I need to write about this, as I am appalled by what they call an "educational institution" in this corrupt state.

My story begins when I moved here from California with my son. He was eight years old at the time and had never attended a public school, I opted to either homeschool him or he attended only private schools. I found a wonderful private school here in Baton Rouge for him to begin third grade. After a while, he came to me and asked if he could go to public school. "Absolutely not" was my response. But he kept on me, as children do. He wanted to know what "a real school" was like. I gave in, kind of. I told him if he made honor roll two years in a row, he could attend a public school for one year. To my amazement, he held his end of the bargain, he studied before school, did extra credit, everything he could to achieve this dream of his.

August of his sixth grade year rolled around and it was time to enroll him at Woodlawn Middle School. I couldn't do it. He cried and reminded me of how hard he had worked and that "a deal is a deal". He was right. I had to keep my word. I told him I still expected him to make honor roll, or he was out of there. And he did, out of 1,000 children, he was one of 87! That statistic alone was disturbing enough for me.

One of the benefits of him attending this school, was that he could grow his hair long. He loved this and it grew long and very curly. He stuck out in school and everywhere we went due to his long, curly hair. Most adults hated it, including the staff at his school. they made horrible comments as they passed him in the halls, he sometimes came home in tears! I called the principal with my not so quiet complaints and she assured me she would speak with the staff and fix this. But the bullying from the staff did not stop and my son was tormented. In an effort to "tame" his blonde afro, he asked me if he could get dreadlocks. Two hundred dollars later, he went to school with dreaded hair. The abuse that he received from the staff was wretched! Remarks ranging from, "White people have no business wearing dreads" to "They didn't even do it right" to "You look ridiculous."

Once again, he came home in tears and we spent the entire night removing the two hundred dollar dreadlocks, not an easy task! My son was heartbroken, and I felt helpless.

Needless to say, I marched down to the principals office and told her how disgusted I was by these grown adults that "bullied" my child, when it is part of their job to protect him from things of this nature. I explained that if disciplinary action was not taken immediately, I would call every form of media in the area and explain that my son was the victim of racial discrimination at her school. The tone of her voice instantly softened and she assured she would take care of it. Chris came home that day with eight hand written apologies from the teachers that had a part in hurting my child.

In March of this year, the school office phoned me and said my son was having a breakdown and I needed to pick him up. I rushed to the school and removed him permanently. Too much had happened during his time there...kids getting arrested, fights in the cafeteria, drugs such as marijuana and Lortabs being dealt, and the constant teasing about his hair. Finally, he had had enough!

I opted to homeschool him for the rest of the year, but the Board of Education was not happy with this decision, you see, they needed him, as he was one of the very few good students in the system, a system that ranks one of the lowest in the country. They threatend to send social services after me. The day I returned form California after my grandmother's funeral, they did just that.

I was livid, as I have the right under both federal and state law to homeschool my child. This was harassment and I threatened to have the representative from social services arrested if they ever came on my property again. They never returned.

I would have let all this go, had I not had one of the worst experiences with any government agency as I did today. You see, my son came to me and told me he wanted to start working. He has a girlfriend now and they like to do things like go to the movies, eat out, etc. At fourteen years old, he has learned the value of a dollar and understands that we need to work for our money. A concept most people in this state can't seem to grasp, as a large part of the population in Louisiana and many other parts of the country are taught to take from the government, not pay into it. Handouts. Foodstamps. Welfare. It makes me sick, as a single mother I am eligible for all these things, but would rather work my ass off and pray that the money I am paying into the government is there if I ever truly need it, God forbid I ever needed disability or needed to collect social security one day.

My son went on his first interview last week and was set to start his new job yesterday. He showed up, excited to work only to be told he could come back only when he obtained a work permit. We filled out the necessary paperwork, went first thing this morning to the Board of Education, only to be told by the women at the from desk, "That ain't my job."

I began the necessary phone calls, beginning with the Superintendent. I will leave out several details as I do not want to offend people of any ethnic background. But I explained that there was not a single Caucasion working in the office, nor anyone that could speak proper English, not to mention the way we were treated. I explained that I felt I was being discriminated against in my own country and I wanted answers. The Superintendents secretary listened with great patience as I cursed and not so calmly explained my experience with this disgrace of a school system. I was referred to Human Resources and Social Services. I have a meeting tomorrow with these people.

Obviously, I am more than anxious to see how this all turns out. More than that, I am ashamed and embarrassed this is even happening and that I am verbalizing it. I have always prided myself on keeping any and all political views or views that some may find offensive, to myself as not to hurt others, we all have the right to our own opinions....this is mine. And I feel something in this state, in this country needs to change, beginning with the educational system and hey...how about demanding a decent work ethic in our governmental offices...just for starters...

"Plough deep while sluggards sleep."- Benjamin Franklin