Too Far.

by **dustn64** on Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:45 pm

This kid needs a break.

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

by **btownmeggy** on Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:54 pm

So ridiculous. Obviously no one should be answering phone calls during class. Why is this kid special?? Why is he above the basic regulations of order and politeness?

by **dustn64** on Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:01 pm

btownmeggy wrote:So ridiculous. Obviously no one should be answering phone calls during class. Why is this kid special?? Why is he above the basic regulations of order and politeness?

He should be able to answer his phone call from his father is in Iraq.

I personally believe that this situation is no different than missing a day of school to visit a sick family member while they could pass at any moment.

Would you miss work to go to see you parent or grandparent right after they had a heart attack? Or would you just hope that they made it through Okay and brush it off your shoulder?

by **btownmeggy** on Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:09 pm

dustn64 wrote:
btownmeggy wrote:So ridiculous. Obviously no one should be answering phone calls during class. Why is this kid special?? Why is he above the basic regulations of order and politeness?

He should be able to answer his phone call from his father is in Iraq.

I personally believe that this situation is no different than missing a day of school to visit a sick family member while they pass at any moment.

Would you miss work to go to see you parent or grandparent right after they had a heart attack? Or would you just hope that they made it through Okay and brush it off your shoulder?

My father lives very far away from me. He's a kindly, elderly man. He could die any time. I haven't seen him for months. So let's start a hypothetical: I'm sitting in a meeting at work. It would be acceptable for me to answer a cell phone call from him and start chatting? NO.

Now an alternative hypothetical. My father has a heart attack. I skip the meeting and go sit by his hospital bed. Socially acceptable? YES.

The situation you present is VERY different.

by **PLAYER57832** on Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:13 pm

While schools certainly need to be sure that students are not constantly interrupting class and that they are not doing drug deals or some such, there are always exceptions.

Maybe the mom could have/should have called the school in advance and maybe the boy could have taken the call in the principal's office or something.

If it were my kid ... I would keep him home, but I am here and can do that. Also, missing a few minutes of one class isn't the same as missing a whole day.

by **dustn64** on Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:19 pm

btownmeggy wrote:
dustn64 wrote:
btownmeggy wrote:So ridiculous. Obviously no one should be answering phone calls during class. Why is this kid special?? Why is he above the basic regulations of order and politeness?

He should be able to answer his phone call from his father is in Iraq.

I personally believe that this situation is no different than missing a day of school to visit a sick family member while they pass at any moment.

Would you miss work to go to see you parent or grandparent right after they had a heart attack? Or would you just hope that they made it through Okay and brush it off your shoulder?

My father lives very far away from me. He's a kindly, elderly man. He could die any time. I haven't seen him for months. So let's start a hypothetical: I'm sitting in a meeting at work. It would be acceptable for me to answer a cell phone call from him and start chatting? NO.

Now an alternative hypothetical. My father has a heart attack. I skip the meeting and go sit by his hospital bed. Socially acceptable? YES.

The situation you present is VERY different.

Then again, your father does not have a very high chance of being killed instantly by a road side bomb or stray bullet.

No you shouldn't just shoot the wind while sitting in the meeting, but if you might not speak to him after the day is over I would assume that you would take all the chances you could.

by **Neoteny** on Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:27 pm

I think this is a bit ridiculous. A state institution shouldn't be giving some kids concessions over others, for example, based on their dad's job.

by **btownmeggy** on Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:37 pm

dustn64 wrote:Then again, your father does not have a very high chance of being killed instantly by a road side bomb or stray bullet.

No you shouldn't just shoot the wind while sitting in the meeting, but if you might not speak to him after the day is over I would assume that you would take all the chances you could.

You haven't told me what makes this kid's behavior truly excusable. Everyone has a chance of being instantly killed. Let's talk on the phone to parents with cancer, who commute on highways, who are electricians, who are clumsy and liable to trip over their own shoelaces and crush their skulls on the sidewalk all schoolday long? No!

My 70 year old father is more likely to die within the the next day than this boy's 35 year old soldier father. But I can't just completely disregard everyone around me for the chance to chat with him.

It's ridiculous to think that students should be able to talk on their cell phones during class and nobody would be the worse off for it. In 45 minutes he would have had a break between classes. In three hours he'd have had lunch or been off school for the day.

I'd like to make one more point: IT'S A SUSPENSION! He wasn't hanged. He wasn't expelled. He didn't even fail his class. IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL. Jingoistic hypocrisy has its reasonable outcries, but this is not one.

by **InkL0sed** on Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:42 pm

Why is this in the news? I don't give a f*ck. :roll:

by **reminisco** on Wed Apr 16, 2008 9:04 pm

InkL0sed wrote:Why is this in the news? I don't give a f*ck.

because it's FOX

by **InkL0sed** on Wed Apr 16, 2008 9:17 pm

reminisco wrote:
InkL0sed wrote:Why is this in the news? I don't give a f*ck.

because it's FOX

Or maybe because we should defend our right to answer our cellphones!

by **reminisco** on Wed Apr 16, 2008 9:19 pm

Ink, tearin' up the threads!

by **InkL0sed** on Wed Apr 16, 2008 9:23 pm

reminisco wrote:Ink, tearin' up the threads!

