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
If you willfully break the rules, you should expect the punishment when you get caught.
The mom knows when the kid is in school, and if she cares about his education, she shouldn't be calling during that time. The time factor actually would work out better if she'd call him before school, I think.
Your other two points are just assumptions which cannot be proven or disproven at this time.
I'm just going by the articles, same as everyone else. I pointed out where the articles I'd read were contradictory.
I Like Lincoln, you are new and have shown in previous threads that you are a liberal. Unless you want once again to be accused of being a troll you should limit your responses to constructive criticism rather than just mindless comments.
Teflonic, in my opinion you haven't been around here long enough to be deciding who is and isn't a troll. You're still pretty much of a newbie yourself....I guess "mindless comments" are those that don't agree with you?
And you seriously expect a teenager to have that nuanced view of how things work? If so, I guess you popped out in the delivery room already potty trained and seeking a job.
Yes, he is a horrible boy for loving his mom more than a school rule.
String him up. /sarcasm
I am sure you aware that the school typically grants exceptions for students who have family members in Iraq. But, not for this kid. Felicita had it out for him for some reason.
It wasn't during class.
He took the phone outside during LUNCH.
Hardly a disruptive period to take a call.
That is not reasonable. Troops calling home from Iraq rarely have a chance to use a phone and when they do they have to wait in a line 2-3 hours and then are only given 15 minutes at great expense to them. Also connections are iffy and prone to be broken at any time. By the time the student is tracked down the 15 minutes would likely be up.
The way to resolve this is to allow all military students to have their cell phones on at all times. If it rings the teacher can verify it is the parent (and thank the parent for their service) then let the student step out to complete the call.
Again, she can't control when she can call.
I didn't know it was that difficult. If that's true I can see her point. Thanks for letting me know.
(1) just did her job without applying any common sense while failing to question the inflexible policy she was tasked with enforcing (which would make her similar to the Nazi Stormtroopers in one way now that I think about it--just not to the same degree), or
(2) bullying about a young man (17 is hardly a child) for the superiority high on which power-mad totalitarians thrive (a different trait that the aforementioned Stormtroopers may have possessed).
You obviously have never been deployed in the military so we should cut you a little slack. Some of us have been and can all too clearly remember the rare chances that we had to call home and the waiting in line for sometimes several hours to make the call on those rare chances.
My, what an adult response that was. And from someone I wasn't even addressing.
Your ad hominem outburst only reinforces what I eluded to in the first place. The folks here that think the kid's response was appropriate seem incapable of reasonable or rational discourse on the subject.
Look, this is a difficult situation obviously.
How many phone calls from Iraq have you gotten?
It may be more difficult to call from a ship. Most members of the Army over there have internet access and a fairly good phone bank. Calls do tend to be expensive.
You're a mind-reader? How do you know her motivations?
What does the caller ID indicate on a call from Iraq? Do you know?
You're much slimmer, more attractive, and better dressed than Felicita, right?
Tough guess, considering that describes approximately 95% of the world's population.
My turn to guess. You two must be teachers.
I don't know her motivations... as I stated clearly, it was one of two things. You're right, she may have just been following orders like a good German.
True, you haven't.
This is a kid whose mother is in the military in a war zone. It is not inconceivable that this could have been his last conversation with her. Did the kid behave in a crude,, inappropriate way? Could very well be. I'm not sure how I would react given the same circumstances. The teacher, however, is supposed to be a adult, act like an adult in charge, and she is a teacher to boot, showing others how to live life. She set quite an example, didn't she? Fortunately, the young man had the internal fortitute to overcome the roadblocks set in his way.
No way would I expect (or allow if I had the chance to influence or particpate) my children to kneel before the bullying tactics employed by this teacher and principal. It wasn't always that way, at one time I had great respect for teachers. This is but the latest of a string of daily examples of how that respect, in many cases, is no longer deserved.
The second fortunate thing to occur as a result of this situation, is that the viewpoint espoused by yourself and a few others will be steamrolled down.
The very lease I expect from a 17-year-old teenager is to mind his Ps and Qs and do what's right. It's a long way from shitting one's diapers to one's final year in high school.
Of which they of course have access 24/7...
"Lieutenant, I'm going to take a little break from this firefight because I have to go find a phone. You see, sir (or ma'am) right now is the alloted time that the Supreme Spencer High Faculty will accept my call. Be back in a couple hours."
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