Posted on 05/07/2005 7:54:12 AM PDT by Teflonic
The Muscogee County School Board will discuss on Monday changing its cell phone policy.
Friday's addition to the work session agenda was prompted by this week's brouhaha about a Spencer High student being suspended for disorderly conduct after a teacher caught him using his cell phone during school hours without permission, which the policy prohibits. The student was talking with his mother, who is serving in Iraq with Fort Benning's 3rd Brigade.
The Ledger-Enquirer asked board members Friday their opinions about the issue.
Was the situation handled correctly?
"We have a policy that they follow the policy; however, sometimes we have to use discretion in a situation like that. Unfortunately, there seems to have been a lack of communication. It probably would have been better if the child had notified the school that he was expecting a call from his mom. They can't call whenever they want to. Some communication should have been done there." -- Pat Hugley Green, District 1
"It probably was appropriate, but it's very unfortunate it had to escalate to that. People in charge should take the time to find out exactly what's going on. They're trained to be in the position they're in and to deal with children, and sometimes things are cut and dry. Some things need to be responded to with more tolerance." -- John Wells, District 2
"I haven't talked to anyone over at Spencer, and I don't know any of the background on the student, but we sometimes have to use common sense. Sometimes children overreact to certain situations. But sometimes people are provoked, although I'm not sure if that was the case. And sometimes a child has persistent behavior problems and they may have assumed that he was using the phone inappropriately." -- Naomi Buckner, District 4
"The answer is I don't know, because the truth is, I don't really know the details of it... . But based on what I've heard, I would question the judgment in the way it was handled." -- Fife Whiteside, District 5
"I don't know what the situation truly was... . There was a correct way for it all to be handled. Two wrongs don't make a right, so if he then became disrespectful and belligerent, that's a whole separate issue. That warrants the punishment." -- Brenda Storey,District 6
"I want to wait on all the facts, but I have concerns about the special circumstances. This young man's mother is serving our country. That ought to be considered. I know we have policies that must be followed, but we also need to use good judgment." -- Joseph Roberson,District 7
Would you support a policy allowing students to get cell phone calls from deployed parents or guardians during school hours?
"The student should be paged and brought to the office to take the call. Otherwise, someone would have to monitor the cell phone to verify it was the parent in Iraq on the line. We should welcome such calls to the school office." -- Mary Sue Polleys, county-wide, son deployed in Iraq
"I certainly would, but I think that we need to handle that properly. He can't just answer the phone in the middle of class. If he was expecting that call around lunchtime, then the principal needed to have known that... . With all of the daily insurgency going on over there (in Iraq), I don't think anyone wants to pass a moment by to speak to a loved one." -- Pat Hugley Green, District 1
"We don't need a policy. That's already in effect at Spencer. They already let students take a call, as long as they just tell them beforehand. We've got to do everything we can to support our troops, so Spencer is doing the right thing already... . They can do that at other schools, too." -- John Wells, District 2
"Sure. We have to look at that policy. To me, it's common sense for principals to allow that anyway." -- Naomi Buckner, District 4
"I don't know that I would support a policy that allows the student to take a cell phone call... . But what would seem to me to be reasonable would be for us to adopt a policy that the parent can call the school at any time and ask to have the child taken out of class to take the phone call." -- Fife Whiteside, District 5
"Not in the classroom. I think even deployed parents have to be respectful of the educational process. But if the school is aware of it, and they know the parent isn't going to call during class, then that's fine." -- Brenda Storey,District 6
"Yes, I would -- if it did not interfere with class, and if it was manageable. Again, these are special circumstances." -- Joseph Roberson,District 7
I think what they really need is a policy that allows a child to respond in a vulgar and disrespectful fashion (including the application of a quick punch in the gut, or kick in the shin) to a teacher or administrator whenever, in that child's opinion, the said teacher or administrator has attempted to enforce a policy with which the child does not agree. And there should be a machine in each classroom that continually shoots out caramel candies and Hershey Kisses, which the teachers will unwrap for the students and proffer when the children cry out for them.
"They can't call whenever they want to."
Gee, I guess those parents who are in service in a war zone call whenever they get a chance. The stupid idiot who interrupted this conversation and took the kid's phone away better hope and pray nothing happens to his mom.
Of course, the one thing this war has shown is the utter stupidity of the vast number of women, MOTHERS, serving in the military. Nevertheless, they are there, and serving nobly, and these school admins are by and large, idiots who couldn't get a real job if they tried. Little hitlers, many of them.
"The student should be paged and brought to the office to take the call"
Yeah, right.
