School District suspends student for talking to mom in Iraq!
 

I emailed the district to express my upset over the heavy handedness of this. Sometimes there must be compassion.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/05....ap/index.html

Student suspended over call from mom in Iraq
Friday, May 6, 2005 Posted: 12:54 PM EDT (1654 GMT)


COLUMBUS, Georgia (AP) -- A high school student was suspended for 10 days for refusing to end a cell 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.

Cell 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."

ETA: Wow..isn't it CONVENIENT all the email addresses on the district website are resolving into permanent status failure.

That's horrible...

I realize the school has rules, but there are extenuating circumstances...and being that there was no mention of it in the article (although I obviously don't know for sure) I don't think this was a regular occurance that he talked to his mom in Iraq at school.

Plus, it happened at lunchtime...if it was in the middle of class that might make it a different story.


Also, he was suspended for his reaction of profanity in lieu of being arrested????? I didn't know you could be arrested for profanity... I think in highschool, we only got 1 detention for profanity - at a Catholic school.

If I were him, I would have insisted on being arrested instead. He's a minor. Plus, nothing would have stuck.

Emails not being accepted
 

I have tried to email the school district several times. Either their email servers are being bombarded...or they cut them off.

My letter to them:

I attempted to email the principals in question, but their emails are not working at this time. How doubly distressing.

To whom it may concern,

http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/05....ap/index.html

I read this story on CNN and was appalled at the lack of compassion and consideration afford to this young man.

Knowing that my opinion carries little weight, I still feel compelled to express my dismay over this. Profanity is not acceptable in the school setting, I understand that. Many times in life, there must be shades of gray in our dealings with young people. He is enduring difficulty with his mother's deployment in such a hazardous zone.

The cell phone call occurred during lunch hour, NOT a class time. A more compassionate response would have been for the teacher in question to instruct him to move to the hall, or step outside to finish such a critical call to this young person's connection to his parent. AT THE CONCLUSION of the call, an appropriate disciplinary response could have been decided. Detention, an essay regarding the reasons for cell phone rules during school times, etc would have been more beneficial to the development of this young person than a ten day suspension. Such a suspension will only feed contempt and frustration with his relationship with the school and its staff.

There are times in life when adolescents need compassion and NOT a heavy hand. How sad your school district responded with a fist instead of taking a chance to help this young person grow and understand that people can care about what is happening in his life.

Respectfully,

Pamela Backstrom
Indianola, Iowa

****STANDING OVATION****

Seriously...good job!


I wonder what the mom said/will say when she finds out...I bet that school will be getting more then a letter from her.

The poor kid's mom is in Iraq and now he's going to have school problems too... I wouldn't be surprised if Bush steps in on this one...if nothing else but for brownie points with troop supporters...

Re: School District suspends student for talking to mom in Iraq!
 

Seems to me he was not suspended for talking to his mother but for being a douche.

Re: Re: School District suspends student for talking to mom in Iraq!
 

How would you react IF your only living parent was deployed in Iraq (his dad died when he was 5) and the teacher grabbed your cell phone out of your hand hanging it up?

17 is a hard enough age to be, but under those stresses, overreaction is not uncommon. 10 days suspension is WAY out of line.

I heard on the Atlanta news this morning (WSB CH 2) that the suspension was reduced to 3 days. I haven't found it on line yet, however.

While suspending him for ten days is entirely inappropriate, I think some sort of discipline is not out of line. If the kid really mouthed off after being asked to hang up, that's wrong. The teacher had no way of knowing who he was talking to. He should have been mature enough to say something like "I'm sorry - I'm talking to my mom who's fighting in Iraq. If you could make an exception, I'd appreciate it. I'll be done in a few minutes." The reaction he gave was that of a 10 year old, not a 17 year old.

Re: Re: School District suspends student for talking to mom in Iraq!
 

Sure seems that way, doesn't it?