I appreciate a good pun. Thank you, remi =D>

by **Frigidus** on Wed Apr 16, 2008 11:00 pm

Perhaps he was in the wrong but a suspension over something that piddly? Garbage. More of the usual when it comes to public education.

by **Ditocoaf** on Wed Apr 16, 2008 11:04 pm

He shouldn't have answered his cell in class. Skipping school to meet him would be one thing, but a phone call takes place inside of class. While a suspension might have been a bit overboard, what's even more overboard is making a news article out of it. Way to go, network news!

by **Hologram** on Thu Apr 17, 2008 12:47 am

I don't know what this kid did, but I would've handled it as follows:

Dad calls
I look at the name (as the phone should be on vibrate and not bothering anyone) quickly and realize who it is.
I excuse myself from the room
I answer the call
I return after the call and explain myself to the teacher.

The school was in the right for going after him
The kid was in the right for wanting to talk to his dad who might not get a chance to talk to him for a long while
The closest fault I can find is with the mother who probably didn't tell the dad that his son was in class, but then, it might have been the only time he had a chance to make an overseas phone call.

by **DirtyDishSoap** on Thu Apr 17, 2008 2:46 am

btownmeggy wrote:
dustn64 wrote:
btownmeggy wrote:So ridiculous. Obviously no one should be answering phone calls during class. Why is this kid special?? Why is he above the basic regulations of order and politeness?

He should be able to answer his phone call from his father is in Iraq.

I personally believe that this situation is no different than missing a day of school to visit a sick family member while they pass at any moment.

Would you miss work to go to see you parent or grandparent right after they had a heart attack? Or would you just hope that they made it through Okay and brush it off your shoulder?

My father lives very far away from me. He's a kindly, elderly man. He could die any time. I haven't seen him for months. So let's start a hypothetical: I'm sitting in a meeting at work. It would be acceptable for me to answer a cell phone call from him and start chatting? NO.

Now an alternative hypothetical. My father has a heart attack. I skip the meeting and go sit by his hospital bed. Socially acceptable? YES.

The situation you present is VERY different.

Alright come on now, one, hes a kid, two, its his dad...in Iraq...Fighting a war...A kids dad in Iraq getting shot at...Would have i answered my phone in the middle of the class knowing my father rarely has a chance to speak with me being on the otherside of the world, and at anytime could simply just dissapear away from my life at that age? f*ck yes...Come on now, no offense but grow a brain, stop thinking about yourself and think of this childs mental stabability fully knowing what might to happen to his father. You fuckin disgust me.

by **Nobunaga** on Thu Apr 17, 2008 5:43 am

... I have to side with the kid on this one.

... But perhaps he could have excused himself from class for a few minutes, as difficult as that might be.

...

by **nagerous** on Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:08 am

I've seen kids in a classroom do much more things wrong than answer a phone call, such as call the teacher a "fucking cunt" by example.

by **MeDeFe** on Thu Apr 17, 2008 7:00 am

If you read the article you will notice that it was the son who wanted to talk to his father, his mother arranged for his dad to call him. They could easily have arranged for a call at a more opportune time, like half an hour later when class would have been over. That said, if there's a no-phones policy in class (which I completely support, few things are worse than a cell-phone going off while you're trying to pay attention to the lecturer of there's a discussion going on) and the stated penalty is suspension, well, suck it up to the family. You didn't follow the rules and not even for a good reason, deal with the consequences.

by **Hologram** on Thu Apr 17, 2008 10:27 pm

I digress a little, but I think cell phones should be confiscated upon entering the school. I wouldn't mind them so much if it was just the occasional ring, most people are smart enough to silence their phones, and the rest don't receive calls enough to be it too much of a distraction. But the constant text messaging annoys the hell out of me. I mean seriously, just shut the f*ck up. You can go an hour and a half without holding a conversation with someone, it's not that hard. No wonder people have problems being quiet for long periods of time, because even when their put in a situation where they can't talk, they're still talking in a matter of speaking! It's fucking retarded.

I've entertained notions of wanting the draft to be instituted for all high school graduates/dropouts to instill some fucking discipline in today's youth.

/rant

by **reminisco** on Thu Apr 17, 2008 10:36 pm

the question i have mostly has to do with WHAT THE F*CK WOULD THE KID HAVE DONE WITHOUT A FUCKING CELL PHONE?

fucksakes. i grew up when beepers were novel. and only doctors or drug dealers had them.

i'm sorry, but i have very little sympathy. talk about a spoiled brat depending too much on fucking technology.

it's tough having a dad off at war. but hey, i know what that's like. and i didn't have a goddamn cell phone.

fucking pansy ass bitch. grow a pair, and read a letter from your dad and pray he comes home okay same as the rest of us did.

sorry if this sounds insensitive. i'm drunk. so, apologies in advance. but fucksakes.

by **strike wolf** on Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:01 am

I say school and the mother. The school should have been more understanding about the kid's situation and the mother should have confirmed that it was going to be alright before telling the father to call.

by **wrestler1ump** on Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:53 pm

I don't care what the excuse is. So long as it's not an emergency NO CELL PHONES IN CLASS. How many times does a teacher have to say this before they need to resort to suspensions so that students will actually listen? This case was not an emergency, and it just sounds to me like the school is really cracking down on cell phone usage, which I appreciate. He's disrupting a class of students and a teacher by thinking he has the right to talk on his cell phone during class.