The Principal called me with an explanation about what happened with Davey's teacher; why she said the things that she said.

Apparently the teacher was in tears in the principal's office.  She admitted saying those things, but said that she was trying to use the situation as a teaching opportunity....she was trying to explain to the kids that next year they would be in middle school and that they were going to have to be more responsible.  That they couldn't have their parent's fight their battles for them.

I said that I didn't care that she was trying to utilize the circumstance, I still didn't think it was appropriate to say ANY of those things to kids.  Period.  As for my not fighting battles for my son...well, that's my job as his mom.  To advocate for him, and to fight for him if need be.  Yes, he's going to be going to middle school next year, but right now he's still in elementary school and he doesn't deserve to be berated and mocked like that.  I said that obviously I understood her using situations and teaching opportunities because I do the same thing, but....there's a difference between letting a child find out for themselves the consequences of their actions, and rubbing their noses in their mistakes.  This teacher did the latter. 

I told the principal that Davey's now afraid that he's going to get poor grades because of his teacher's animosity towrds him and me both.  She had nominated him for student of the month before all this happened; he's afraid that now she's "mad" at him she'll start being hard on him.  The principal said that she didn't think that would happen, but that she'd be monitoring the class and the teacher anyway.

She also told me that the kids don't get 15 minutes to eat; that if they're not done with their lunch they can stay until they're full.  I asked if the kids knew that, if the lunchladies made that clear....because the last time I was there for lunch, the ladies supervising the lunchroom made the kids who were slower eaters feel like crap.  They called them 'pokey" and acted like they were a real inconvienience.  What kid is going to want to be made to feel like that in front of his/her peers?  I said that I was going to tell my son that if he wasn't done eating and the lunchladies started hassling him to hurry up and get out, he was to tell them that the principal said he could stay there until he was done - and that if they made fun of him, called him "pokey" or otherwise gave him grief he was to immediately go to the office, ask to call me, and then tell the principal.  I'm not going to let some lunch room nazi treat my kid and his friends like that, period. 

So, the teacher's being monitored and the lunchroom situation is somewhat under control.  I can't say that we've come to a satisfactory resolution, because as far as I'm concerned nothing has been resolved.  The teacher made an excuse for her words and her attitude, and I've said that there WAS no excuse.  We're at a stalemate.  I'm not happy about it, but....I'm going to put these incidents in my back pocket and sit on them for a while.  Next time this happens.....well.....there had better not be a 'next time'. 

There had better NOT be a next time.