One mum went to war for her daughter, standing up to school staff.
An emergency room nurse received a call from her daughter’s school on the hospital’s private line. She took the call and was told that she had to come to her daughter’s school immediately because her daughter had struck another pupil. They said, “We’ve been trying to call you for 45 minutes. It really is very serious.”
What happened next is explained in an article called “Was Bra-ced For A Different Reaction” on the website Not Always Learning. It’s an incredible story.
She left work and headed to the school where she found her daughter sitting in the principal’s office with the headmaster, two teachers, the boy and the boy’s parents.
As soon as the mum walked in she was given more attitude about the fact she’d been difficult to contact. “Mrs. [My Name], how kind of you to FINALLY join us!” The mum calmly explained that she’d been stitching up a little boy who had been struck by his mum with a metal soup ladle. That did the trick. The headmaster decided to move on from shaming her to the issue at hand which was that her daughter had punched the boy in the face, twice, after he ‘twanged’ her bra strap.
At this point most parents would have turned angrily to their daughter and demanded an explanation. But not this mum. Instead she said, "Oh. And you want to know if I’m going to press charges against him for sexually assaulting my daughter and against the school for allowing him to do it?”
The school staff tried to explain that her daughter was in the wrong. They told her she was missing the point. She punched a boy in the face, twice!
Her daughter then explained, "He kept pinging my bra. I asked him to stop but he didn’t, so I told Mr. [Teacher]. He told me to ‘ignore it.’ [Boy] did it again and undid my bra so I hit him. Then he stopped."
Her mum then demanded to know why the teacher didn't do more to stop the boy. She then told the teacher to come over so she could touch the front of his trousers to prove the point.
Wait, it gets better.
"She defended herself against a sexual attack from another pupil. Look at them; he’s nearly 6 feet (182 cm) and 11 or 12 stone (76 kgs). She’s 5 feet (152 cm) and 6 stone (38 kgs). He’s a foot taller than her and twice as heavy. How many times should she have let him touch her? If the person who was supposed to help and protect her in a classroom couldn’t be bothered what should she have done? He pulled her bra so hard it came undone.”
By this stage the school staff were on the back foot and the boy's parents were visibly distressed. Meantime every mum who reads this is running around the house cheering.
It is assault. It isn't acceptable. Yes, boys will be boys but the girl defended herself. Who of us doesn't want a daughter who is willing to defend herself when she feels violated?
At this point the mum took her daughter and left the school. She filed a complaint with the relevant UK authorities, the Board of Governors and OFSTED and her daughter was placed in a different class away from the boy and with a different teacher.
It's not many parents who would have so quickly sided with their child in a situation like this but it's an important lesson for us all.
The full transcript of this incident was originally published on the website Not Always Learning under the title, "Was Bra-ced For A Different Reaction". Read the full story here.
Do you think what this mum did was right? What would you have done in her situation?
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