That would actually take about 5-10 minutes to get done. Fat chance.
Sorry, but the proliferation of cell phones is a status symbol for some, as well as a necessity.
First part....the policy. It's a good policy. Students should have their cell phones if there's an emergency, but not be allowed to use them if it isn't necessary. It's really disruptive to be teaching and have those things ring....they should be off when not in use. If a call is necessary, permission couldn't be that tough.
Next part....parent serving in war zone. That should be about the only situation which warrants permanent permission to have the phone on, in case Mom or Dad can get a call to their child.
The problem isn't the policy; the problem is the lack of common sense im its application.
I also thought i had read something about how the school officials said it was either take the cell phone away or have him arrested.
In this case that may or may not be. But what you have here are two separate issues, and I think people are getting the two confused. The first issue regards the way in which a policy may or may not (the details are too sketchy to be sure) have been applied. The second regards the attitude of a minor toward those placed in authority over him.
Additionally, sad as it may seem, there are innumerable situations in life where an individual must submit to overbearing authority. In our democratic, majority-rules society, we daily are obliged to bow to laws that we find wrongheaded, stupid and dictatorially applied. In another thread on this topic a poster brought up the scenario of someone racing to a hospital to attend to a sick relative; surely, it was suggested, no one would object to such a flouting of the speed laws. Indeed, very few would, and it would be a cruel and hard society that could hold an individual to the letter of the traffic laws under such circumstances. On the other hand, one could hardly expect a police officer to know the difference between such a case and one in which the driver simply had a case of lead foot. If he signals the speeding motorist to pull over, the said motorist cannot simply give him the finger and drive on, secure in the belief that the righteousness of his cause will protect him. And if, having stopped, the driver discovers the officer to be, not an understanding person, but an overbearing jackass bent upon ticketing him for the infraction, the best that be done is to accept the ticket and complain about the officer's conduct to the appropriate authorities--not to assail the officer, either verbally or physically. Assuming that the motorist did actually assail the officer, he could not consequently claim that he was arrested for rushing to the hospital to see his ailing relative. And it would be poor defense to such a charge that the officer had no right to pull him over.
This was blown way out of porportion by those running the school. Showing a bit of humanity to a student won't cause the collapse of a school for cripes sake.
I have zero tolerance for zero tolerance.
School administration has become the last refuge of despots.
I don't think so, based on everything I've read on the subject. If the kid had kept a civil tongue in his head they probably would have realized what was happening and allowed him to continue his call. He became vulgar and abusive toward the school authorities--something that can never be allowed in a school setting if education is to occur.
(I'm a retired teacher)
From what I saw, zero tolerance happened because many administrators and teachers had zero common sense about enforcing rules. So many could not resist the "behavior modification" thing of holding infringements over kids' heads for future blackmail. So many were Little Caesars who just liked being to decree stuff. And so often, they were lap-dogs for the powerful, to gain favor.
Where I was teaching, the final straw was when a drug dealer was allowed back in school because the Judge said he would have to go to jail if he wasn't in school!
I wouldn't expect my children to sit for that kind of bullying in their school. I don't expect this boy to have to endure it. I would say the teacher should be facing some assault charges.
Felicita Pescia is the one who grabbed the phone out of his hand
I have some stories on Schools w/"zero tolerance". Zero Tolerance is for the defenseless but doesn't apply to the bullies and violent kids, because they can cause trouble for you.
You hammer on the kids that draw pictures of a gun or has some nail clippers in his pocket but the playground bully that has a choke-hold on a girl you give a second, third or however many chances are necessary for him to "like you" and DON'T TELL ANYONE.
Taken from real examples.
Most members of the school board seem to recognize to some extent that these are special circumstances without realizing fully their complexity. Phones are available to soldiers on a very limited basis. If this mom's call came through in the middle of the day in Georgia, it was the middle of the night her time and she had probably waited hours after a long day's work on the chance that a phone would become available. Contrary to the the well-intentioned ideas of some board members, a call from Iraq comes when it comes. It's not something you plan, schedule or predict. It may well come in the middle of class, in which case the schools would be well advised to make special arrangements for such. This young man has been been traumatized enough in life; he does not need the school adding to it.
BTW, anybody check out the Spencer High School website's message from the principal? Full of mispelled and inappropriately used words and comma splices...
I gleaned your meaning from underneath the sarcasm and I agree. I have expressed this viewpoint on the other two threads on the incident and have met with quite a lot of hostility. Apparently there is a large contingent on FR who believe this kid's reaction was entirely appropriate. Get you flameproof suit ready.
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