School District suspends student for talking to mom in Iraq!

sageofages · #1 05-06-2005, 01:40 PM

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.

AlphaFrog · #2 05-06-2005, 01:58 PM

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.

KillarneyRose · #3 05-06-2005, 02:29 PM

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

sageofages · #4 05-06-2005, 02:34 PM

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

AlphaFrog · #5 05-06-2005, 02:42 PM

****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...

citydogisu · #6 05-07-2005, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by sageofages
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.

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

sageofages · #7 05-07-2005, 12:10 PM

Quote:

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

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.

Eclipse · #8 05-07-2005, 01:34 PM

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.

RedRoseSAI · #9 05-07-2005, 03:40 PM

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.

Senusret I · #10 05-07-2005, 04:20 PM

Quote:

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

Sure seems that way, doesn't it?

33girl · #11 05-07-2005, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sageofages
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?

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.

#12 05-08-2005, 11:54 PM

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!

Senusret I · #13 05-09-2005, 12:05 AM

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

Jill1228 · #14 05-09-2005, 03:41 AM

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

KSigkid · #15 05-09-2005, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Senusret I
Can someone please tell me in which article it says that the phone was yanked from him?

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.