The kid was talking to his mother during his lunch break. There was no disruption of class, there was no interruption and there was absolutely no problem. The rule he violated was arbitrary and silly. Any reasonable educator....any level headed human being....would have been rational enough to AT THE VERY LEAST allow him to say goodbye to is mum before asking him to ask permission next time.

I don't really care what the situation was at the time, or what the politics of the situation might have been. He was instructed by a school authority to do something that was not outside the bounds of health, safety or morality, and he responded in a totally inappropriate way, violating the known policies of the school. The very least he could have done would have been to politely explain the situation and request permission to continue the call. He evidently chose to respond as most of the posters on this thread would have had him respond, i.e., with coarse vulgarity and defiance of authority.

He evidently believed that the nature of his business trumped the rules of the school that he and the other students were expected to uphold, and further, that his personal cause was so righteous that there was no need for an explanation when he was challenged by the teacher; that the teacher should have known by some process of telepathy that he was speaking to his mother in Iraq and not, say, his girlfriend who happened to be playing hookey that day.

Whether the rule was "arbitrary" or "silly" isn't for anyone to say, except the people directly involved making decisions for that particular school, including the parents. If a rule is not appropriate, it's the obligation of the students' parents to take up the issue with the school authorities; not for the students themselves to misbehave in a vulgar and disruptive fashion. Minor children need to learn how to respect, not only authority, but other people, and comport themselves in a civilized manner in the face of standards with which they might not necessarily agree. Which, incidentally, is the first prerequisite for those wishing to serve their country in the military.

News I think

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Posted on Sat, May. 07, 2005

Suspension reduced for student who took call from mom in Iraq

Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ga. - The Muscogee County School District has reduced the suspension of a student who refused to end a cell phone call from his mother who is serving in Iraq.

Kevin Francois, a 17-year-old at Spencer High School in Columbus, was given a 10-day suspension for disorderly conduct Wednesday after a confrontation that began when he was told to give up his cell phone at lunch during the call, he said.

His mother, Sgt. 1st Class Monique Bates, left in January for a one-year tour and serves with the 203rd Forward Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division.

But on Friday, the school district reduced the suspension to three days, which will allow Francois to return to school Monday. That means he will not have to make up the entire semester, as he had feared.

"We are empathetic to all students whose parents serve in the armed forces ... (but) we do have behavior standards which we uphold," said Muscogee County school Superintendent John A. Phillips Jr.

Francois got the unexpected call from his mother at 12:30 p.m., which he said was his lunch break. He said he went outside the school building to get better reception. A teacher who saw Francois on his phone told him to hang up. He refused.

According to the Muscogee County School District Board of Education's policy, students are allowed to have cell phones in school but cannot use them during school hours.

School officials said Francois became defiant and used profanity when asked to hand over the phone.

Since the incident was first reported, school officials have received many phone calls, said Wendell Turner, an assistant principal.

"People are fussing at us, calling us names," Turner said.

There are many students at the school who have parents serving overseas, Turner said.

"We are the school that serves Fort Benning," Turner said. "We're well aware of students with parents overseas. Some will just call the school if they want to talk to their sons or daughters. We'll gladly get the kid out of class."

Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com