boy gets suspended for talking to his father, in iraq

[turbospl311]

Sure, I agree with the war zone thing, but how does the school know that? They didn't answer the phone. Very easy for me to say "Hey, this is important teacher, leave me alone!"

Then everyone is doing it. I said above, have them answer the call in a private pre-agreed on place.

Remember, do it for one, do it for all. Makes it hard to separate what is important vs what is not important. Who makes that determination?

 

[ArcticBoy]

At the very least give him a warning. Much of this suspension crap has gone nuts.

 

[Slick]

Not a chance fellas, theres no way you can allow some kids to answer the phone based on a concept of "important calls". You bet the folks overseas should be honored and respected fully. So if he talked to the principle earlier, he should have pre-arranged a method of talking to his boys. I quarantee you a bunch of parents think the rules are very important and should be enforced, except for them, cause their issues are reeaaally imortant.
Maybe thats one of the reasons so many 4m members seem to struggle so much with spelling and punctuation, cause everything has been taking priority over good old fashioned Education.
I think there are a lot of teachers who are less than stellar educators, but with todays lack of respect and self-absorbed attitude that a great many people display, it must suck if you're a teacher and really do care for the kids.
Sorry, I say the school system needs to be respected also, for the good of the students, cause a lot of parents see it as a glorified day-care.
And if anyone should respect and understand rules, wouldn't you think it should definetly be one of our enlisted persons. Isn't that one of the basic premises that they're fighting for.

 

[Sturgis Sledder]

Sure, I agree with the war zone thing, but how does the school know that? They didn't answer the phone. Very easy for me to say "Hey, this is important teacher, leave me alone!"

Then everyone is doing it. I said above, have them answer the call in a private pre-agreed on place.

Remember, do it for one, do it for all. Makes it hard to separate what is important vs what is not important. Who makes that determination?

The school knows that because the mom and dad had ALREADY spoke with the asst. principle and got it approved.

Yet Pat Hill said before her husband left for Iraq, he made a special arrangement with the assistant principal.

"He had spoken with Mr. Fletcher," said Pat Hill. "He thought there was an agreement understood that if he called either Joshua or Brandon at school, that everything was fine.

School, rules and discipline are important but if the kid gets an "urgent" phone call from his dad in Iraq that is a bit different, it has already been said but if the school and it's administration can't comprehend the difference then they should be replaced.

 

[Wade]

Slick, So basically, the principle either didn't give the father proper contact information, or the principle should have established a protocol. No where have I seen reference to the father not proceeding with proper permissions. Still sounds like an educator problem.

Yha, my spelling and punctuation sucks, but us MSEE's don't care about English, just hardcore physics and math.

 

[shortstop20]

It is hard enough to try and get them to learn as it is, why introduce other distractions.

My .02

Because one, small interuption from a phone call is going to disrput the class that much? gimmie a break. If it does you have a serious case of ADD. What if that was the last time that student talked to their dad, is that one day's lesson plan going to determine whether you serve burgers at McDonalds or run a Fortune 500 company? I don't think so. They might as well take all the intercom's out of the classroom's, they might interrrupt 30 seconds of a lesson.

 

[turbospl311]

Shortstop20,

So my kids have an average of 34 students per class. 30 seconds of interuption per kid per phone call is........ 17 minutes per class. 6 classes a day would waste...... 102 minutes a day. Sound okay to you? It doesn't too me.

Like I stated above: Have the kid go to a pre-arranged office or something.

I don't care if it is the last call ever made, they said they made arrangements, we probably don't know the whole story and yet we bicker over these things.

I truly support the people working to keep themselves sane and safe overseas as I have been through stuff like that. I do understand that it is extremely difficult to schedule a time to call in an area that has people trying to kill you. I do feel for the son as I love to speak to my kids when I am away.

BUT as I said above, if you do it for one, you have to d it for all and EVERY person has their own level of what is an important phone call.

Yes, the schools seem to suspend for small stuff these days, but as a parent of a student who was suspended for asking a teacher to explain a math problem more thoroughly (she used the eff word while she asked question), I agree there has to be limits set.

 

[Motley Doo]

He was walking out of the class! He wasn't sitting there talking to him in the middle of the classroom! I'm not sure if anyone knows how many time the TEACHER leaves the room during a typical period. I relize what they are saying about making an example, but are you freaking kidding me? Kid hasn't seen his father in how long? Always has that thought in the back of his head that he might not come home. But the article makes to other comments on this "agreement" the father and principle had. Oh, by the way, I leave my cell phone on in class for emergencies, and I have had to get up and leave the class after my grandfather got in a car wreck, they tried stopping me in the parking lot, I told them to suspend me! He didn't.

 

[Slick]

Well said Turbo311, the quality of education and our expectations of the students needs to become an integral part of raising our kids, not justifying all the other things that interfere on a daily basis, keeping learning time as just that. If we respect that and defend it, eventually the kids will also. They learn from us and our actions and expectations.

 

[Crazy 8]

BUT as I said above, if you do it for one, you have to d it for all and EVERY person has their own level of what is an important phone call.

Yes, the schools seem to suspend for small stuff these days, but as a parent of a student who was suspended for asking a teacher to explain a math problem more thoroughly (she used the eff word while she asked question), I agree there has to be limits set.

