I don't understand what the heck just happened

I teach Culinary Arts at a junior-senior high. Last week I wrote about an 8th grader who appears to be gaming the system. Every time a teacher fails to address his wants (as opposed to needs), he tells mom a skewed version about what happened and his mother takes everything he said as gospel and screams for our heads.Case in point.To teach my students how to work in cooperative groups, I have job assignments for each student in the group. The students also wear color coded job tags so that I'll be able to see at a glance whether or not a student is on task.The team leader reads the recipe and assigns the grocer and assistant to get tools and supplies. He/she also directs the team cook in producing a given product by reading the sequential instructions for how to make whatever it is we're making.The grocer fetches ingredients.The team cook has dibs on cooking or baking.The assistant helps out as needed.All students help with cleaning. All jobs rotate on a weekly basis.Marion (not his real name) complained last week that the cook wouldn't let him operate the mixer. The cook was quite right in doing so because operating the mixer was the cook's job, not the grocer's. So what did Marion do? He went home and complained to mom that the students in his group were mean. They weren't letting him do anything. When he complained about this to his Culinary Arts teacher, the chef did nothing.I got an angry email from the parent who DEMANDED that I explain why her son was being excluded in the kitchen. I explained the use of job assignments. I explained that Marion had volunteered to be the grocer which mean that he was responsible for getting ingredients and tools. I told the parent that job assignments would rotate next week. I also pointed out that Marion had chosen to be in this group and that if he wasn't happy, he should move to another group.I've had THREE similar experiences with this woman over a two week period.Yesterday our building admin called a meeting with all of Marion's teachers. All of his teachers have had similar issues ... that if Marion isn't happy, he complains to his mom and his mom comes howling for our metaphorical heads.I expected admin to lay down the law at this meeting. For reasons unknown, my principal capitulated to the parent. Upon the parent's request, effective immediately:If we have a disciplinary issue with Marion, we may not address Marion. We contact the office and the office will arrange a conference with Marion and his mother.If Marion acts out in class and/or causes harm to another (last week he BIT another student, leaving teeth marks in the student's arm), we may send him to the office but the administrators can't deal with him until Mom comes for a parent conference.We may NOT refer him to a counselor. We may NOT refer him for testing for emotional disturbance to our school psychologist. We may NOT deal with his anger issues by having a safe word that he may use and a location he may go to for time out until he calms down. Every single suggestion that admin has made in an effort to help this kid was shot down by the parent who has called us "stupid" and "incompetent" and "clueless." She thinks we're clueless because she has alleged that her child is being bullied. What she refuses to understand let alone accept is that her son is the bully and he's terrorizing all of the other kids around him because no one wants to work with him.The PE teacher even gave a perfect example. Marion went after Rafael (not his real name) and began poking him while calling him a "f**king faggot." When Rafael tried backing away, Marion went after him. The moment Marion put up any kind of resistance, Marion ran to his PE teacher to report that Rafael was "bullying him." Even though the teacher told both students to stay apart, Marion continued trying to approach Rafael to poke him and call him names.At the end of the day, the PE teacher got an email from Marion's mother alleging that he had done "nothing" to protect her son from being bullied.I'm dual certified with 17 years in as an elementary teacher and another 13 as a high school teacher. I've never seen an administrator cave in to a parent like this before. Can you imagine what our class management would be like if NONE of us were allowed to address disciplinary issues because all such issues had to be run by the parent before they could be addressed?At the meeting, the AP was visibly stressed because he's in charge of school discipline and his hands are tied because the principal has told us that disciplinary issues may not be addressed unless the parent is present.I don't know why this parent has been given such broad latitude. In the past, the principal has told parents who have made similar requests to either conform to school and district expectations or to withdraw their child and to go elsewhere.At the meeting the principal said that Marion needs an adult role model in his life. She asked for one volunteer to listen to all Marion's concerns and problems. NONE OF US VOLUNTEERED. From our point of view, volunteering would be just another way to get mom riled up at us.The principal also suggested that we help Marion make friends. She actually said, "What can we do to help Marion make friends."Since I'm autistic and am emotionally deficient in the area o developing and maintaining friendships, I observed that a good start would be to teach Marion that we don't bite other people.The principal frowned. I suspect she was unhappy that I had not been more positive. The other teachers snickered.Another teacher quite rightly pointed out that none of us were councilors. Since the parent has forbidden her child to see one of our councilors, the principal tried to do an end run around this by having one or more of us act as "councilors." All of us declined.While I can't speak for my colleagues, I think this kid has mom wrapped around his little finger. By skewing the events of the day, he gets mom's sympathy or can manipulate his mother into coming to school to rant and yell at any teacher who has displeased him.As a result of how much control he has over his mother, this student has no fear of consequences. No matter what he does (or has been alleged to have done), his mom will always go to bat for him. She even defended him when he bit the other student because the other student had allegedly "bullied" her precious son.I think this is a horrible way to raise a child and by allowing the parent to dictate how we interact with her kid, I think the principal has undermined our entire progressive management plan.None of us can understand why she has done this. 'Sorry to vent. via /r/Teachers https://ift.tt/3bOibTs