Texas School Suspends Student for Answering Call in Class From Dad in Iraq

[GuerillaBlack]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,350988,00.html

A Texas sergeant and his son recently found themselves separated not only by an eight-hour time difference, several bodies of water, hundreds of miles and a war, but by a high school official who suspended the boy for answering his dad's call during class.

Cove High School in Texas, where half the students have at least one parent deployed, justified the punishment against Brandon Hill by saying he had violated the no-cell-phone policy when he took the call from his father, who is serving in Iraq.

"I have been going through a lot of stress lately and my dad’s like my best friend, so I go to him for everything," the sophomore told FOX News on Saturday.

"I needed to talk to him, so my mom got a hold of him on Yahoo and told him to call me, so I answered the phone call in class."

Sad.

This is the type of school who would suspend a kid for answering a call in an emergency.

[MavsX]

now that is some BS

[mary]

The kid shouldn't have had the cell phone inside the classroom.

Suspend him and let him whine about it.

I'm tired of the coddling.

[Flacolaco]

Solution: I didn't feel the need to get a cell phone until I was 22 years old.

[Jack.Kerr]

At the very least, the student should have gotten permission from the teacher beforehand, and arranged to take the call outside of class so as not to disrupt the class for a non-urgency.

30 kids in class, 30 emergencies, 30 exceptions, 30 distractions.

Not much sympathy for the student in this case.

[ShaggyDirk]

totally agree with the verdict.

[Underdog]

I don't think the school went too far enough - they should have cut off the child's ear as a message to all the other children not answer their cell phones in school...

And I could give a damn less that it was his lowly-pleblian-of-a-father calling to say he won't be home for Christmas the next 100 years! (why can't these animals learn to live by The Rules???)

[DirkFTW]

Bad call.

[Kirobaito]

They interviewed the kid on MSNBC. I really don't have much empathy for him - partially because I never carried my cell phone in class (I got one when I was 16, but I left it in my car while in class, and even now in college don't bring it with me), and partially because he had been chastised before for answering his phone in class (and threatened with suspension if it happened again). He then initiates getting a phone call in class - I'm sorry, but if you really NEED to talk to your dad, and apparently can, wait until class is done.

[mary]

MSNBC?????

Jiminy crickets....I'm sure his mom is behind the publicity machine, since she apparently initiated the sequence of events that led to the phone call.

Seriously, if I were this kids teacher, and I had a parent arranging for incoming phone calls during my class, I would be pissed. It shows a total lack of consideration on her part.

If the kid really needed to talk to his father THAT second, then the proper thing to do would be for the mother to pull the child out of class and take care of HER OWN personal business, and not expect a complete stop down of an entire classroom because she's too stupid or selfish to do her job as a parent.

If you want to control every little aspect of your child's classroom and education (i.e. receiving phone calls from daddy during class)...HOMESCHOOL them.

[alexamenos]

stupid kid.

he should know that high school classes aren't for taking and making phone calls, they're for napping.

[Flacolaco]

Who sits in class and thinks "Oh man, I am soooo stressed out, I need to talk to my daddy right now, boo hoo."

You're 16. Shutup. If I told my parents I needed to talk to them in the middle of a school day for anything less than my health deteriorating or someone dying, they would have told me to shut up and get to class.

And why would the parents indulge this child in this behavior?

The headline should read "Lousy parenting gets student suspended"

Mary's right. The coddling must stop.

[Jack.Kerr]

Sorry, I'm still not feeling it. I'd need to know a lot more about the nature of the "emergency". They are claiming that the kid received permission in advance from some assistant principal, but apparently the kid wasn't responsible enough to clear things with the teacher as well. Irresponsibility is why sixteen year olds, cellphones and classrooms are not a good mix.

I know a lot of people are thinking "That father is serving in Iraq, and it could be his last opportunity to talk to his son.", but that argument could be made for ANYONE in Iraq; in fact, for anyone anywhere. My own grandmother would've been a disruptive force in public education if cellphones had been in use when I was in high school.

And one more thing....."Get a haircut."

