Student Gets Call From Mom Serving In Iraq - Refuses To Hang Up - Suspende

[matcom]

<snip>

COLUMBUS, Ga. -- A high school student was suspended for 10 days for refusing to end a cell 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.

Cell 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."

http://www.wftv.com/irresistible/4459325/detail.html

[KitchenWitch]

1. That is pure evil

I think the teacher should be suspended for 10 days without pay!

[mitchtv]

2. a 10 day suspension, Wow!

I would have loved one of those in HS."support our troops"

[RevCheesehead]

3. How about we put the blivet in jail?

Since it's his fault the kid's mom is over there in the first place.
Put the blame where it belongs.

[Robeson]

4. "This is my mom in Iraq. I'm not about to hang up on my mom."...

I think that teacher should have allowed him to excuse himself from the room, and go out in the hall and talk to his mother in Iraq. That would have been the end of it, with no disruption to anyone.

[Rabrrrrrr]

6. And it wasn't even in class! It was during lunchtime!

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

8. Yeah.. that's the numb thing about it.n/t

[Robeson]

16. Wow, I didn't even catch that.....

...that makes the school at more fault than I first imagined...

[Left Is Write]

13. I agree with you.

There was no need for the school to take a hardline with the kid.

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. I bet that principal voted for Shithead McAWOL and has a "support our

troops" sticker on his car, too.

What an asshole!

Of course the kid got angry and swore at them! I would have!!

That principal should be suspended, not the kid.

[enki23]

7. this has all the markings of a bs "patriot persecution" story

could be true. more likely, it's partly true.

[Sequoia]

9. But he cursed, so um...(scratch head)....I can't blame him.

Support the troops. If cell phones are allowed on campus but kids can't talk during school hours what's the point in bringing them. The time differance in Iraq and Georgia are vastly differant and no I wouldn't hang up on my mom either.

[Mizmoon]

10. And school officials wonder why they're hated

:eyes:

[sir_captain]

11. Ah, nothing like the perpetuation of stereotypes

*This* school official sucks. *Most* teachers and public school administrators work very hard and try to provide their students with the best education and environment possible, despite the horrible conditions and lack of money "provided" for them by the Republicans.

[madrchsod]

12. maybe his mom will come back and

kick the shit out of the teacher...sounds pretty fair to me. i`m pretty suure that teacher is getting alot of shit in his face over this..what a dumb fuck.

[Reverend_Smitty]

14. If it were me...

I would have done the same exact thing...and I would have told that teacher to fuck off for good measure. There are some heartless bastards out there

[Shell Beau]

15. That is B.S., I would become disorderly too if someone told

me to hang up on my mom in Iraq. Unbelievable

[knitter4democracy]

17. Oh my goodness, what the heck is that policy for?

Teachers know when to break rules for the kids--or at least, they should. When I was a teacher, we did it all the time. There is no way I would've been nasty to a kid talking to his mom who was away, let alone in a freakin' war zone!!! I hope his current guardian fights that suspension big time. All that does is make everyone look bad and doesn't take care of the situation. How pointless is that?!