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Is this a little OTT?; thats Over The Top
Topic Started: February 25, 2009, 7:26 pm (172 Views)
Silverwing Wolf
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Cybernetic Wolf
FEBRUARY 17--A 14-year-old Wisconsin girl who refused to stop texting during a high school math class was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, according to police. The teenager was busted last Wednesday at Wauwatosa East High School after she ignored a teacher's demand that she cease texting. The girl, whose name we have redacted from the below Wauwatosa Police Department report, initially denied having a phone when confronted by a school security officer. However, the phone was located after the girl was frisked by a female cop. The Samsung Cricket, the police report noted, was recovered "from the buttocks area" of the teenager. The student was issued a criminal citation for disorderly conduct, which carried "a bail of $298," and had her phone confiscated. The girl, who was barred from school property for a week, is scheduled for an April 20 court appearance on the misdemeanor rap

4 Page Police Report

Ok texting in class is bad enough, the phone could of been confisgated, and the kids perants brought it...but to involve the police! AND going to Court? THAT IS JUST NUTS

If that was to happen in the UK it would of been thrown out, and the teacher arrested and charged for wasting police time.
IF the girl was abusive and threatend then yes the cuse to call the police would of been just but beacuse the girl refused to stop texting?

what do you guys think? Is this OTT or what?
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Blue Phoenix
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i'd probably side with the authorities on this one. The officer said the girl "is known to me and the administration based on prior negative contacts." which tells us a lot.

There's a problem in this country where the pendulum has swung too far toward letting people disrupt their communities and not follow the rules. What was the school to do? Texting is the same as talking during class; PLUS you can pass answers during tests. Pay attention to the teacher and be glad you're being handed an education.

Okay, so she was told to stop texting and refused. Then she refused to give up her phone. What was the teacher to do? Lose control of her class? Let people do what they want and waste the time of those who want to learn? Then don't come to class if you don't want to participate! Problem solved!

The school has strict rules to follow when dealing with minors, and at some point there's nothing else they can do but expell the student or charge them legally. Which way it goes is a judgment call of the school; they must have thought her bad behavior has gone on way too long, and we don't know what other incidents the girl had been involved in.

When there's nothing else to be done, the police are involved. The kid then has serious problems to deal with and the parents must either control their child or let someone else take over. Where i live, such kids go before a Juvenile Review Board where they have their butts handed to them; they either do whatever punishment/community service it takes to show they've improved or they end up with a jail record.

Lying to the police repeatedly and sticking a phone down her butt crack did NOT help her case! LOL!



What do you think should have been done to stop the girl, Silver?

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Silverwing Wolf
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Well Here unfortunetly there is too many laws and rule protecting kids under 16, so that makes them feel imune to the law they can do what they want so here the police and teachers have little to no control.

However there have been issues where kids as young as 5 - 8 have ben cought with a blade or alchol or even drugs into school. That is differnt they still think they cant get arrested but they are beacuse they know excaterly what they are doing.

In this case, The teacher could of told the girl to stay, use teh secutiry gaurd as back up incase she dose become violent, kepte her there until her perants arrived exculde or suspend her from school activites such as filed trips ect, give her detention, keep her seperate from the rest of the class during class time in another room. Let her perants deal with her and disopline her.

And becuse now girls are attached to their cells, take the sim card and battery out of the hand set right infront of the class and her as a further punishment.

I belive getting the police would be the last resort, it would just be taking up valubale police time and officers off the street.
The school went too far for something like this it dosent seem to be a police matter that the kid refused to stop texting.
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Blue Phoenix
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Letting the teen stay in the classroom and continue the behavior sends a message of helplessness to the others in class. (i think the teacher DID leave the kid in the classroom, btw. The Resource Officer arrived as the bell to change class rung.) And if she had cooperated at any point things would have gone much better for her, i think. She HAS been in trouble before, the principal decided to put his foot down this time.

Once the teacher loses control, further problems develop with other borderline kids who think it's cool as long as they can't be punished. The teacher couldn't physically search the teen or even struggle with her for the phone if she tried to take it from the girl's hands, only police or physicians can touch a minor. And if you refuse a police officer's commands, then you open yourself to other charges that won't just go away because the parents want them to.

In my son's high school you are to leave your phone in your locker (locked up) because if it's heard or seen during a class it will be confiscated. But they know many kids have them, both of mine do. Most parents work and this is a way to know where they are until everyone gets home again. If something went wrong and i needed to find them in a hurry, i'd be glad i'd paid that damn monthly bill, lol.

i agree, it was a very extreme measure, but occasionally it happens. The police should be a last resort, and rarely used, but the school has their hands tied and they have a right to have THEIR time respected too, with the same going for the other students' time.

