Dad calls from Iraq, son gets suspended

by Roger Sinasohn (Subscribe to Roger Sinasohn's posts) Apr 16th 2008 2:02PM

Categories: Teens & tweens, Just For Dads, Fun & Activities, Education, Gadgets & Tech

Master Sgt. Morris Hill is serving his country in Iraq, a long way away from his beloved sons back in Texas. Luckily, these days, we have the means for people on opposite sides of the planet to talk to each other in real time, almost without regard to where they actually are. We have cell phones.

Unfortunately, the only time Hill could call his son Brandon was during the school day -- a time when students are generally forbidden from using their cell phones. It would seem, however, that this situation would count as extraordinary circumstances and an exception could be made, but administrators disagree. Brandon was suspended for taking the call.

"He called me during class, because that's the only time that he could," Brandon said. "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." Brandon was sent to the office and given a two-day suspension.

The odd part is that the father had apparently made an arrangement in advance with the assistant principal to allow his sons to receive calls from him. "He had spoken with Mr. Fletcher," said Pat Hill, the boys' mother. "He thought there was an agreement understood that if he called either Joshua or Brandon at school, that everything was fine."

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

Mrs. Hill is trying to get the suspension removed from her son's record, but the school says the matter is closed. Whether or not you support the United States' actions overseas, you've got to understand that the soldiers are doing their job and that they and their families are still people -- people who care very much about each other and have a need to stay in contact. It seems to me that the school could be more understanding on that point.

Source

Comments (1321)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 67)

eugene 4-16-2008 @ 2:11PM

This makes perfect sense to me. School officials and administrators have made it clear that they think they know what's best for our children so why wouldn't they have higher regard for the sanctity of a classroom environment over re-affirming the bond between a father and child.

Rosie 4-18-2008 @ 6:40AM

This school needs to be suspended. What's the matter with them?
Where are THEIR priorities? Do they have a loved in in the military?
Fight this nonsense!
rosie

Paul 4-18-2008 @ 7:08AM

Suspend the teacher, asst. principal, and principal...Send them to Iraq, andf ban them from calling home.
Better yet, assign them to the same unit this boy's da is in.
I get more disgusted each day with these so-called authority figures who throw their weight around.
Is it any wonder a good number of us have "problems with authority figures".
Get your heads out of your administrators butts, and DO WHAT IS RIGHT. There is no substitute for common sense.

kara 4-18-2008 @ 7:16AM

Are you kidding me? The school system pretends to put the children first but in actuality, it is a BUSINESS! Taking a phone call from a parent, serving our country, should be an exception to the rule. What if the shoe was on the other foot? I am SURE the school would patch through a phone call from a loved one for the teacher. If you read the article even further, he was walking out of class when he answered the phone and was approached by a teacher. COME ON! The kids shouldn't suffer for having a parent who chose to serve our country. Lighten up!

nancy 4-18-2008 @ 7:47AM

As a parent of two young children,I tend to be more organized.Brandon's parents should have made other arrangements with the schools administrators,for him to accept a phone call directly at the school where he attends!I have two brothers serving in the military,there are other ways of staying in touch with loved ones. Children these days are computer savvy. Don't have a computer,try the Library!In all fairness Brandon should have put his cell on VIBRATE,then at an appropriate time, answer the call.Common sense goes a long way.

michael 5-12-2008 @ 7:33AM

i think you and the school officials need to pull your collective heads out of your asses the kids father is doing his job in a place where he could easily nerver be heard from again if the boys father can only call at that time then the boys should be allowed to take the call on thier cell phones

B. 4-18-2008 @ 7:55AM

My husband is in Iraq and does not need to call our child during the school day. What about the many other students with deployed parents who don't have to have special attention from the school? What makes these kids so special? They know the rules.

Sarah 4-18-2008 @ 8:06AM

the goverment [ if it does not step in ~~and persuade THE HIGH
SCHOOL PRINCIPAL TO LIFT THE SUSPENSION - THE BONDING
OF FATHER [[[SERVING IN IRAQ \ and A N O B L E Son ---then
THE Bonding CONTRACT >>>BETWEEN THE Master SARGEANT &
THE Goverment is NULL AND VOID --AND THE Soldier should be HONOURABLY Released from SERVING IN I R A Q }

Pamela 4-18-2008 @ 8:15AM

I am sorry, but whether you are in an area with a military base or not, we are in the middle of a war. War does not allow for a parent to stop what they are doing and call at an 'appropriate' time. Anyone that cannot understand this is beyond ignorant. This school should retract the suspension, regardless if the parent had prior arrangements or not. I am sure that everyone that knows this student, knows his father is involved in battle. Every situation is different when it comes to school discipline. I think our educators need to stop treating every case under a blanket policy, and start treating students as individuals, taking circumstance into consideration. This is a perfect example of why. My prayers and best wishes go out to this family. I hope this soldier makes it home safely, and I hope this student understands that not everyone in this country is as ignorant as these school officials and the morons that posted such comments to support such an obviously poor judgement as these school officials have made.

