Yet again, wow, just wow.
A Columbus, Georgia, high school student, Kevin Francois, was suspended for ten days because he refused to hang up on a phone call from his mother, Sgt. 1st Class Monique Bates, who is serving in Iraq. When he was told to hang up during his lunch period, he told a teacher that he was talking to his mother in Iraq, and he wasn't going to hang up on her.
He was then suspended for being defiant and disorderly. According to school officials, this was because of profanity and reaction to the teacher who requested he hang up.
The school is not trying to give Monique Bates undue hardship, so they only chose suspension rather than arrest.
. . .
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7762540/
Cell phones are allowed on campus but cannot be used during school hours. I've always found schools who issue policies where all rules are set in stone and must be applied to their fullest in every condition. This was a clear abuse of the teacher who instructed Kevin to hang up; upon knowing he was talking to his mother in Iraq, the teacher should have asked Kevin to move to a more private area or outside.
Yes, Kevin could have been less rude and understanding that perhaps the teacher didn't know who he was talking to, but both sides should have come to a clear understanding right away. The fact that the school obviously didn't and the other side is a seventeen-year-old teenager who was told to hang up on his mother, who he may never see or talk to again, should weigh heavily to the side of the student.
I hope they rethink their suspension and future policies, as the threat of further incursions abroad becomes clearer with this administration.
