If your child fell off his bicycle and broke his arm, what would you do? You might rush him to the nearest hospital emergency room where a physician will give him proper treatment. If your child came to you with an equally debilitating but emotional problem, what would you do? You would, no doubt, attempt to help him in anyway you could. We ( Parents) freely send our children to school, a place where we expect that they will be treated properly. When we discover they are not we feel betrayed and humiliated. Betrayed is how this involved parent felt when she attempted to take action on a problem that happened in school and was brought to her attention by her daughter. """" """"Mommy, my reading teacher is mean, she bangs on the desk and she yells. Mommy, when it is time to go to reading, MY HEART BEATS FAST AND MY STOMACH HURTS,"""" This is not how a child should feel, in school, the parent thought. The principal of the school was careless. He did nothing, took no action to show that he was concerned about the child's emotional health and well-being. Seeing the principal's neglect, the parent became even more concerned and this prompted her to take the next step which involved going over the principal's head directly to the State Commissioner of Education who supported her efforts, """"Parental Involvement"""" was a key issue that he encouraged. The principal who was also the superintendent became outraged by the parent's aggressive action that went over his head. Again, he didn't do anything when the parent brought her concern to him but he began a serious course of action against the parent that would last over three years and involve time, a lot of taxpayers' money, other agencies and organizations. The parent remembers that if the principal had given just a little time and effort to her concern for her child, in the beginning, he may not have had to use so much fruitless energy to come after her, embarrassing himself and the school district in the end. | My Heart Beats Fast And My Stomach Hurts: A True Story Of Parental Involvement In Education by Fanny Ogbunugafor, Paperback | Indigo Chapters