Sue's Blog - Some assembly required.

What a pallaver.......

Remember this photo?
It is of Lauren after she had her ears pierced here in Milwaukee.
Notice the size of the earrings?    Hard to see really.

Well, on her first day back at school she was told to take them out.
She explained that she couldn't take them out as they hadn't healed yet.  It would be too painful to take them out, they could become infected and the holes would close.
Her head of year told her to bring in a note to this effect, the next day.
Which she did.
The head teacher then told her to take them out.
She explained again.
She was then promptly put into isolation (away from the rest of the school) and made to stay there until she took her earrings out.
Very upset, she managed to get one out but the other would not budge.
She was kept isolated for the whole day.
Meanwhile, other kids - over 60 of them - were sent home for wearing the regulation black trousers but not having the school logo on them.
Does this sound ridiculous yet?
By the time Lauren got home she was so upset, she was hysterical.
The 'red mist' then descended over Donna's eyes and she rang the school.  She tells me at times she was so angry she couldn't speak.
Later, she felt sorry for the poor secretary at the other end of the phone, but no one phoned her back as promised.
She then phoned me at work, still livid, and then I got equally livid.
It is at times like this that I just wish I had a transporter to beam me over.
I worked for many years in a high school.
There was a strictly adhered to uniform policy but it was sensible.
As long as you had the correct colour trousers/skirt/ shirt etc then it was acceptable.
You could buy the clothes anywhere you chose, not from one or two selected outlets that charge more than double for clothes that are quickly grown out of.
Anyway, back to the earrings.
This morning Donna, having calmed down, took Lauren into school and explained personally why these earrings needed a few more weeks before they can be removed.
She even offered to put plasters over them while Lauren was in school.
The head teacher sent a minion to tell them that there was no choice - the earrings come out or Lauren is not allowed in.
Bearing in mind Lauren has just entered year 10 which starts the two most important years of her education, and the fact that she is probably one of the most pleasant and brightest pupils they have, this is incredible.
When I spoke to Donna she was just so down and fed up with the whole thing.  They had thought that maybe she could take them out when she gets to school every morning and then put them back at the end of the day.
But, they tried getting them out and putting them in again and it was just too painful for Lauren, who once again finished up in floods of tears.
Lordy, lordy how I would have liked to tell that head teacher her fortune.
Now this is when something weird happened.
I had to go to the dentist this morning.
On my way out with the assistant she asked me how Lauren was (she met her when she was here) and how she was enjoying being back at school.
I swear I would not have mentioned anything if she had not asked me this.
I told her of the earring episode.
She then told me about tiny, little plastic tubes that you can put in ear piercings to keep them open.  They don't show and they are not jewellery.
I could not get home fast enough.  I phoned Donna and told her.  Her time it was about 6.30pm ish.
She sounded so unhappy.
So, I got on to the interwebs.   I found a tattoo / piercing place in Beaver Rd, not far from her and it was open until 10pm.
I told Donna the phone number and suggested she give them a call and ask about the little plastic tubes and if they had any.
She phoned back, sounding so different.
Not only did they have the things, but the guy was going to see Lauren right away to sort it out for her, which he did at no charge.
He said he had been inundated with kids needing them.
Peace reigned once again.
Lauren is back at school tomorrow.
I could kiss the dentist's assistant for asking after Lauren.

You may have seen her school on the news and in the papers.
The North School Ashford, which has seriously gone down in our estimation.
I used to know people who worked there but I don't know anyone there now or I would be finding out more from an 'insider'.
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentish_express/news/class-reduced-to-eight-pupils-5611/
I am just happy that Donna and Lauren sound so much better.
Hard to hear them sound so depressed over something so stupid and I am a bit chuffed I could help from way over here.

posted by Sue Banks @ 2:21 PM