So, are you saying the limit is set above or below the "f" word in class? Just curious. I wouldn't suspend for using the "f" word in class, but if they stayed after school for as long as it took for them to write it out a thousand times, maybe that'd get the point across. IMHO I think suspensions are dumb (depending on the parents at home). I'd have rather been in school then face suspension at home, but now days, how many kids get suspended, parents take off for work, and they sleep in until noon, play some Wii, and reflect on how it's not good to get suspended. In this case, I say the school was out of line. I think cell phones are rediculous for kids to have in class. That being said, if you might receive a call from a loved one that you may not get to hear from for a long time (military overseas), yes, leave class and talk away. However, if I was going to receive a call for someone telling me my grandparent ect... had died, they can call the office, pull you out of class ect... I know, because when I was in school it happened to me and it didn't change the outcome. With kids in school, parents should have the # to the school in their phones/wallets/ect... so again, IMHO there is no call that can't come through the office. And you better believe, if a parent called the office that was over in Iraq, the secretary better be on the dead run to get that kid out of class. Yes, everyone does have their idea of an important phone call, but absolutley none of them can't be handled through the office PERIOD! (Including a call from a parent in the military if they have access to the school number-if the don't call the cell). How did we all make it to where we are now (I'm only 28) without cell phones?

 

[skidoorulz]

Holy CHIT! I kinda know how he feels, Im 13, My school administration sucks! My mom was trying to call me during school to inform me that my grandpa died.....I answered, and I got my phone tooken away. Didn't even get to talk...

I think by the way you spelled TAKEN, you better leave the phone at home and pay attention in class. I do not believe your mom is to bright either calling you at school to tell you news like that. She should have come and got you and told you face to face or waited till you got home from school.

 

[skidoorulz]

Gotta go with Turbospl311 on this one. Phones DO NOT belong in school!!!!! Dad could have called the kid at home. Kids are in school about 7 hours a day and have weekends off. Plenty of free time for the old man to call the kid. Where do you draw the line? What about the kid who's dad is a long haul trucker out 3 months straight, he could die on the road anyday. Should that kid be allowed to take calls from his dad?

 

[Crazy 8]

Gotta go with Turbospl311 on this one. Phones DO NOT belong in school!!!!! Dad could have called the kid at home. Kids are in school about 7 hours a day and have weekends off. Plenty of free time for the old man to call the kid. Where do you draw the line? What about the kid who's dad is a long haul trucker out 3 months straight, he could die on the road anyday. Should that kid be allowed to take calls from his dad?

Just for the sake of converstion... A long haul trucker could probably call anytime pending cell service, or from a payphone when he stops to eat. A gal I used to work with would receive calls from her son in Iraq during our shift. Everyone was awesome about pitching in so she could take a break to talk. He made it sound like sometimes the window would open for a call, but not that often. Can't just be like "Hey guys, I realize we're on operation blow up the brown house on the left with the bad guys in the basement building nukes, but I really need to call home. It'll just take a sec." I haven't been over there so I don't know. If there are more opportunites to call from the desert, then ya, get the damn phones out of the school. I hate the stupid things anyway. Can't hide from the wife, then she gets even more pizzed when I don't answer.

 

[00buck]

Gotta go with Turbospl311 on this one. Phones DO NOT belong in school!!!!! Dad could have called the kid at home. Kids are in school about 7 hours a day and have weekends off. Plenty of free time for the old man to call the kid. Where do you draw the line? What about the kid who's dad is a long haul trucker out 3 months straight, he could die on the road anyday. Should that kid be allowed to take calls from his dad?

Tell me you didn't just compare long haul trucking to fighting a war in Iraq.

 

[14longshot]

Gotta take my hat off to the men and women over there. I have family members in the military, one was over there. It's a touchy subject, but there is no reason to carry a phone in school. I agree with much of what was said as the parent should call the school. Seems there are alot of calls for no reason now days. Didn't have cell phone's when I was in school but my punctuation still sucks.

 

[TS Drag Racer]

Common sense goes a long way in life and in this case non was used! A call from a war zone is quite different from one from a shopping center etc. Not to mention the Dad serving in Iraq, had already made arrangements with the VP to call his son. Give me a f#ck!ng break already, this is total BS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Slick]

You know, I think that the fact so many don't see a problem with this behaviour, shows theres actually a problem.
There are basic principles the soldier is fighting for. To be expected to be given preferential treatment because he's doing what he believes is right, hopefully is not what he would expect, and not a message he should convey to his children. That is only going to carry on the ME attitude that is so evident among a lot of younger folks.
If its important, call the school, they'll get the kid out of class, whats the problem with that. Its worked for years .

 

[skidoorulz]

Tell me you didn't just compare long haul trucking to fighting a war in Iraq.

The only point I was trying to make was Where do you draw the line? I know it was an over exageration and as usual on this forum some people were not able to figure it out.

 

[Mafesto]

I never read all of the replies, so sue me if someone already said this...
Kids do not need, nor should they have cell phones in school.
No exceptions.

However, the father (or any parent under these extreme circumstances) should call the school office, who should in turn immediately summon the child to the office to take said phone call.

I would go so far as to say student's cell phones should be confiscated & returned at end of school year.

 

[snowmobiler]

poor kid missed a couple days of see spot run and water coloring.