GET TO THAT SCHOOL -- NOW!!!
I had always loved school – until Sister Celine. She was the classic, abusive nun-from-hell that all the pre-Vatican II Catholic school kids lived in fear of. She had made the one part of my life that was usually a joy become a living hell. (Yes, I was the weird kid who LIKED school.)
If one kid would talk, she would suspend bathroom privileges FOR EVERYONE. Other days, she closed all the windows, turned off the fan, and wouldn't let anyone get a drink -- in 90-degree heat. Inside a very old brick school ... and if you went to Catholic school, you know how impractical uniform jumpers were for hot weather!
Then, she started issuing assignments at 20 or 30 minutes before the end of the day and saying we'd stay after to finish if we weren't done. That was OK, except I was among a handful of kids who rode a bus five miles to get there. She told us we could "just walk home."
WE WERE 8 -- and terrified!!!
My mom was working then so she wasn’t home most of the time when I started coming up with any excuse I could think of to stay home from school. My grandmother was a pushover so it was easy at first. Once my mom caught on though, I had to ‘fess up.
I told her about the daily dose of terror from Sister Celine. She took a day off work to go to parent/teacher conferences. (She never took off work – we needed the money too much.) After that conference, it was as if a whole new Sister Celine had emerged. I couldn’t believe it. School was wonderful again!
I shudder to think what would have become of me academically if my mother hadn't put her foot down. PLEASE do this for your child. Someone has to stand up for him -- and he's not the only one.