Daniel_Lewis's Blog

Since the story aired last night, I have seen a large number of you, the viewers, upset by the story and some of my comments. Justifiably so. The comment about the "finger-painting" was flippant and uncalled for. I was attempting to portray the absurdity of the situation. That portion of the interview was only a tiny part of what was actually recorded. To those kindergarten teachers and others in the profession that were insulted by that comment, I sincerely apologize. My intent was not to trivialize your job. Being able to deal with a horde of hyper-active children is a talent you have that I do not posess. My son's teacher, Ms Owen, was an excellent and patient educator and did a fine job with my son.
A large portion of the story that you DID NOT SEE was the medical condition my son suffers that would occasionally cause us to be tardy. If you go back and watch the video again, you will see a brief portion of the video, towards the end, where I am applying a cream to my son’s face. My son has a skin condition similar to eczema that creates a rash that often covers his body from his face down to just below his knees. Most of the time we are able to keep the rash under control with twice daily application of a hydrocortisone based cream. But, once or twice a week he would have an outbreak that would cause him a certain amount of discomfort…this stuff can really itch. The more he scratches in his sleep, the worse it gets. On those mornings you wake up to a child in misery and the normal 5 minute process would become a half hour or more. And, since the medication stings, my child wasn’t always the most cooperative kid…often running to hide in his room. During the winter months, the condition worsens, causing his skin to become brittle and scaly. If I missed a spot, he would be miserable all day. Those were “the late days”. Our daily plan allowed for time to apply the medication, but with a problem like this, every day is different. Any parent who has a kid that gets any kind of chronic illness can probably attest to the difficulty in keeping these things under control. The school was aware of the situation, I had talked to them about it at length…but it didn’t do much good. After trying to explain it to attendance, and the assistant principal, and the principal numerous times, I gave up. When asked why my son was late, I would just say “traffic”, and drop the whole thing. Little did I know it would get me hauled into court. Had I thought it through, I would have gone to the GISD main office at some point during the school year and brought the problem to their attention. I did not...so now I have to defend myself in court. I have since discovered that by law, schools are required to allow for ongoing medical conditions. Keeley Elementary did not.
THAT is the story I was trying to get out. But, somehow, the important part got lost in the story.

Daniel Lewis