Posted on 01/23/2008 6:51:55 AM PST by wintertime
Snow days, kids and school officials have always been a delicate mix.
But a phone call to a Fairfax County public school administrator's home last week about a snow day -- or lack of one -- has taken on a life of its own.
(snip)
It started with Thursday's snowfall, estimated at about three inches near Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke. On his lunch break, Lake Braddock senior Devraj "Dave" S. Kori, 17, used a listed home phone number to call Dean Tistadt, chief operating officer for the county system, to ask why he had not closed the schools. Kori left his name and phone number and got a message later in the day from Tistadt's wife.
"How dare you call us at home! If you have a problem with going to school, you do not call somebody's house and complain about it," Candy Tistadt's minute-long message began. At one point, she uttered the phrase "snotty-nosed little brats," and near the end, she said, "Get over it, kid, and go to school!"
Not so long ago, that might have been the end of it -- a few choice words by an agitated administrator (or spouse). But with the frenetic pace of students' online networking, it's harder for grown-ups to have the last word. Kori's call and Tistadt's response sparked online debate among area students about whether the student's actions constituted harassment and whether the response was warranted.
Kori took Tistadt's message, left on his cellphone, and posted an audio link on a Facebook page he had created after he got home from school called "Let them know what you think about schools not being cancelled." The Web page listed Dean Tistadt's work and home numbers.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
If this were are private school there would be no problem. Any private school could suspend or expel the student for embarrassing the school and school officials. But,,,government schools can't do that.
When are the sheeple finally going to figure it out?
Government schools, freedom of conscience, and the First Amendment can NOT coexist. The solution, of course, is to SHUT DOWN the government school, because to get rid of the First Amendment is a sin against God.
What's needed is to begin the process of completely privatizing universal K-12 education.
Public Education Ping
My friends and I used to call the principal’s home at 5AM and say “Hi, my name is [chosen target of the week], are we having school today?”
Excuse me? Any call?
The kid may have been out of line calling the home number (however it WAS listed). But this would have blown over if the wife hadn't overreacted.
Way back when, I used to work at a radio station. Whenever we would get a big snowfall, kids used to call up disguising their voices and say that school was cancelled. I’d just play along with them and say OK, thanks for the information. We had a private phone line for school administrators to call.
Leaving an irate message on someone's voicemail is an open invitation for various forms of online remixing.
Frankly, I think it’s hilarious the kid had the gumption to call and a big high five for posting the woman’s remarks online for everyone to hear.
First, the school administrator was an idiot for having a listed number if he didn’t want phone calls. Second, the wife, the dumber of the couple, had no business butting into her husband’s work and certainly shouldn’t have called the student names.
Hey, if they’re public servants, shouldn’t the public be able to, well, contact them? Just wondering...
The wife should have been smarter than to respond the way she did, but I understand her frustration. He is a snot-nosed brat with an overblown sense of his own importance. This does not bode well for his future.
Everything up to this point is probably fine .. but this little item fits the description of "harassment." Stupid move, kid.
I’m a New Yorker by birth. I lived in Williamsburg, Va for a year. 2 inches of snow...and not a car on the road. Very amusing!!
kizmet, man.
Just watched “Hunt for Red October” yesterday. He played the submarine design guru.
The students were a fault.
“”I am not happy that [Dean Tistadt] gambled multiple times with our safety just so we might have a bit more knowledge crammed in our heads at school,” he wrote.”
The kid’s a butthead! Notice the snowfall? 3 inches! Give me a break!
Personally, I can't help but get a good snicker out of Dave Kori's creative thinking and fairly big cajones in calling the superintendent at home to find out what exactly the snow policy was and how he arrived at his decision to keep schools open that day (I commute down I-270 every day, and Thursday was quite treacherous). While Kori may have crossed a line in making the call, the superintendent's phone number was publicly listed, and Cori was polite in his message. The superintendent's wife, though, sounded like a complete, out-of-control shrew, whose "snotty-little brat" comment belies how many of these school administrators think of their "customers", so to speak. As far as I'm concerned, she's deserves evry bit of the public ridicule that she is bringing down on her head today.
With that said, what should have happened was this...when Tistadt took Kori's message, she should have just left it for her husband to deal with. The superintendent (or COO, or whatever they're called these days in Fairfax), should have then contacted the boy's principal, and then had the boy brought to the principal's office for an explanation of the policy (as requested by Kori) and admonishment about not calling school officials at home (unless it was an absolute emergency). A quick call to Kori's parents would probably then have ended the matter very quietly and effectively right there.
Moreover, if the superintendent did not want students calling him at home, then he should have had an unlisted phone number. I really can't fault Kori for his brass in this matter, especially since the superintendent is supposed to be a public official and had in fact listed his phone number in the phone book.
Instead, we get Candy Tistadt's vicious rant at the "snot-nosed brat" and probably a really bad day for her husband, who now has to go into damage control mode. Nice!
Is that a new law?
If you want some really big laughs, try living in Atlanta during a half inch (or less) snowfall. Freakout City.
Same concept, different scale,
but...
no “public official” should be able to conceal his identity while performing an official act, especially law enforcement.
This includes covering of badge numbers, ninja masks, and demanding that recording devices be turned off.
Exceptions can be made for very special circumstances, such as undercover operations, but not for traffic stops, home raids, etc.
“If you’re doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear from my video camera, right, officer?”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.