Re: Re: Re: School District suspends student for talking to mom in Iraq!
 

For real. Telling a teacher to F off or whatever he said would be the LEAST I would do in that situation - I'd be throwing a punch or two.

Not to mention, the mother probably made an effort to call the kid SPECIFICALLY at lunchtime so his classes would not be interruped, which I'm sure might have been difficult for her to manage.

He told the teacher who he was talking to, WITHOUT profanity, and that should have been the end of the story and the teacher should have let him alone.

We were just talking about this today at church and at brunch....... this is a child whose only parent is in Iraq....Shades of gray-you bet! it is his MOTHER not a friend. His MOTHER is in IRAQ not at work 30 minutes away.....She has been gone a YR not a few weeks.........There sure better be some recourse for him..... a week suspension -----a weeks well spent.....He used his phone during lunch........I hope the mother can get some recourse in this matter with the assistance of the military. Heck i am not a profanity type person ,but if someone was yanking a cell phone from me as i was talking with my mother , who btw is in iraq protecting our country, and i have not seen in a while you better believe i would be cussing too.


Sageofages......WONDERFUL! i would hope the school district apologizes and deeply embarrssed by this exp!

Can someone please tell me in which article it says that the phone was yanked from him?

I read in our local newspaper that the school reduced his suspension to 3 days. The schools got a massive number of calls from folx "ripping them a new one". I mean come on, this school is the one that has all the kids from the nearby military base...they should know better :rolleyes:

I didn't see that either - I wonder if he was allowed to finish the call with his mother, as that isn't clear from the story. That would make a huge difference, whether he had the phone taken mid-call, or whether he was allowed to talk and then started berating the teacher following the call.

If he had the phone taken mid-call, I can understand his frustration. If he was allowed to speak to his mother, though, then this story takes a whole other angle.

In this article

That appears to be the newpaper in Columbus, Georgia.

Thanks!

I still think he's a douche.

With a low GPA.

But at least I have a better understanding.

:)

He deserve his suspension. I don't care if your mom is in Iraq. When you cursed a teacher out, you deserve punishment.

Re: Re: Re: Re: School District suspends student for talking to mom in Iraq!
 

Depends on who you believe. According to the teacher in question and the school, he did not tell her anything about who he was talking to, he just started mouthing off.

Who to believe. My money's on the school's account

Interesting that his mom called back and yelled at him for hanging up on her, and insisting that he pick up the phone when she calls. She's either a) unaware of the school "no cell phone" rule or b) doesn't care about the rules.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: School District suspends student for talking to mom in Iraq!
 

I received an email back from the school board president saying "investigating this matter".

Being the parent of a student who had a teacher LIE about his behavior (and yes my son WAS a brat who needed corrective discipline...but the teacher LIED about locking a classmate in a closet -who my son LET OUT OF THE CLOSET- according to other students in the room), I recognize that teachers are humans. And as such, the teacher could be varying the story to cover their behind once the mistake came to light.

Ten day suspension for the outburst was too much...three day IN SCHOOL SUSPENSION would be good...writing an essay regarding the rules and how to deal with teachers and administrators in a positive way would be better.

IF this isn't your school district I don't see why you're all up in their business.

Being a military brat, whose father had TWO tours of duty in a war zone (Vietnam) and one isolated tour in Turkey, I guess this story hit a nerve with me. I can relate to missing your parent and needing some extra understanding when tensions run high. I WISH there had been cell phones all those years ago. I can remember getting a "reel to reel" tape in the mail (sporadically) to "hear" my daddy's voice when I was young. Only letters when I was older and Dad was in Turkey.

Apparently, I was not the only person NOT in the school district who felt the same :) from her response to me.

I don't think that's fair. I'd be struggling in classes too if my mom was in Iraq.

So the kid got a little hot-headed. Good Lord what 17 year old doesn't.

Doesn't excuse him disrespecting his teacher. What if later on in life he is presented with the same emotional level. This time, instead of a teacher, it's his boss. Off he goes to the unemployment line.