Student suspended for answering call from dad in Iraq

Posted: April 14, 2008 06:09 PM

Updated: April 15, 2008 02:25 PM


Brandon Hill was suspended after taking a call from his dad in Iraq during class.

AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) -- A call from a parent stationed in a war zone has landed a Texas high school student in hot water, and his mother is asking the school to ease up on the punishment.

The Copperas Cove High School sophomore received an urgent call from his father and was suspended after taking the call during class.

Master Sgt. Morris Hill is a world away in Iraq, so he had no idea that a simple call from the battlefield to his son, Brandon, would land the 16-year-old in a heap of trouble.

"He called me during class, because that's the only time that he could," said Brandon Hill, suspended for using a cell phone. "I answered the call as I was walking out of class. The teacher followed me out and said, ‘Oh what are you doing?' I said my dad was calling from Iraq, and I know he needs to talk to me."

At the high school, which is 85 miles from Austin, students are not allowed to carry cell phones.

Yet Pat Hill said before her husband left for Iraq, he made a special arrangement with the assistant principal.

"He had spoken with Mr. Fletcher," said Pat Hill. "He thought there was an agreement understood that if he called either Joshua or Brandon at school, that everything was fine.

Brandon Hill was sent to the office and suspended for two days for answering his father's call.

"It's crazy with everything that's going on," Brandon Hill said.

"If this would have been the last phone call from my husband, and he's in trouble for it and then has to deal with something happening to his dad that would be even harder," Pat Hill said. She added that she was outraged her son was suspended, and then it took a week to get a meeting with the principal.

In a written statement to KXAN Austin News, Kathy Blake, the secretary to the Copperas Cove district superintendent, said: "In an emergency situation there are procedures in place to address those individual situations. This is true for all of the students in our district. The incident in question occurred almost two weeks ago and has been resolved."

Brandon Hill has returned to school, but he still has the black mark on his record. His mother said she wants it removed and for the school to recognize the special needs of military children.

"These schools have to stop and realize, especially when you are in a military community, we support our soldiers, we support our troops," Pat Hill said. "What about them when they are in Iraq trying to reach their family?"

Yet Pat Hill said the school will not address her request to have the suspension removed from her son's record, a battle she is fighting here while her husband is away.

[Usually Lurkin]

2 days suspension is a bit much. But he should get something: in school suspension or extra homework, or better - whatever activity he loves and enjoys - sports, playing with his band, watching movies, whatever, should be constantly interrupted for the next couple of weeks. The forced haircut thing sounds good, too.

If they'd ok'd things with a principle before hand, then nothing should be done. Too bad for the teacher for having a boss that wasn't sympathetic to the disruption that the exception might cause.

That it is a military parent is something different. Since it's all wrapped up in government, "we" sent his dad away to protect us, and "we" are suspending the kid. If either the dad's job or the kids education was done through private company, and either had a choice, and "we" weren't the bosses in all this, then it would definitely be a different story. The parent could just get a more flexible job if communication with the kid was that important. Or the kid could choose a different school. But as is, "we" are making all the choices in this family's life. The fact that the dad is serving in Iraq makes it all the more possible that any given conversation will be his last, as well. That just shouldn't be ignored.

[ty]

In the end...

1) The kid and his mom are gonna get their way.

2) School is gonna make a public apology.

3) The teacher is gonna get shafted, because primary/secondary school teachers always get the shaft...talk about one of the most underappreciated jobs in America.

[Usually Lurkin]

Originally Posted by ty

In the end...

1) The kid and his mom are gonna get their way.

2) School is gonna make a public apology.

3) The teacher is gonna get shafted, because primary/secondary school teachers always get the shaft...talk about one of the most underappreciated jobs in America.

yep. yep. yep.
It should go: 1) kid and mom get their way (no reason for a permanent mark on the kids record). 2) kid and mom should apologize for all the hassle they've caused, and 3) whoever told the kid that this is ok should get whatever shaft the teacher is going to end up with.

[TripleDipping]

What's the rage with the Shaggy hair? All the boys in my neighborhood has that hairstyle.

