right to make my child/children feel scared or threatened.  And it’s important to me, for Mason, that he sees that negative behaviors will yield negative consequences.  I’m so proud of Mason for telling me what happened.  And very proud of how brave he was to talk to the principal.  Our principal is wonderful, as is Mason’s teacher.  However, for a 5 year old, the principal’s office can be daunting!

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