He Told His Mom That She Was Dead To Him Because She Chose To Mentor His School Bully, So His Parents Took Away His Car, Computer, And Guitar
This 16-year-old boy’s mother, who is in her 40s, teaches at his high school. Their school offers a teacher’s aide elective program for students. The program involves grading papers, making copies, and mentoring for the teacher the students work with.
Usually, the teacher’s favorite student becomes the teacher’s aide. When the second semester started recently, he learned that his mother picked a student named Dave, 17, as her teacher’s aide.
Since middle school, Dave viciously physically and verbally bullied him. His parents and school staff members are aware of Dave’s bullying history.
Over the years, the school administration met with him and Dave, and Dave was suspended several times, but the bullying didn’t decrease until high school. However, the only reason Dave no longer bullies him as much these days is that they don’t cross paths as often.
When they do, though, Dave is still cruel to him. He was understandably upset and baffled after discovering Dave would be his mom’s teacher’s aide.
“I asked her why she would want to spend extra time with someone who made my life so terrible. She said that she had him in one of her classes and that he isn’t such a bad kid, but he has a terrible home life that she can’t tell me about, which makes him act out,” he said.
His mother has always been empathetic toward children who experience unhealthy living situations. During the conversation, he emphasized how awful Dave had been to him, and she told him she could see where he was coming from but claimed that Dave needed support.
In response, he said that he understood that, but he questioned why she had to be the teacher to support him. He pointed out that the school was massive, with tons of teachers and staff members to mentor Dave. His mother asked him to quit being self-centered, adding that some students struggle more than he’d realize, and she wanted to provide support to these students.
“I was honest with her and told her that if she continued to have him as her aide, she was dead to me. She was choosing him over me, and she would no longer be my mother. I would no longer talk to her, and the minute I turned 18, I was moving out, and she would never hear from me again,” he explained.
morrowlight – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
His mom rolled her eyes at him and claimed he was over the top, but he gave her the cold shoulder for a few days, and she grounded him. Despite being disciplined, he didn’t back down from what he’d told her. His father attempted to persuade him to start speaking to his mother again, but he didn’t give in.
“They took pretty much everything away from me, one by one, over the past few weeks. I no longer have my car, computer, guitar, and, most recently, my art supplies. I have to come home from school and go straight to my room and am not allowed out except for dinner until I start talking to her again,” he shared.
He doesn’t think his parents realize their actions are making him more confident in his decision not to speak to his mother anymore. No matter what they do, he plans to spend the rest of high school sitting in his empty bedroom until he turns 18, and he’ll move out after that and never spend time with his parents again.
Over the last few weeks, his mother has walked into his room sobbing, pleading for him to speak to her, and it makes him feel guilty. But she still refuses to stop mentoring Dave. Now, he’s brainstorming what he wants to do after he graduates high school.
While he’s debated joining the military, he’s also considering a special trade program his school offers. Half the day is spent at school, and the second half is spent doing trade classes at a local community college. Depending on which classes students take, there’s the possibility of earning an Associate’s degree or certifications.
One day, during lunch, he met with his guidance counselor and requested to switch to this trade program. She was stunned and questioned what motivated him to make this switch, especially because he’s enrolled in AP classes and is on the college path.
He said he didn’t want to share too many details, but he had to be prepared to live on his own and be independent after graduation, and he thought this was the most logical plan to do so.
His guidance counselor informed him that it may be too late in the semester to make this switch, but she would see what she could do.
What advice would you give him?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
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