kathleen santos 4-18-2008 @ 8:27AM

Where do I write to. What is being done to have this principal fired? They can't go this far. It didn't sound like a daily event. The shame of our social system that would allow this principal to go unpunished

Dora 4-18-2008 @ 8:29AM

To Eugene... a few questions, do you have any family member serving overseas, a son, a daughter, anyone? I can guarantee you that if anyone on that school board, any teacher, any member of the faculity would take a call from their father, son, daughter or mother on their cell phone during class time. If they couldnt take it personally then i am sure the call would have gone to the office and the teacher or administration staff would have been called down to the office to take the call. and as for your comment about them knowing whats best for our children and over - affirming a bond between a father and son.... the only way i think i can put this so you will not misunderstand what people think of you and your comment.. IS YOUR AN ASS!!!

stuabaptis 4-18-2008 @ 8:49AM

Schools and these "know-it-all" administrators have gotten out of hand with their so called disciplines. My son was also suspended because I txt him during his break to let him know that I would be a little late picking him up and to not walk home. His cell-phone was confiscated and he was suspended and kept after school that day. Needless to say, when i arrived to pick him up and he wasn't where we agreed to meet I was panicked and called his cell phone with no answer increasing my panick. By the time that I found out he was kept late at school and got into argument with the office that these types of emergencies are the reasons kids are allowed to have cell phones in school the refused to budge. They tried telling me that the cell phone would be returned at the end of the school year and I had to go to the school board to force the issue of having a cell phone that I pay for every month returned.

Doug 4-18-2008 @ 9:14AM

This is absurd and elitist. This is an case of an extraordinary circumstance. Our country was built upon men of honor serving their country, and this notion of service (not just to one's country, but in many other aspects) has completely gone by the wayside. This man is protecting the very rights and freedom that these school officials possess in order to provide the very freedom of speech and freedom to educate this boy in the first place. They possess the ability - the freedom of choice - to make exceptions based on their personal judgement, not dictated by their government, and they completely are missing that very point in not even removing the suspension from the boy's record.

Natalie 4-18-2008 @ 9:08AM

Eugene, normally I don't make it a point to respond to comments such as yours on the internet. Generally I would just blame your heartlessness and thoughtlessness on bitterness and ignorance, but this time I'll make an exception. Nothing is more important than your family and the ones you love. Nothing. Taking a phone call from your father who is stationed in Iraq, a call that at any point in time could be his last, is much more important than anything going on in a classroom. Sure, education is important! But at the cost of a last "I love you", a last "good-bye"? Hell no! We are in a war and our soldiers don't have the luxury of talking to their children any time of the day. One last thing, it doesn't matter if you support the war or not but it does matter if you support our troops. They are real people with wives, kids, anniversaries, birthdays, best friends, memories, a great laugh, favorite restaurants, a loyal pet, lawns that need to be mowed...They are missing all of that! Thank God we have men and women like them to protect and serve for our country so the rest of us can continue life as usual. I am a proud upcoming graduate from a top rated university and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to complete my degree. Some of my friends weren’t so lucky and were deployed while in school. Some of my friends weren’t so lucky and lost a family member. Put yourself in a different pair of shoes…

And ps Nancy - you can’t control everything!

Jim 4-18-2008 @ 8:54AM

Schools in our country are teaching our children how to be cold hearted. This could be one of the key problems with our youth today. Family comes first period! When a school forces our children that there are no exceptions to any rules in life, it leads to hostile and angry personalities. This country sure has changed. The more we move forward in society the less consideration and compassion we show for others. Where is the love?
The school should really be ashamed of their actions. This childs father is serving our country to keep all of us safe from a leadership that has total control over ones life. God Bless America home of the free and the brave. Bullshit!

Hagan 4-18-2008 @ 8:55AM

I think this is terrible. If it wasn't for his dad and people like him, we couldn't have classes at all. This younster needs to be reinstated and the ones responsible need to be named and reprimanded.

pennydaredevil 4-18-2008 @ 9:00AM

Mr. Fletcher

Ron 4-18-2008 @ 9:08AM

Eugene,

I disagree with your assessment that it makes perfect sense. I admit it does make sense in the vast majority of cases, however, one of the reasons that we have administrators and not just a policy manual is to make intelligent exceptions. An acrooss the board policy with absolutely no exceptions accomplishes only one thing - it keeps those in charge from having to think. If there ever was a case for an exception this is a strong one. What happens if a child's parents were in an automobile accident and are in a life-threatening condition? Is it right to suspend the child for taking that kind of call? That's what would happen with a policy of no exceptions.

Cynthia Fryar 4-18-2008 @ 9:42AM

Apparently not only is "Dr." Carol Saxenian is not only in the wrong job..

She is a coward as well who hides from her own actions.

SHAME SHAME SHAME

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Miriam 4-18-2008 @ 10:02AM

To all you people getting angry with Eugene-it's called sarcasm people!

As for this story, it seems there may be quite a few details left out. That said, I cannot think of a single piece of information that could possibly have made the suspension an acceptable response. This child's family should definitly pursue legal actions against this school.