God forbids if I ever have a son who has that same hairstyle. I might shave him bald when he's asleep at night.

[Jack.Kerr]

Originally Posted by Usually Lurkin

But as is, "we" are making all the choices in this family's life. The fact that the dad is serving in Iraq makes it all the more possible that any given conversation will be his last, as well. That just shouldn't be ignored.

Regarding the father's service in Iraq, it absolutely HAS to be ignored. Otherwise, it becomes a carte blanche pretext for any whiny, trouble-making, attention-seeking son-of-a-gun AND his mother to disrupt a class at any time on a whim. Think: Cindy Sheehan writ small.

Soldiers serve in Iraq. Life goes on for the rest of the world, adolescents in public school included. If the father was calling under sniper fire, facing death, THEN maybe an exception gets made. That definitely wasn't the case here.

Also, if the public is deciding all the choices in that family's life, then what's the kid doing with a cellphone on in class anyway? That was clearly a violation of district policy.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by TripleDipping

What's the rage with the Shaggy hair? All the boys in my neighborhood has that hairstyle.

God forbids if I ever have a son who has that same hairstyle. I might shave him bald when he's asleep at night.

Are you kidding me??? You don't shave your kid's head - you take pictures of their bad hair to remind them 30 years later how stupid they looked when they were a teenager... It also works well for blackmail - you can threaten to show the pic to their spouse if they don't put you into a good retirement home...

[ty]

There was definitely a no cell phone policy when I was at school. If your phone went off, even if vibrating, it'd get taken up and sent to the Dean.

In college however, I always had my cell with me. Text messaging is so fun.

One time my phone went off in class when my ring tone was MC Hammer-Can't Touch This.

The professor stopped class and glared at me. Everybody in the room of about 100 was silent, and then he goes..."Well you coulda atleast chosen a better ringtone."

[Usually Lurkin]

Originally Posted by Jack.Kerr

Regarding the father's service in Iraq, it absolutely HAS to be ignored. ... If the father was calling under sniper fire, facing death, THEN maybe an exception gets made. That definitely wasn't the case here.

you can't say "HAS to be ignored" then say "THEN maybe an exception gets made" You have to consider exceptions differently than if the dad had some other job. Whether or not an exception would apply in this case is a different question. But you can't ignore the dad's job. A large part of the military issue is that the government ("we") sets the schedule of when he can call. The same government ("we") sets the schedule for when the kid can answer his phone. If those are in conflict because our government is too large to coordinate schedules easily, why give the kid 2 days worth of suspension?

Also, if the public is deciding all the choices in that family's life, then what's the kid doing with a cellphone on in class anyway? That was clearly a violation of district policy.

I think, by definition, "violation of district policy" means we are deciding constraints on his free will choices. He doesn't have a the same decisions as he would if he could simply choose another school to go to, or if the dad could choose another job to go to.

[mcsluggo]

now you are just getting silly...

because there is not (sufficiently) subsidized alternatives to public schools, public schools should not be allowed to set any rules...

do you really believe this?


(for now I am just going to ignore the "military personel have no choice" component, in a country that has no draft)

[Underdog]

[mcsluggo]

btw, in a similar vein to this (schools setting "zero tolerance" policies with a wide brush, to address relatively specific concerns)....

my daughter's (public) elementary school just announced this week that they are banning Tag (and other "contact sports"). It made the front page of the Washington Post (print edition) yesterday... talk about using a howitzer to kill a fly.

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by mcsluggo

btw, in a similar vein to this (schools setting "zero tolerance" policies with a wide brush, to address relatively specific concerns)....

my daughter's (public) elementary school just announced this week that they are banning Tag (and other "contact sports"). It made the front page of the Washington Post (print edition) yesterday... talk about using a howitzer to kill a fly.

Are you freaking kidding me??

(incidentally, how are the girls supposed to know which boys like them, if they can't shove them down extra hard during a rousing game of tag?)

[mcsluggo]

i just saw this...

