My son (who I'm trying to continually refer to as little man, little dude, etc.) is having a good week at school so far. Sure - it's only Monday...but after the mayhem of last week - it's a victory we're quite happy about.
I just love getting the phone calls from school (sarcasm alert!) - telling me what trouble my son has gotten into. What? They can't wait until the end of the day to tell me? They now know that I will not go to the school to pick him up - which they can't legally ask me to do anyways (yeah...I tore a strip off of the principal last year when he suggested that.). My son is smart - really smart. Big time smart. Really smart indeed!
If I were to give in and go pick him up from school - I'd be doing that every time he decided that he didn't want to be at school. If "Fun Daddy" comes to pick him up just once....it'll become a daily routine for sure. Not that I blame him at all...I'm a fun guy to hang out with!! :)
Back to the principal thing of last year. I get a call - at work mind you...because at the time I still worked for other people (which I currently don't!). The principal starts in on me about the mayhem my son was causing. So I ask this guy - "what set him off? I just dropped him off 45 minutes ago...and he was in a good mood when I entrusted you people with my son's care for the day". He hemmed and hawwed over that one...so he obviously didn't know. Then he demands that I come and pick him up from school.
Whoa dude. Better check yourself right then and there.
That's right - demands! Now if you know me...you know that making demands of me is a guaranteed way to ensure you're not going to get what you want (my career as a hostage negotiator was short lived). So - I take a deep breath...and politely remind the principal that under the Education Act of Ontario - that he cannot legally ask me to do that.
He pauses...
He knows I'm right.
And he know's he's just stepped in it - big time!
So....what does he proceed to do? Make it much worse for himself.
"Well...Paul...your son is in my office right now....and I'm a rather expensive babysitter."
I wish I were making that up - but alas...it's the real deal.
After I envisioned just how long I would last in jail after the police pried my hands from this guy's neck (I figured I'd last out the pre trial hearing, be found guilty of attempted PrincipalisExterminus...and then getted shanked in prison defending my Coke stash...but alas - I digress)...I let loose with the wittiest zinger I could come up with.
"Well - yes, I can certainly understand how you feel. But really - aren't you a teacher first, and an administrator second? Perhaps you want to spend some time with my son so that you can fully appreciate what autism actually is. I mean as the person in charge of the school - aren't you supposed to be on top of these kinds of issues? My son isn't the only person in the TDSB who has these challenges. Is this how you routinely deal with a problem - by calling the parents and making demands that you know you aren't legally entitled to do in the first place?"
The conversation ended shortly after that. And he never called again...then again...he's not even at my son's school anymore. He was filling in for a few months before the end of the school year.
Yeah - it's only Monday...but after all the calls from the school last week - I'm happy to hear that no teachers were kicked, no chairs were tossed...and that no principles were regretting thier career choice.
Life is good.
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