I'm not excusing it, but I do understand it. Yeah, you can't fly off the handle like that at a boss. But 17-year olds are very different from what they'll be when they're adults.

I agree he shouldn't have flipped out, but I'm not surprised he did. I think most of our 17-year old selves would have.

Somewhere in my parents home are the reel-to-reels my dad sent home from Vietnam as well. Great to listen to...especially the background noise - people speaking Vietnamese, etc....aircraft taking off and landing (he was a USAF pilot).

Nice to listen to every now and then, but what a technology throwback. If the tape player breaks before we get them transferred to CD - we're probably screwed.

My father has worked in Kuwait since I was in the eighth grade and my mother joined him my freshman year in college. I was suppose to graduate this month, but I graduated early. Just to give you an idea of how long they have been gone...Dad (9 years) Mom (4 years).

They still are overseas. So I know what it can be like to wait days and weeks to SPEAK to someone, who others SEE on a day to day basis.

I do not think that he should have been disrespectful, but for every action there is a reaction. All through middle and high school, I have seen teachers do something out of line and then make it seem like it was all the kids doing. Yes I understand the school has rule, but sending a txt message to your friend during a test is a h*** of a lot different than answering your mother's international call. How much do you want to bet that the teacher would have handled both situations the same way. There is something called compassion and they are definitely lacking in this department. Especially considering they have many military children.

He received a call from his mom and wanted to talk to her and here comes some teacher on a "do as I say" tip come and take the phone away from him. This resulted in the phone hanging up. Then to top it off as a form of punishment he couldn't answer the phone when she called again. Which to me is ridiculous! When a child does something wrong the parent is the first contacted, so if they KNEW it was her why didn't they answer the phone and explain the situation to her. No instead they opted to be a**holes and let him hear the phone ring and basically say" See this is what happens when you answer your mother's calls in school, we hang up on her, and won't let you answer when she calls back"

I received calls from my mother and father while I was in class, and no matter what I was doing I was answering that phone. You won't believe how many calls I've gotten from my mom to let me know that she is okay because the Iraqis just threw a bomb at them in Kuwait, but they were safe or one of the missles was not caught in time and blew the mall down the street up, but they are okay. WTF DO YOU MEAN DO NOT ANSWER YOUR PHONE FOR A PARENT THAT IS OVERSEAS!!! Kuwait is a whole lot safer than Iraq and he needs to know that his mother is doing alright. Everyday on the news you here about some soldiers getting attacked in Iraq.If any of my teachers would have had anything to say about it, they'd better map out their approach. You get what you give.

As far as this being a reflection of how he may handle the situation as an adult at work answering the phone. This situation is less likely to happen because the workplace understands that family is important. My parents call me at work and I don't have a problem telling my boss if he comes during a phone call that I am in the middle of conversation with my mom. Even if he didn't know where she was, he does not know the nature of the call and it is none of his business.

Compassion is the keyword here, but if you have had never been involuntary seperated from your parents months on end with barely any communication, I DON'T expect you to understand.

I applaud him because he handled it a lot better than I would. If that had been my mom on the other end of that phone and some teacher hung up. The powers that be would have gotten more than a few dirty words thrown their way, more like some right and left hooks. You don't play with folks when it comes to their kids or parents. Bottom d*** line.

The Truth and all, I am sure if He explained this situation and was in a study hall or what ever He would have been given the A-Okay.

But No, he got smart assed mouth, for sure. That has been the problem from the get go.

If I was a Teacher in that situation, I am sure I and many others may have done the same thing.

While some of you sit and judge, ask some Teachers who cannot do shit to these Kids who get uncontrolable!


Rights, what rights do Kids have, come out of High School Stupid?
Thank You ACLU!:(

Dont handcuff a 5 year old who disrupted School and beat on a Teacher.:rolleyes:
For that I will not watch a certain TV show. The Emcee made a big deal and almost cried about it. Schumck!:mad:

Why, try to be a Teacher when You cant if they dont want to learn.

