Last Friday I wrote #Mybody........ Today I thought I would do an update ......
We heard back from the teacher and the principal ....... the teacher said the principal was going to handle it...... The principal said she would call. She did -- BUT -- she didn't pay attention to the times Sir Steve was available to take calls.... so they played telephone tag yesterday. I was disappointed because I was hoping to have some closure by yesterday.
BUT
the saga continues.....
the lil one came home from her mother's yesterday. She reads the agenda and saw the note from the teacher (as well as Sir Steve's mention of sending an email). She told the lil one that she isn't supposed to use "bad words" (!!!) I had given the lil one the tools she needed IF mother tried to intervene. So the lil one simply said "Daddy and S are dealing with it."
BUT I was livid again. Why would a MOTHER not ask what happened?? Why would a MOTHER not have probed a little deeper ?? Instead she assumed her daughter was at fault and had used a BAD word.
It's a pretty sad world where a mother doesn't protect her daughter from the possibility of abuse or harassment....... where a mother doesn't give her daughter the power to say NO....... to say My body My choice......... but where a mother perpetuates the politics of keeping quiet.
All of this is a pretty sad statement of how far we haven't come in regards to women's/girl's rights.
~~~~~~~~~~
Sir Steve finally got in touch with the principal. The school is sticking to the story that the lil one was using the word vagina for no good reason. The lil one is sticking to her story of an accidental bad touch ....... we asked her if she would be willing to come to school and tell her teacher and the principal -- she agreed without hesitation. This child is not lying......
I feel as though the school might have circled the wagons - so to speak. We aren't looking to blame the teacher.... we just want them to recognise that the lil one wasn't wrong -- didn't do anything wrong.
(le sigh)
It’s also beyond ridiculous because vagina isn’t a bad word, body shaming words is fucking ridiculous and can give people complexes later on in life. There’s power in knowing the proper words to use for your body parts, and I think it is disgusting that an innocent’s child use of anatomical language in an APPROPRIATE context is resulting in this situation. Good on you guys for fighting for her!
ReplyDeleteThat is absolutely OUTRAGEOUS.... not just mum - that is almost a given, but that the school is treating this like a crime! Vagina is a PROPER TERM - and I wonder when and if the new sex-ed curriculum ever gets used, how this school will deal with things! Since WHEN is "vagina" a BAD word! Good on both of you for following through and supporting the little child!
ReplyDeleteWhen my kids were little we specifically taught them the proper names to describe their body .... for this very reason! ... if something happened, it could be properly described using proper terms, not cutesy words open to misinterpretation ... and this was 39 yrs ago. I can remember my then 2 yr old running around at her Gramma's house without a diaper. One of her Aunties teased 'I can see your bare bum' to which she replied ... "Thats not my bum, its my vagina' ... " ... it caused an eyebrow or two to be raised but again it was 39 yrs ago! ... sometimes I think we've gone backward not forward in time. Stick with it, Morningstar. Its an important issue. ... nj
ReplyDeleteHi Morningstar,
ReplyDeleteGosh, I really don't know what to say. I do wonder if we should be telling children that by mentioning certain body parts they are using 'bad words'. Does this perpetuate body issues and embarrassment issues? I don't know.
Hugs
Roz