Extreme Hall Monitor

On Valentine's Day Cruz came home from school with a large, red welt on his cheek. When we asked him what happened he said that one of the boys in his class hit him with his coat and the zipper hit him in the face. When we asked Cruz what he did when it happened he told us that he kicked the kid. We asked what Ms. Cruz did, but he said she didn't see.

So, yesterday I get a call from Cruz's teacher, Ms. Cruz, and she tells me she has a funny story about Cruz. Now, Cruz is incredibly quiet at school. Yes, I know, I am sure you are so shocked by that.:) He never speaks to Ms. Cruz unless she asks him a direct question, and he whispers then. Here's the story I hear from Ms. Cruz. She was in the luchroom cleaning up after they had been in there for PE and a student comes running in saying that there are some boys fighting in the middle room (that's a small room between two of the kindergarten rooms where they keep supplies and toys). She said she went in there and Cruz and two other boys from his class were in there. Just for some background info, one of the boys is a real trouble-maker, and the other boy is the same one who hit him with his coat. So Ms. Cruz starts getting onto them and Cruz got VERY vocal. He told her he wasn't doing anything wrong. She told me that she took Cruz to the side and told him that she knew he wasn't doing anything wrong and that it was the other boys and not Cruz who were in trouble. The reason she had called me is because she was so surprised that he had actually spoken up, and thought it was great, and really hoped he would feel like he could speak up now.

I asked Cruz about it and here was the story I got. The other two boys were trying to get the recess cart out and it wasn't time for it. He was trying to stop them. He was fighting them over the cart. So, despite what Ms. Cruz thinks, Cruz was in the great big middle of it all. I guess that's one of the perks of being the quiet guy, nobody thinks you do anything wrong. So, of course I had to explain to Cruz that if someone is doing something wrong either tell the teacher, or just go sit in his seat. Don't fight them.

So, he's kicking kids that hurt him and fighting kids that are doing stuff they shouldn't. I guess I don't have to worry about him standing up for himself. Karl says he's the "extreme hall monitor." I hope he relaxes a bit before someone catches on that he's not so innocent and he starts getting in trouble. Who would have thought that of all our kids it would be Cruz who would have problems fighting at school? I'm scared to see what happens when Kenyon and Mara go.