He interrupts constantly. He is so needy, so clingy, it drives me totally insane. I love teaching, but kids like Peter push me to the brink. He obviously gets no attention at home.
The mom’s perspective:
I’m so glad
we adopted Peter. We try hard to engage
him. I suspect he’s a victim of fetal
alcohol syndrome. I haven’t told the
school: I don’t want him to be labeled.
Peter’s perspective:
I love my teacher. She always helps me. I wish I could understand things as fast as
the other kids. My mom says everyone is
different. I just want to be the
same. *****
trifecta writing challenge: same story, 3 points of view
Aw. This is really good. And really well written. And a good message about jumping to conclusions.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you here. Excellent writing! This is a touching, poignant, and also very sad story. You wish that the teacher would just understand that Peter really looks up to her and he just wants to fit in and be loved and accepted like all of the other children are. We all want to be loved, understood, and accepted. This is a great, great story, really sad. It almost pains me to think about the teacher's perspective, and about this whole situation. If only everyone could be understanding of each other, sadly, that will never happen.
Deletenicely done.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Very nicely done.
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up to Trifecta this weekend. Great job with the prompt. I like how you managed to capture the essence of motherhood in such a short space. Nicely done. Hope to see you back again soon.
ReplyDeleteThe child's perspective was the most heart-breaking. This is a good lesson in why we shouldn't make judgments. As a mother, I can totally relate to not wanted a child to be labeled. A label doesn't go away and can even become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
ReplyDeleteGreat entry. Poor Peter, I hope things turn out okay for him.
ReplyDeleteI want to kick the teacher's butt, and the mother's too. TELL THE TEACHER. For God's sake how can she HELP THE KID??
ReplyDeleteThe word labelled is so nasty.
I hate teachers like that - it's so easy to become jaded. The parents are doing Peter a disservice - the teacher needs to know. Not that it would necessarily matter but it might...
ReplyDeleteLove Peter and so true.
We left a school because it was a hive of teachers who didn't ask questions, and only wanted to deal with the easiest of the children. And have painted themselves in the media as saints to boot.
ReplyDeleteBut I have to agree somewhat with an above commenter. I would be talking to the school about the child's story. And at least give them a chance ...
But then again, I know of too many teachers who would then take the information as an excuse to be annoyed and not help the child find their way in the world.
Gah.
Well done.
Oh. This made my heart hurt.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the reasons I have loved teaching in a smaller alternative school environment... I have more information on the students' lives and can use this to understand why/what they are doing in the classroom and empathize more with what goes on outside of the classroom.
ReplyDelete