Some Do Their Part & Some Don't

Marna had been told by the office that “Joe” wasn’t going to be at school the day following the choke hold incident, because he had left on vacation with his family for about a week. This made Marna relieved that Beckham would be getting a break from “Joe”. As Marna was driving Beckham and his sister, “Jane” to school, “Jane” told her about an incident that happened a month ago. “Jane” told Marna that a girl named, “Sue”, had told her that she wanted to kill Beckham. Marna said, “what?!” Jane said, “yes and I told my teacher." Then Marna asked "Jane" what the teacher did. "Jane" said that the teacher made her and “Sue” sit down and talk through it.

As soon as Marna arrived at the school, she went and talked to “Jane’s” teacher. Marna asked her if she remembered this incident. The teacher said yes and that it was about a month ago; she asked if there were still issues. Marna told her that they had just found out that Beckham has been a victim of bullying for the last year and a half. The teacher told Marna that she had seen him last week and couldn't believe it was him; she barely recognized him and said he didn't even look like the same kid. Marna agreed and said that it's so sad how it has taken a toll on him. “Jane’s” teacher immediately took Marna to the dual immersion teacher that taught her class part of the day. She wanted the immersion teacher to be aware of what "Sue" had said and what was happening with Beckham. Marna was very impressed with how proactive and responsive this teacher was.

Marna went to the office next, because she was concerned about how Beckham was going to point out the third grader that had pushed him down the slide. The principal was not in and wouldn’t be back until 10:30. The assistant principal asked her if she would like to come back then and she said she would. Marna asked the assistant principal if she could attend the meeting as well. She said her class got out at 10:30 and she would be there. Before Marna left, the office assured her that they wouldn’t have Beckham on the playground pointing the third grader out. They would use school pictures to identify him; this eased her concern about the matter. Now that that concern was taken care of, Marna needed to inform the principal about what “Jane” had told her about what “Sue” had said. Marna wondered: “Why wasn't this reported? Wouldn't you want something like this reported? Do you think kids just say things like that these days? I would be very concerned if a child said this about another child. Why would another child say something like this? Was that child being bullied by another child? Is that why they wanted to kill this child? Has this girl seen other people do something to Beckham and so that is why she said it? Is this bullying stuff ever going to stop? Is this normal for kids to talk this way? So many questions were going through her head once again. She didn’t understand why the incident with “Sue” wasn’t reported.  

After leaving the office, but before leaving the school, Marna thought she'd walk by Beckham’s class to check on him. She knew they were finishing up the end-of-year math test that day and she wanted to check on him to see how he was doing. The teacher was in the hallway checking on two students doing some sort of worksheet. Marna asked if she could speak with her for a minute. She asked her how Beckham was doing and if he was pulling his hair, eyelashes, or eyebrows out. His teacher said she did not notice him pulling on anything and that he was doing just fine. Marna said Good. She then told the teacher that she was disappointed that “Joe” was not going to get a punishment since he was on vacation. The teacher said, "oh, no, he did get a punishment. He missed two recesses yesterday and he will miss one more when he gets back." She couldn't believe it, she was sick. Three recesses, you're kidding right? It was like Beckham was getting kicked and punched in the gut again. She looked at the teacher and said, “I asked Beckham why he didn't tell you that Joe was doing stuff to him? He told me he did tell you. He told me that he told you every single day.” The teacher's reply was and Marna quotes, "yes, but he needed to be more specific." Marna then said, "do you not realize how shy he is and for him to anything about another kid is huge?" The teacher replied, "well then he can write it on a piece of paper if that makes him feel more comfortable." After that, Marna left the school and waited for her 10:30 meeting with the principal and vice principal.