Posted on 05/06/2005 10:15:07 AM PDT by Responsibility1st
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."
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
What a blessing to your son and your students you are. Helping little people become good adults should be the real job of teaching. You showed these kids that there are things in life that really matter. May God bless you.
<rant>
The more I think about this incident, the more worked up I get. Not about the overly harsh punishment, the insensitive teachers without the apparent sense to make a judgment call, not the overly agitated teenager who needs to learn to control his mouth. No, I’m getting miffed at the Ft. Benning CG.
That there are 3,700 dependents in the school system is significant. Many of them likely have parents deployed in war zones. It seems obvious that this kid was left out in the cold, so to speak. That other kids have sanctioned phone arrangements and he doesn’t is a tragic oversight. Where is the outreach? Is there such a thing as a DLO – dependent liaison officer – deployed at specific schools? If such a position doesn’t exist, MAKE IT SO. Guardianship arrangements are sometimes less than optimal. Isn’t someone bringing these kids together and helping them deal with things like phone calls? Just talk with them once in a while to counter the treasonous crap they hear from the MSM?
THE LAST THING OUR MEN AND WOMEN IN COMBAT NEED TO BE WORRYING ABOUT IS THE WELL BEING OF THEIR CHILDREN. We could argue about the sanity of deploying moms but the simple fact is that we do it and therefore need to deal with it. Julie Moore, God Rest Her Soul, isn’t there to stand up for these kids. WHO HAS THEIR BACK? WE DO!!! Let the Commanding General know that we are less than pleased that the circumstances aligned to let this unfortunate incident occur in the first place.
</rant>
If he was told to strip naked in the front of his class, should he do it? IIf he was told to jump up and down and bark like a dog, should he do it?
God Bless You and Your Son.
That has been my point all along. We, as American citizens, have a responsibility for this family.
Today, I think that a few Freepers were able to stand up and make a small difference.
Yes. It was a bad situation all around. I think the reduced suspension with the ability to make up all the work should close out the incident. Still, the school touts all of the things they are doing in support of the kids - trained counselors, parent liasions, etc. - but it ALL FAILED. Let's hope they have the sense to do an after-action review and that the military makes sure its own are supported.
He was talking to his mother during his lunch hour. Nuff said.
And to answer your question, yes. If he was talking during class he should have stopped. BUT HE WASN'T TALKING DURING CLASS. What part of that don't you get?
I would like to take beeler hunting
Re: Post #106
Very well put!!
And that is exactly what would have happened in the "perfect" dream scenerio of how this young man should have acted - and what would have likely happened!
Lay off the crack. I would have done the EXACT same thing as this kid.
Yours is the voice that has been consistently right on this thread. What others appear to be arguing is that it is up to individual students to decide in their own eyes what constitutes good school policy and what constitutes bad school policy, and to act (or act out, as the case may be) accordingly. A recipe for chaos, and a sure formula for personal disaster, for any child who grows up believing in that way.
I wonder how the Army would have reacted if his mother had been told by her OIC or first sergeant to hang up the phone, and responded in the same way her son had.
What's this "we" stuff? Do you have a turd in your pocket? You don't speak for everyone here.
Get civil or get lost.
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