SCHOOL POLICY: Calls for concern?
By CHRIS J. KRISINGER
05/13/2005
From the instant the cell phone rang in the hallway of Spencer High School in Columbus, Ga., last week, officials seemed to be in an awkward position. A 17-year-old junior, Kevin Francois, was violating established policy banning cell phone use on campus during school time, but - here's the twist - it was his mother on the line, a soldier from nearby Fort Benning calling from Iraq.
When a teacher told him to hang up, Francois refused. A heated exchange followed, and he was escorted to the principal's office, where assistant principals tried to calm him down. School officials subsequently suspended Francois for 10 days, not for cell phone use, but for his "defiant and disorderly" behavior during the emotionally charged, profanity-laced confrontation with school administrators.
After the incident hit the news wires, hundreds of angry e-mails and phone calls to the school followed. At one point, the situation got so bad that the school reportedly took its phones off the hook. Following a meeting involving the boy, his guardian and school officials, the school district reduced the suspension to three days. He's now back in school.
So far, coverage of and commentary about the incident have portrayed school officials as the "bad guys." School administrators appeared insensitive and heavy-handed for not making an exception to established policy because it was his mom, Sgt. 1st Class Monique Bates, calling from Iraq. The teenager has been quoted as saying, "I was right by not hanging up my phone," and the public's reaction has appeared sympathetic and forgiving of his unruly behavior.
Hold the phone. This episode of "U.S. Modernity 2005" is worth a few rollover minutes of further discussion. It's more complex than "For God's sake, it's 'Mom' calling from Iraq," and the school's position deserves more attention, if for no other reason than that, one way or another, this cell phone call is coming to a school near you.
Cell phones are a major issue on high school and college campuses. Policies adopted by many schools, including the one in Columbus, allow students to have cell phones on campus, but they must be turned off during school hours.
The rule applies basic common sense to the challenges of preserving instructional time, avoiding distraction and maintaining classroom decorum. It's applied with the same "zero tolerance" approach taken with drugs and weapons. Making one exception risks "death by a thousand paper cuts."
Kevin Francois is not the first teenager forced to cope with a military parent's overseas deployment to a combat zone - post 9/11 or otherwise - but he may be among a very few nearly arrested because of it.
Consider that more than 3,700 other students from military families are enrolled in the Muscogee school district serving Fort Benning, an Army post that has been sending troops to Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001. Under its well-understood policy, Spencer High School students are to take personal calls from overseas military parents in school offices, not classrooms or halls.
Is Francois' mother's tour in Iraq so out-of-the-ordinary that an exception should have been made for her cell phone call? What about another family member in Iraq; a cousin, say, or an uncle? Do they all merit exceptions, too?
All of which leads to a final point: What about Kevin Francois' behavior? What about the profanity and defiance he directed at school personnel? Is he not accountable for his actions? (Remember, his suspension was not for using the cell phone.)
Each of us, at various points in our life, will encounter crises - bad news, a disappointment, a decision that doesn't go our way - in school, business, career or health. Our responses reveal our character.
What's really the best way for schools to handle cell phone calls like Francois'? How should students, families, school officials and even the public react next time? Because there will be a next time, whether it involves a parent in Iraq or something else.
It might be worth a call to talk it over with someone.
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Air Force Col. Chris J. Krisinger is the father of two teenage boys. A Midwesterner who transferred from Scott Air Force base earlier this year, he currently is stationed at the Pentagon. The views expressed here are his alone and do not represent government policy.