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=4656718&page=1

(note particularly the link to the rousing and deep discussion on "the view" )

[Jack.Kerr]

Originally Posted by Usually Lurkin

you can't say "HAS to be ignored" then say "THEN maybe an exception gets made" You have to consider exceptions differently than if the dad had some other job. Whether or not an exception would apply in this case is a different question. But you can't ignore the dad's job. A large part of the military issue is that the government ("we") sets the schedule of when he can call. The same government ("we") sets the schedule for when the kid can answer his phone. If those are in conflict because our government is too large to coordinate schedules easily, why give the kid 2 days worth of suspension?

It HAS to be ignored, because you can't provide a black hole of a cateogry of exceptions based on a parent's active military service. It would be untenable to the system.

What is more, it is far from clear that the federal government-military-we was actively constraining the father's calling schedule. It could just as easily have been a matter of the father's personal convenience.

Also, conflating the federal government-military-we and the local school district- high school-we into one 'we' entity and expecting them to coordinate calling schedules for individuals within the respective WEs is: 1) a contrivance; and 2) an impossible contrivance. Which is why the one HAS to ignore the other.

16 year olds may not be smart enough to use cellphones responsibly in an educational setting, but they are plenty smart enough to play the system. Even worse when they get a parent with a sense of entitlement backing them up and stirring the pot. A 16-year old may not be mature enough to be expected to understand why this kind of disruption can't be allowed, but they're not so immature that they can't be corrected.

The 2 days' suspension was not just for this isolated incident either. It was taking into account a pattern of rules violations and disruptive behavior. In that light, I would consider it more than fair.

[Usually Lurkin]

Originally Posted by mcsluggo

now you are just getting silly...

because there is not (sufficiently) subsidized alternatives to public schools, public schools should not be allowed to set any rules...

uh, I didn't say anything like that.

(for now I am just going to ignore the "military personel have no choice" component, in a country that has no draft)

draft/no draft/choosing to get into the military v. being forced in has nothing to do with it. We are his bosses now. We set his schedule.

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by mcsluggo

i just saw this...

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=4656718&page=1

(note particularly the link to the rousing and deep discussion on "the view" )

So stupid.

I guess we better get all swing sets and any kind of playground equipment together in a big group and hurl it into the sun. Probably bicycles as well, baseball bats, hockey sticks...

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

So stupid.

I guess we better get all swing sets and any kind of playground equipment together in a big group and hurl it into the sun. Probably bicycles as well, baseball bats, hockey sticks...

Wouldn't it be easier to hurl all the children into the sun?





(...but who would the politicians kiss on the cheek in front of the press?? could a kitten win more votes???)

[Usually Lurkin]

Originally Posted by Jack.Kerr

It HAS to be ignored, because you can't provide a black hole of a cateogry of exceptions based on a parent's active military service. It would be untenable to the system.

how in the world do you get from "shouldn't be ignored" to "provide a black hole of a category of exceptions"?

What is more, it is far from clear that the federal government-military-we was actively constraining the father's calling schedule. It could just as easily have been a matter of the father's personal convenience.

could be. could be not. who's to say (er, maybe that should go into the movie quote thread?) It's something that should be taken into consideration.
If we've created a situation in which a family has to choose between discipline for the dad or 2 days suspension for the child just so they can talk, that would be crappy.

Also, conflating the federal government-military-we and the local school district- high school-we into one 'we' entity and expecting them to coordinate calling schedules for individuals within the respective WEs is: 1) a contrivance; and 2) an impossible contrivance. Which is why the one HAS to ignore the other.

No. It's not. The simple fact that has to be taken into account is that we place a lot of pressure on the family to choose our schools, and now that the dad is in the military, we are setting his schedule. We've built the government to handle both sides.

The 2 days' suspension was not just for this isolated incident either. It was taking into account a pattern of rules violations and disruptive behavior. In that light, I would consider it more than fair.

It's a case by case basis, of course, and you gotta let the school admin (teachers included) make the decision based on the kid's history. In this case, if some administrator/principle said that this phone call is ok, then it should not be included in any pattern of rules violation or disruptive behavior. Because it was defined as an exception. I'm just hoping they took all this into consideration, and aren't just making use of some blanket application or rules.

