Student suspended for Answering Call in Class

[gamerfreak]

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

[azianai]

smooth move. Its morons like that principle that makes our country look like crap.

[OcciferFriendly]

Zero tolerance can only be applied in the absence of common sense.

[WhiteEagle]

The young person got suspended for answering his cell in class. Good for the school (even if the call is from a parent unless emergency). What's the boy doing with his cellphone in the classroom anyways? Common sense dictates to keep it locked up during classes, not to have it on you.

[screwballl]

I see both sides of the situation....
The school has the rules it needs to enforce.
On the other side if that is the only time the child has to speak with his father such as this case, let them talk. If need be, put the teacher on the phone to verify who it is and let them step out into the hallway.

In a time when parents are on deployment to a battle zone, rules such as this need to be relaxed and modified. Abuse of the rule can bar that specific student from having a cell phone in class.

[MantaBase]

My policy in college in my classes would be to kick you out of class for that. Now, if I was told in advance about the situation - that would be different. And students did tell me in advance. As long as they didn't seem to be doing it all the time - then I had no problem (they could take it quietly in the hall).

Students these days seem to feel that it is their right to use a cell phone in class. If you don't lay down the law and stick to it, they will walk all over you. I actually had a student dial out on a cell phone in a class. I stopped class for her. For some reason that offended her.

Ya know what? She never used her cell phone again.

I think suspension was a bit much in this case. But I don't know all the details. Personally, I think they need a cell phone jammer at all schools. FOr a few hundred years we've been fine without them in schools. Why do we need them now?

Manta

[PrOLifIC_onE]

I have to agree with Manta. There are rare occasions that, with notice, it would be acceptable and we simply don't know all the details here. Suspension may be a bit much, but if you let it go, many of the students at that school will start saying they are stressed out and they are waiting for a call from their parent that is in Iraq/Afgan.

[One4yu2c]

I agree. I know it's easy to focus on the father being a solider in Iraq, which tends to pull at the heart-strings (especially on HardwareLogic, where we have a large community of ex military and those currently serving), but where does the school draw the line where it's unacceptable to use a cell phone during class? In my mind, unless it's an emergency, it doesn't come out of your pocket/backpack. It's disruptive, breaks the flow of the lesson plan, and not fair to the teacher or the other students.

Suspension? Maybe a warning or detention would have been better served, but that's their call. A zero-tolerance policy means it's a zero-tolerance policy. There are a lot of students across the country with fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters serving in Iraq, and unless there's an extenuating (and pre-approved) circumstance, find another time to chat. That, or suck up the suspension, shrug it off, and say "well, it was worth it. But next time, I'll rush out to the bathroom to answer my phone."

[screwballl]

there is the key statement at the end of the story:

And when his mother, Patricia Hill, tried to contact school officials, she received no response until her son’s story garnered media attention. The matter has since been resolved, Patricia Hill said, but she added that more must be done to protect children around the country from being punished in similar circumstances.

[NoctisReitop]

Maybe I'm missing something here, but did he simply answer the phone in class and proceed to have the conversation in class? Or did he connect the call / answer it briefly before running out of the room?