Education

SCHOOL: Hello, is this Mario’s father?

LEP CALLER: Sí, él/ella habla.

SCHOOL: Good afternoon. I’m calling regarding your son Mario, from Public Elementary School.

LEP CALLER: Ok, ¿hay algún problema?

SCHOOL: Well, I’m calling to speak to you about a problem we’ve noticed with Mario.

LEP CALLER: ¿Qué tipo de problema? Is it because he’s missed a lot of school lately?

SCHOOL: No, but we think that might be a related issue. Apparently, some of the other children are
bullying him.

LEP CALLER: ¿Qué quieres decir con intimidarlo? Él no ha estado en ninguna pelea en la escuela,
¿o sí?

SCHOOL: No, he hasn’t been in any physical fights that we are aware of. However, bullying can take
on several different forms.

LEP CALLER: No entiendo.

SCHOOL: Well, some of the children are using their mobile phones to send text messages to him.
Even though they are supposed to turn off the phones during class, we’ve noticed on more than one
occasion that he’s stormed out of the classroom after checking his phone.

LEP CALLER: ¿Cómo sabes que eso significa que está siendo intimidado?
SCHOOL: Well, some of the other students have reported to us that other children are sending
messages to his phone, to make fun of him.

LEP CALLER: ¿Por qué harían eso?

SCHOOL: It’s really a new form of bullying, but the truth is, when children want to bully another
child, they will often find many ways of doing it.

LEP CALLER: ¿Hay algo más que esté pasando?

SCHOOL: Well, yes. We think your son is showing some signs that are worrisome.

LEP CALLER: ¿Cómo cuáles?

SCHOOL: For example, he’s been going into the boys’ rest room at lunchtime instead of going into
the cafeteria. We sent one of the male teachers in to see him, and he was sitting on the floor, listening
to his Ipod.

LEP CALLER: I knew he’d lost weight! He hasn’t been eating lunch, has he? I knew that was why
he is feeling so sick all the time!

SCHOOL: Actually, that was one of the things I wanted to discuss with you. We’ve noticed that
Mario has been out of school more than 10 days already since the start of the semester.

LEP CALLER: Sí, me ha estado diciendo que se siente enfermo, y se queda en la cama todo el día
mientras estoy en el trabajo y ni siquiera se levanta de la cama cuando llego a casa. ¡Creo que se está
debilitando porque no está comiendo bien y ahora sé por qué! Se está saltando los almuerzos.

SCHOOL: That might be part of it, but he also might be faking his symptoms in order to stay home
from school. That is a sign that we see often from children who are being bullied at school. It is a way
of escaping it.
LEP CALLER: ¿De verdad? Supongo que nunca lo dudé, porque nunca mintió sobre estar enfermo
antes. No hubiera adivinado que lo estaba inventando.

SCHOOL: It is hard sometimes to tell, but we do have a lot of experience with regard to bullied
students. Would you like me to share some suggestions with you, so that you can do your best as a
parent to help your son?

LEP CALLER: Sí, me gustaría mucho eso.

SCHOOL: OK, well one of the first things you can do to help him is trying to talk with him. If you
can ask him about how he is feeling, he may share his problems with you, and this will help him to
feel better.

LEP CALLER: Sí, pero ya le pregunto cómo van las cosas en la escuela, y él simplemente dice que
todo está bien.

SCHOOL: Yes, that is a typical response, but you might try phrasing the question differently and
more directly. For example, after he says things are fine, you might ask him if he’s made any friends at
school. Then, you can ask if he’s having trouble getting along with anyone in particular.

LEP CALLER: Ah, entiendo.

SCHOOL: Also, something very important. Here at the school, we are going to talk with Mario and
try to give him some important techniques that he can use when he is being bullied. If you agree, we’d
like to see if you can reinforce these with him at home when and if you speak with him about the
bullying.

LEP CALLER: Sí, supongo. ¿Qué técnicas?

SCHOOL: First of all, we need to make sure that Mario does not react with anger or physical
violence. That can only make things worse.

LEP CALLER: ¿Él ha hecho eso en el pasado?

SCHOOL: We heard from another student that he threw his books at another child in the hallway
between classes.

LEP CALLER: Oh, entiendo.

SCHOOL: Aside from teaching Mario not to react with violence or anger, another thing you can help
us reinforce with him is to act brave and walk away. The sooner he leaves the scene, the less likely
something physical is to happen.

LEP CALLER: OK, I’ll remember to tell him that.

SCHOOL: Finally, is there something that Mario is very good at? Something that might make him
feel good about himself and help build his self-esteem?

LEP CALLER: Bueno, no es muy bueno en los deportes, debido a su peso, pero solía ser muy bueno
dibujando. Solía sentarse y dibujar durante horas, y era muy bueno, pero en los últimos años, ha
dejado de hacerlo.

SCHOOL: That’s great! I believe he’s always received high grades in his art classes, too. Well,
perhaps that is something that you can encourage him to do.

LEP CALLER: Sí, en realidad, hay un club de arte para niños aquí en nuestra comunidad. Siempre
pensé que podría ser divertido para él, pero nunca se lo mencioné porque dejó de dibujar.
SCHOOL: That sounds like a good idea! If Mario can start building a social network for himself and
develop some friendships, that might help him with his self-esteem and confidence. This could prevent
some of the bullying, too.

LEP CALLER: OK, bueno, voy a probar estas cosas. Estoy muy agradecido de que hayas llamado.
No tenía idea de que mi hijo estaba pasando por esto.

SCHOOL: Many parents don’t, so please don’t feel bad about yourself as a parent. I want you to feel
free to get in touch with me if you have any questions. Do you have my number?

LEP CALLER: Sí.

SCHOOL: OK, well in addition to you calling me if you have any questions, I’m going to check back
with you next week to see how things are going, and to let you know the results of our discussions
with him as well. Is this a good time of day to reach you?

LEP CALLER: Sí, pero solo los días de la semana. Tengo un trabajo diferente que trabajo los fines
de semana, y luego trabajo un turno diferente.

SCHOOL: That’s fine. I will only call during the week then. Thank you so much for speaking with
me about Mario, and best of luck in helping him.

LEP CALLER: Gracias por tomarse el tiempo. Realmente aprecio su ayuda.

SCHOOL: Any time. Have a nice afternoon.

LEP CALLER: Goodbye!