Has our intelligence dropped to zero already?

[BigV]

Originally Posted by Catwoman

Teachers are in a unique position. They have full responsibility of the child during class time, essentially assuming the role of parent. --snip-- Not all that fair.--snip--

Yep.

Originally Posted by Catwoman

The teacher in the video responded appalingly to the situation--snip--

Double yep.

Originally Posted by Catwoman

--snip -- In this sense that she was restricted, yes she technically did her job right, did what she was supposed to, what was acceptable.

Following the letter of the law and not the spirit. Weak.

Originally Posted by Catwoman

--snip--It should never get to the stage of violence. It is possible to control it before it happens, but you do need incredible perception and people/child skills, which not many people have. If it does come to the point of a child throwing punches etc, restrain the overacting little brat! Teach them, don't pander to them.

Well put. I agree with you Catwoman.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by BigV

Following the letter of the law and not the spirit. Weak.

Since you(I, we) have no way of knowing what the spirit of the law is, you have to come up with your own interpretation until the spirit is established in court. Unfortunately you may be screwed at that point.

[richlevy]

Well, here's a new one.

Student Suspended Over Call to Mom in Iraq

COLUMBUS, Ga. - A high school student was suspended for 10 days for refusing to end a mobile phone call with his mother, a soldier serving in Iraq, school officials said.

The 10-day suspension was issued because Kevin Francois was "defiant and disorderly" and was imposed in lieu of an arrest, Spencer High School assistant principal Alfred Parham said.

The confrontation Wednesday began after the 17-year-old junior got a call at lunchtime from his mother, Sgt. 1st Class Monique Bates, who left in January for a one-year tour with the 203rd Forward Support Battalion.

Mobile phones are allowed on campus but may not be used during school hours. When a teacher told him to hang up, he refused. He said he told the teacher, "This is my mom in Iraq. I'm not about to hang up on my mom."

Parham said the teen's suspension was based on his reaction to the teacher's request. He said the teen used profanity when taken to the office.

"Kevin got defiant and disorderly," Parham said. "When a kid becomes out of control like that they can either be arrested or suspended for 10 days. Now being that his mother is in Iraq, we're not trying to cause her any undue hardship; he was suspended for 10 days."

If you told me to hang up on my mom or dad who was calling from a war zone and probably could only call once a week or so, I'd do more than use profanity. There are so many ways they could have descalated this.

It's lucky for them they didn't call the cops. When the cops found out why the kid was being arrested, they probably would have tasered the teacher.

Is it 'the new conservatism' or 'Columbine frenzy' here, where the first instinct is total control.

Considering the press this is going to generate for the school district, I'm sure the principal wishes the teacher had used more discretion. God forbid, what would happen if the kid's mom is killed in action and this was his last chance to talk to her?

Me, I would have let the kid stay on the phone and escorted him to a corner or lounge, or at least talked to the mom and found out when the next chance she would have to call.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Sounds like a teacher's power trip but there may be more to it. Maybe this is a problem kid or whatever, but it sounds like a bad call.

[wolf]

I don't think there's enough info to make a judgment either ...

If I had a quarter for every time a patient tried for an early discharge with a dead, on life support or dying family member ... I'd have a lot of damn quarters. Phone calls to hospitals and family members not in cahoots with the patient typically resolve this. We've made a lot of these calls, and have gotten positive confirmation on the claim I think maybe two or three times.

[Happy Monkey]

If they have a zero tolerance policy for phone calls, then the teacher doesn't even have to make a judgement call.

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

If they have a zero tolerance policy for phone calls, then the teacher doesn't even have to make a judgement call.

He got the call during lunchtime. I'm assuming the kid's mom called at that time because she knew he could take the call then.

Kid's are also always supposed to be in school, unless there is a funeral or some other emergency. Some amount of common sense is necessary.

Should they arrest the kid's mom for disrupting the school routine? I'll bet the kid would be glad if they brought her back for questioning. I wonder if they would have given her leave if her son had been arrested.

From the kid's perspective, the whole situation sucks. I really can't blame him for cursing. I'm not sure if he's a true Army brat or if his mom is guard or reserves. I would guess that at least the regular Army kids have had time to adjust to their parent's chosen profession. The children of National Guard and Reserve soldiers have to face the fact that their parent's part-time job will now put them in a war zone a few thousand miles away for more than a year.

Arrest the kid? For saying that the situation is fucked up?

[Happy Monkey]

That's the problem with zero tolerance policies. No matter how stupid the decision, they can just shrug and say their hands were tied.

[jinx]

Suspension reduced to time served.

The suspension gained national attention Friday, prompting a flood of e-mails to school officials. By Friday afternoon, they told Francois his 10-day suspension would be shortened to the three already served.

[richlevy]

"He became very belligerent and very threatening to her" when she asked him to turn over the phone, Phillips said.

"He said he was 17 years old and he would do what he wanted to do," Phillips told CNN-affiliate WTVM.

The teacher took him to the principal's office, where "he became very unruly and out of control," said Phillips. "It was escalating to a point where they were getting ready to call security."

Francois disputed the school's version of the story.

"I was just talking to them and they wouldn't listen to me about talking to my mom," he said. "I didn't curse at them."

Francois received the call from his mother, who left for duty in Iraq in January, during a lunch break.

Phillips said Francois did not tell the teacher he was talking to his mother in Iraq.

"I'm sure if she was aware of that, she would have acted much differently in dealing with the matter," Phillips said.

Phillips said the school, which is located near Fort Benning, often arranges for

So the teacher says the kid never told him/her he was talking to his mom, that instead he said "I'm 17 years old and can do what I want". Why wouldn't he tell the teacher it was his mom calling from Iraq?

I think the teacher is trying to cover his/her ass, unless the kid is completely dysfunctional to the point where he cannot communicate a simple fact.

[wolf]

I've seen a lot of teenagers. Option 2.

[xoxoxoBruce]

"He became very belligerent and very threatening to her" when she asked him to turn over the phone, Phillips said.

"He said he was 17 years old and he would do what he wanted to do," Phillips told CNN-affiliate WTVM.

I wonder if this was during or after the call he was supposed to have made these remarks? Sounds fishy

[Troubleshooter]

And isn't lunchtime considered during school hours?

[russotto]

I've seen a lot of petty tyrants. Option 1. He probably DID tell the teacher it was his mom, and THEN went off on them when they didn't consider that an acceptable "excuse".

[OnyxCougar]

I'm with russotto.

I would have done the same thing. And Iraq is 8 hours + Eastern time, so when it's noon on east coast, it's 8pm in Iraq. Makes sense she's calling during lunch.