[DirkFTW]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

(incidentally, how are the girls supposed to know which boys like them, if they can't shove them down extra hard during a rousing game of tag?)

No one told me I was supposed to do this! I want a mulligan!

[Usually Lurkin]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

(incidentally, how are the girls supposed to know which boys like them, if they can't shove them down extra hard during a rousing game of tag?)

sounds like sexual harassment to me.

[MavsX]

Dear Baby Jesus, thank you for this delicious meal of Kentucky fried chicken, dominos and the always tasty taco bell.

Anyway,... I think what is even more amazing about this story, is half the students at his school have at least one parent deployed. That number just astounds me.

[dalmations202]

I don't know the situation of Dad in Iraq, but if it was like when I was in the military and out of the country....calls were few and far between. It might be weeks after I knew I needed to call before I actually got to, and I would have been totally PISSED at any school teacher who expelled my child because I happened to call during school hours. Be sure I would be in front of the school board asking for answers when I got back.

I can see both sides of this story, and I don't know enough of the soldiers situation to know how often he can call, etc. I do know that when I was in a combat zone, you made the call when you could regardless of the other time zone, etc.

The story says Cove High School in Texas -- would that be Copperas Cove I wonder, beside Fort Hood?

I wonder if kids have been using this, and they are trying to make an example of him. Strange to me I guess.

[GuerillaBlack]

Originally Posted by ty

There was definitely a no cell phone policy when I was at school. If your phone went off, even if vibrating, it'd get taken up and sent to the Dean.

In college however, I always had my cell with me. Text messaging is so fun.

One time my phone went off in class when my ring tone was MC Hammer-Can't Touch This.

The professor stopped class and glared at me. Everybody in the room of about 100 was silent, and then he goes..."Well you coulda atleast chosen a better ringtone."

I like how teachers are allowed to have their cell phones in class. Goes off all the time, and they chit-chat on it while we are taking tests and such. But if our phones vibrate, it is $15 dollars and our parents have to come pick it up. Shame.

[ShaggyDirk]

Originally Posted by GuerillaBlack

I like how teachers are allowed to have their cell phones in class. Goes off all the time, and they chit-chat on it while we are taking tests and such. But if our phones vibrate, it is $15 dollars and our parents have to come pick it up. Shame.

Well, let's see....Where do I start with this? How about a few words.... ADULT and DEGREE. You want to run a class? Then do your time, get your degree, and pay your own bills. Then you can bitch all you want. Otherwise, sit your ass in that chair and pay attention because it doesn't get any easier.

[GuerillaBlack]

Originally Posted by ShaggyDirk

Well, let's see....Where do I start with this? How about a few words.... ADULT and DEGREE. You want to run a class? Then do your time, get your degree, and pay your own bills. Then you can bitch all you want. Otherwise, sit your ass in that chair and pay attention because it doesn't get any easier.

Does not matter. The should abide by those rules, too (double standard). Why do they get to interrupt our test taking time while talking to their daughter for dinner plans on Friday night out loud. I don't care about what you want to eat at Chili's tonight, I'm trying to figure out #22.

I only have two teachers like that though, especially my English teacher. It can be 2:43 (school is out at 2:45), and she'll take your phone while she is talking on her own (this is when everyone is standing up and ready to go).

The rest of my teachers could care less as long as she is not instructing and everyone's work is done.

[DirkFTW]

That sucks gorilla, Guerilla. There shouldn't be a double standard.

[mary]

Originally Posted by GuerillaBlack

I like how teachers are allowed to have their cell phones in class. Goes off all the time, and they chit-chat on it while we are taking tests and such. But if our phones vibrate, it is $15 dollars and our parents have to come pick it up. Shame.

Ummmmm.....generalize much?

Its not even remotely necessary for students to have a cell phone in the classroom to begin with.

Students don't have the same rights and responsibilities as teachers in the classroom.

The mere suggestion is ridiculous.

Every teacher should have a way to communicate with the "outside"...whether it be a cell phone or land line.