Did you know that (in New Jersey at least) there is usually an officer posted in the school every day? (This is the School Resource Officer who first talked to the girl.) They talk to the kids, help them come to the conclusion that the police are good guys and valuable friends when they need help, and stop the bad kids from bullying and dispensing drugs, etc. Even in the younger grades they teach the DARE program (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) to empower the kids to make wise decisions. There have been less problems with drugs, alcohol, gangs and violence in the schools because of it.

http://www.dare.com/home/default.asp

Now, i'm usually on the side of the underdog, especially from having BEEN a student but never having been a teacher, lol, but if my teen was in that class i would want to know why that girl had been allowed to disturb the class for so long! Call the principal down and take her out of class and let HIM deal with her, including calling the police.

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Silverwing Wolf
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Unfortunetly that is considered "not of the highest priority" for our police force, altho some schools have requested and even gone as far as paying for it out of their own pocket.
But sadly with all the crime kids are getting into here some person says its still not needed.

Here Kids DO have too much power, so somthing like this would be classed as "a breach of their human rights"

and now even kids as young as 6 are getting cell phones so its becomming a uncontrolable situation. You can only say no cells in the class, but you cant enforce it
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Blue Phoenix
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that's a shame, Silver. i've come to believe that the USA is "behind" what other countries have accomplished in some ways, but i'm glad this isn't one of them.

oh, there are abuse allegations on both sides, and yes, sometimes a school will abuse it's power or a family will take advantage of a situation, but for the most part i think these laws are doing well.

in my sons' high school, even though they had a no-drug tolerance in place, last year at a big evening event, a bunch of kids got drunk and disrupted the fun of the evening (to the extent that one kid had to throw up, he had drunk so much!). At that point, the Board of Education consulted their lawyer and asked the principal to send out a letter saying every student and their parent must sign a form that if their child was suspected of drinking, the chaperone could perform a breathalyzer on the spot, or they couldn't attend school functions outside of class time.

...and me, bigmouth that i am, made sure everyone i knew understood i was behind the proper and respectful application of this rule. The Bd of Ed included this discussion in their next meeting, and the rule passed.

Now, this was in addition to the ruling already in place that our sports teams (and we have a LOT of kids in sports) already knew they were subject to drug testing at any time, and so are the schools we play against. I'm all for that too.

i'm not saying our school is perfect, because i can see that there are still drugs in the school, and i know teachers/students get stupid or abusive, but the school keeps improving where it can.

It boggles my mind that some countries are so progressive while others are very backwards and some have even gone TOO FAR with all sorts of issues, lol. Taxation WITH representation gets boggled down sometimes... :lol

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Silverwing Wolf
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random drug testing on KIDS for sports? that sounds a little extream?
are they talking about High School senior to College Freshman age or High School freshman onwards?

your lucky you have kids wanting sports willingly, here many schools are worried about getting sued over a slight bump or gaze from the kids perants, many sports here that ARE hard contact (like rugby or soccor) and the pitches they are played on now have to pass a "Health and Safty" test or it cant be used

Im sure if some H&S boffin went over there and saw kids, young kids about 8 or so, getting body slammed in (American) Football, or Ice Hocky they would just pass out.

here we NEED to teach the perants that kids will get hurt in a playground all the time, and beacuse of the threat or risk of being sued, many schools have toned down sporting events, canceled filed trips and now is it any wonder UK kids are getting fat?, we are now a "cotten wool" nation we dont even let kids go out anymore incase something happens to them.

Maybe we SHOULD take a leaf out of the US book and realise we can protect kids and let them BE kids at the same time. Rather then force them to skip the next 5 years of their childhood and become adults befor they can even drive or vote.


Sorry kinda ranted there
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Blue Phoenix
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sokay, it's interesting to see the differences between our countries.

i'm talking about high schoolers, 9th through 12th grades, about ages 14 through 18. there ARE drugs in schools, and sports are watched carefully. kids in sports where a diff weight puts you in a diff class (like wrestling) are prone to diuretics and weight loss products to keep their weight down just before a meet. kids where you have to be solid (like American football) or fast and strong (like baseball) tend to have a problem with steroids, which put muscle on you fast. and screw up your body. i know of a 20-yr-old who died from too much of that, the son of a neighbor.

you gotta be F*ing stupid to get involved with drugs of ANY kind, but it happens. and it's very profitable. :(

i'm not a fan of football, i've heard of too many serious injuries across the country. But from what i hear, your rugby is absolutely nuts!

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Silverwing Wolf
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It is ive seen guys get taken off the pitch by stretcher, and one world cup the match had to be abandoned beacuse one of the players was knocked so hard he was unconisuios some even thought he was dead!
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Blue Phoenix
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i've never seen a rugby game. i'd like to, just to know if it's as 'rugged, virile and manly' (LOL! i.e. dangerous!) as i'm told.

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Silverwing Wolf
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let me put it this way Blue, if a NFL team was up agenst a Rugby team...they will be BLESSING their body padding, the rugby players are all mussle and can knock the wind out of you in one tackle.

So in a way yes, but many girls and women only watch it for the big guys in the tight shorts...its TRUE!!
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Blue Phoenix
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...and where can i get a season's pass for this game...? ;)



like your new quote, btw.

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Silverwing Wolf
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Oh im sure you can get one somewhere....dont some americans play rugby now?

Thanks its from a game i have and i do quite like it
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