The Truth - I have to agree with everything that you said.

My father was on a submarine during the Cold War. Needless to say, we would go a month or longer with no communication (no mail or phone calls) with him or the sub. Luckily, nowadays, soldiers have access to things like cell phones and computers. I will never forget the Christmas someone bombed a church in Italy, where my dad's sub was docked. Scared the he** out of us, not to mention all the phone calls my mother received from the other wives. it was almost three-four hours before we heard from my Dad to say everyone was okay.

I know it is a totally different situation, but that kid had every right to be pissed off. I don't live in that school district, but my blood was BOILING as they reported it here in Hampton Roads, the largest military base in the US.

While True, that doesnt show respect to His Teachers, as I stated, if He had explained the Situation then it may very well have not been a problem. What I and some ohters said was the Shit He gave and being a dickwad.

His Mouth got Him In trouble, not his logic.

So, if there was a kid whose parents was a contractor in Iraq, will we give him the benefit of the doubt? What about a parent who work for non military institution, but still get sent to hostile territory (ie Red Cross, UN, etc). Will he or she get the same support that many have give to this kid?

Yes.

-Rudey

Even if the child is out of line and cursed his teacher? I do think that 10 days was overkill. However, he should be punished and felt the 3 days was appropriate.

Tom Earp, for the second time this month:

What role does the American Civil Liberties Union play in your post?

I don't know what you're asking. You asked if the support would be there if the parent was in something else and that's the only thing that changed in a different situation. And I said yes.

-Rudey

Sorry, that was an Earp moment. Something caught my attention on tv and my hand kept on typing.

GP, it is My Way of fighting against a group who profess to do do so good and Screw up so much. I do not read every post that is posted as some do. I have other things to do.

moe.ron, please just have an Earp Moment anytime!!!!:D

Yes, the child should have been postulized for His Crap.:mad:

One says Hey, Man My Bro Gets by it, then S**t Dude I can too.

So good luck being a Teacher in/at any level.

Try being a College Graduate who went to The NBA from Creighhton U. who could not read or write?

How did they find out, He couldnt read the Contract! DA! OH, actually sign His Name.:( X marks the spot!

Then I blame the National Right-to-Life for this! AND YOU!

My parents are contractors in Kuwait, and I believe that any child that has a parent in any hostile territory should be given some "special treatment" at school. You can't expect for news of your parents well being to wait until after 3pm. H*** how would some of you parents feel if your child fell sick and the school decided you could wait to find out when they got home? Same difference. If at any point there is an emergency and a parent needs to notify their child, no teacher, teacher's aide, hallway monitor, principal, or anyone for that matter should snatch a phone. Teachers sometime mistake their role as a "parent away from home". It is okay to feel like that, but don't expect to be treated as such.

I think that people are really just concentrating on the fact that he has a "smart mouth". I gaurantee that the teacher approached him with the intent to discipline him as opposed to approaching him with concern. I find it hard to believe that the teacher excused her/himself then asked who was on the phone because they have a rule for cell phones. The teacher came off rude initially and that is why he REACTED the way he did. Y'all need to think about what that teacher said that made him blow up. Do you really think it was "Excuse me, is there a problem because I know you are aware of our policy on cell phone use. " or "Hey you can't be on your cell phone during school hours so you need to get off the phone.

Now in some cases it is okay to see a situation and take action, but sometimes you need to stop and assess a situation. As a teacher that is a skill you must have. H*** I would assume that something was wrong if he was on his cell phone and wasn't trying to hide it when he seen me (the teacher) approaching.

What is done is done, but if I was his guardian I would have went up to the school and TOLD them he was going back to class. There would be no suspension of any kind. Both parties could have handled it differently and they didn't. So if the teacher does not get punished neither is the concerned child.