School pics and Ky-An’s progress

I dreaded the second day of school because I fear after the excitement of the first day wore off, he’ll realize he has to be at school every day and starts crying.  I was happily wrong and he was still eager to go to school the second day.

The third day was hard because he starts crying as soon as I pull up to the school.  I took him in class and I’ve never seen him cry so hard.  I made the mistake of sticking around hoping to calm him down a little.  The teacher even got a mat out for him to lie down and give him his blanket.  He calmed down a little but as soon as I make any move to leave, he gets all worked up again.  I finally asked the teacher if it’s better for me to just do a clean break and she said yes.  I bite my lips and tears to calmly and brightly said goodbye to him, ignoring his wails.  I smiled to him and said goodbye and left.  It was so sad because they had to hold him down when he try to run after me.  I hung around outside the classroom for a little looking through the one-way glass to make sure he’s okay.  After he looks like he has settle down, I quickly left and trying to hold all my emotions inside.

Hieu came by the school to check on our little man everyday for 2 weeks during his lunch break.  This past Monday Hieu came a little late just as they are settling down for his nap.  He called me very emotional as he tell how our little guy was crying so hard and twisting his ears until it’s red at naptime.  He asked the teacher why he’s crying and she said he cries every day.  He asked her where is Ky-An’s blanket and she has this look on her face that tells him she has no idea what he’s talking about. 

We were both so upset to find out that I’ve packed his blanket for the past week and no one has bother to get it out of the bag to give it to him.  He has no comfort item during this difficult transition time.  I followed the instructions they gave in their booklet to put his comfort item in the bag and the teachers will take it out for him at nap time.  No wonder he cries as I put his blanket in the bag every morning.  It pains me to imagine how scary the transition has been for him with no familiar item.  They made me a liar to my son because I promise him every day that he’ll have it for nap time.

Hieu talked to the Director and the Regional Director about how upset he was.  They apologized and give him the typical canned excuses.  They are sorry..there was a miscommunication..they’ll talk to the teacher…Ky-An will get his blanket everyday..if any problems please talk to them or email them..blah blah blah.

I called the Director because I was upset and to make sure they know it is a big deal to us.  It may be a small issue but it’s the whole world to Ky-An.  They tried to tell me that I should’ve communicate with the front desk that he has a comfort item so they can be sure to tell the teacher.  My argument was that it was instructed in their booklet and I followed it.  I didn’t think I have to inform them to follow their procedure.  I told them I dropped my son off everyday expecting him to be taken care of and now I feel that he has been suffering.  If they have a miscommunication with the teachers about this then how do I know what other things fail through these miscommunications.  They apologized and assured me that they will talk to the teacher and this will never happen again.

I stopped by the front desk when I came to pick up Ky-An, still extremely upset. I asked them if they found what the issue was of why Ky-An didn’t get his blanket.  The owner’s daughter explained to me that they spoke to the teacher and it seem that since it’s an older class, none of the kids have a comfort item so the teacher is so used not checking that she didn’t think to check Ky-An’s bag.  She told me they’ve talked to the teacher and Ky-An will be given his blanket every day.  She said that they will work with the communication and asked that I do the same.  If I find anything that I don’t feel is right then please communicate it with the front staff.

I am a little more comfortable with the school after the owner’s daughter apologized and addressed the problem with me.  If they had been passive about it then I would seriously consider my school choice.  We are not unreasonable people so I can see how the teacher could’ve overlooked this.  Furthermore, he seems to be fine and happy the rest of the day so we can overlook this.  Hieu loves that Ky-An can do so much art and crafts that we know he love but rarely get a chance to do at home.  Even though I am giving the school another chance, I am still going to keep a close eye on them to make sure Ky-An is taking care of properly.  I am teaching my kids to respect the teachers and its staff but you can bet I will be his best advocate if he is mistreated in any way. 

So sleepy...