Judah's First Day aka The Principal's Office

We are just starting the year out. Why in the world would we expect to hear from the school office about a child's behaviour? Judah's first day, right? Yup. But it's not what you think. Nor is it who you think.

This is Judah. He drew the big donut of a zero copying what I had done for his siblings.

Judah had a great first day. His teacher told us that he was fantastic. Compassionate. Doing very well. There is a girl in his class with two hearing aids and the teacher had a special microphone on just for her. Judah kept trying to remind his teacher to turn it on after breaks and such. He made sure she was alright all day long. He listened very well, followed the rules, and was trying to sound out the words. The teacher actually complimented him the entire time Faith spoke with her. At one point Judah even refused Smarties because he knew that they had artificial colouring in them and knew he shouldn't be eating them. And in his class, there was one child from his preschool class whose mother was grateful Judah was there. It makes me want to cry tears of joy and relief.

I know that it's only day one for him, but it feels like it has been a lifetime coming. We have known Judah to be this way, but didn't expect such a display so soon. In fact, I almost would have rather heard that he had been sent to the office and watch things improve from there. This way, I can only imagine it could go downhill. I'm not used to imagining smooth sailing with him because everything has seemed to be a battle, from his first shallow breath to this day. His first days of preschool were atrocious; same with Sunday School. I can't remember any of the miscreants I went to school with having their parents called by teachers as many times as we have over Judah. How long could it last?

Everyone was tired after school today, Judah included. I think he wore himself out from trying so hard to be good. Aslynn was a weepy mess. She was sent to bed early. She and Judah spent their after school moments in their rooms to recover. It was for the best. He still did very well.

On the other hand, we got an after-school call from Micah's school administrator. Fortunately he had warned Faith it was coming and had told her what to expect.

Micah was playing at recess - soccer, I would assume - and two boys got into a fight. Micah jumped in with one of his friends and pulled the boys off of each other and restrained them. Word got back to the principal through supervision and Micah's teacher. Five boys were called into a conference where Micah learned a modern-day lesson: stay out of it. He got out of the meeting within the first few minutes. They all knew he hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, Micah often gets called in to witness and verify details between two rather adept liars and aggrievators for parents in our cul-de-sac. He's the peacekeeper (unless it's his sister and brother bugging him).

I don't blame Micah for stepping in. I've been that guy. I've also been the guy receiving someone else's fists while just trying to make it through another day. Maybe that's why I approve of what he did and didn't get him in trouble at home. But he was informed by the principal not to get physically involved but to get help instead. I understand his point in the day and age that we live in. Micah was told he is allowed to defend himself if he is attacked physically - to a degree, that is - but also to find someone with authority to deal with it rather than taking the responsibility on himself. I agree. I also told Micah that subduing an attacker by wrestling them into a hold also doesn't look good to anyone who didn't see the whole thing. Appearances. Good intentions. What an education. Day three of middle school. What else do we have to look forward to?

Oh, and by the way, I have no idea who won the soccer game this time. Micah's Grade 5's lost the first day to the Grade 6 and 7's, but won the next day. And he informed me that he is the second fastest in his class. Don't tell him, but I know he's out of shape. I'm sure he could beat the kid if he was actually running more often. Or in the middle of hockey season. And that's more than a proud father speaking.