(((Not Sure What To Think...School Admin's Wife Leaves Message On Teen's Phone re: Snow Day Call )))

[SPKrazy]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Qp4Bs-HeOFU


:shrug:

:rofl:

discuss

:popcorn:

[SPKrazy]

1. no thoughts? Here's some background on the tape...

the background on this story is

that this kid called and left a message on the school administrator's phone asking him why he didn't call a snow day somewhere in Virginia when they got 3 inches of snow.

His wife called the kid's cell phone and left this message.

[femmocrat]

2. I loved it!

She did go a little over the top, but I can totally understand her telling him to get over it and go to school!

Kids are way too pampered! LOL

[SPKrazy]

3. i kinda thought so too

:rofl:

[Dr. Strange]

9. Exactly! THREE INCHES?

Get yer ass outta bed kid!

[Flatline]

11. 3 inches PLEASE!!!!!!

In Michigan I have walked to school in more then 2 times that if not more depending...

[Maine-ah]

13. up hill both ways, barefoot by any chance?

:rofl:

(that's what my Dad, RIP, used to say)

The school district I went to always called off last, they still do. I'm in Maine so 3 inches is a dusting.

[Flatline]

14. With only a sweater mind you =) n/t

[SPKrazy]

15. 3 inches=dusting

in my book

[Flatline]

20. More like a sneeze ...n/t

[SPKrazy]

23. rofl

:spray:

:thumbsup:

[WolverineDG]

41. Are we related?

My dad used to say something like that: When I was your age, I had to walk to 10 miles to school in a blinding blizzard, uphill both ways.

I knew all but the walking to school part was BS because he grew up in San Antonio. :rofl:

dg

[SPKrazy]

43. mine did too

lived in the river bottoms of the Arkansas river in Oklahoma

flat as hell there too :rofl:

[pokerfan]

40. Paging SeattleGirl

I believe that three inches brings Seattle to a standstill.

[SPKrazy]

42. 3 inches would bring where i live to a standstill

but isn't Virginia a place where they get snow?

[pokerfan]

44. Portland, OR not much better (must see video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPE8vL5hlFA

[SPKrazy]

45. Zowza!

what a ride!

:scared:

[knitter4democracy]

47. I hear that. And it's not like the plows get to it.

Last week, it snowed a ton and was less than ten degrees out. Kids still walked, and school was still on.

[RoyGBiv]

4. Well, that explains things ...

I a'thinkin' he had ulterior motives in wanting to make sure he had somewhere to go that day.

[AwakeAtLast]

5. Wow! That is one angry person!

I think if that happened in my district there would be some serious questions for her!

[SPKrazy]

16. sure

i think there have been

[TZ]

6. Live in the area, VERY familiar with the story

Most people think the kid was out of line...especially since he posted the School Admin's HOME phone number on his web page.
I understand very well, the wife's frustration..Would you want to field phone calls from your SO work at home?

[SPKrazy]

7. the wife's frustration is understandable to me

and the kid calling the admin at home

there's a difference in today's kids

I wouldn't have thought of calling the administrator at home ever

:shrug:

[WolverineDG]

49. The extent of my involvement in any school admin's homelife

was putting "For Sale" signs in the super's front yard. One morning, there were several signs from different real estate agencies. :rofl:

dg

[knitter4democracy]

46. I field them all the time.

The only time I got upset was when a nurse called him at home because she didn't think he returned a page fast enough. I didn't know he had standing orders to try the home phone as backup, since it had never happened before, and when she snottily asked where he was, I got upset and told her to page him overhead at the hospital, since that's where he was. Ugh.

Still, not smart to rant and rave like that.

[HughBeaumont]

8. I know what to think.

They're BOTH in the wrong.

The kid shouldn't have called a school official's private number to address something as petty as a snow day. Sometimes administrators make unpopular decisions. That's something you have to live with, unfortunately. Look at it this way: pretty soon, HS will be over for him and missed snow days won't even be something you look back on.

But the way the wife handled the call was bullshit. It's called "picking your battles", woman. Because you chose to fly off the handle to a teenager over . . . an issue as unbelievably petty as a kid making a misguided decision, the entire world thinks you're an asshole. Her voice . . . DAMN. She just sounded ridiculous. When you're the spouse of a school official, you have to practice some kind of decorum.

[TZ]

10. Can I tell you...though...the kid is still relatively anonymous

His name is not been bandied about..YOu know protect the juvenile kind of thing..Although I hear he "defended" himself by bragging about having a 3.8 gpa blah blah...The wife though..for her moment of anger....Not only has this clip been played over and over..her picture and name are routinely shown on the news and now with their home phone plastered over the internet...I would imagine they have to change their number. The kid probably is enjoying his fame..while this woman is suffering a loss of privacy because of a momentary lapse in judgement..in other words..being human. Sorry but I think recording a phone call and playing it over the internet is very slimy behavior....and possibly illegal..There might be a harrassment case agaisnt the kid, which I think is well deserved.
Haven't you ever made an angry phone call you wish you could take back? I have.

[Malikshah]

21. She in no way flew off the handle.

She chastised an apparently ill mannered child and read him the riot act.

No profanity was used.

She didn't threaten him with public ridicule (something he couldn't appear to hold back from)

She is to be applauded.

[HughBeaumont]

24. Yes she did. She very much did.

Are you listening to the same phone call as I am? She most certainly did sound petulant and angry, which you can easily do without cursing.

Also, is she a school official? NO. Her husband should have handled this issue, not her. Student affairs are not really her matter, are they? I'm pretty sure he would have dealt with it more calmly and professionally than she did.

It's the same thing as my social worker wife's case subjects calling our personal residence or her cell, which they sometimes do and they're not supposed to (all calls are supposed to be directed to her office phone). How idiotic would I be if I got the numbers of one of these people and left an off-the-meds screamfest on their answering machine? And really, why would I want to? The RIGHT thing to do is let her handle it. After all, that IS her line of work, not mine.

[Midlodemocrat]

25. I agree with you. She's an idiot.

Last week, there were dozens of accidents because school wasn't called and there was tons of black ice on the roads. It was a recipe for diaster not to have at least a delay.

Frankly, if you don't want to be contacted by a student, remove your name from public listings. I think the wife is a jerk and a half.

[TZ]

27. It wasn't snowing when schools opened. Not ONE flake

The snow was heaviest between 10am and about 2pm. And the road crews were out in force.

[Midlodemocrat]

29. Regardless. As soon as it started, they should have called school.

Inexperienced drivers combined with snow is a recipe for disaster. Here, three years ago, the snow came down about 10, they didn't call school and by the time the elementary kids were ready to go home at 3:30, the buses were so bogged down, some kids didn't get home until after 7 o'clock. That's irresponsible.

[Malikshah]

31. Nope-- she did not.

Her husband should have handled the issue? What is this kind of patriarchal crap?

The kid called her home. He opened himself up in so doing.

It is not the same thing as social work in this instance by a long run.

She was completely professional.

[HughBeaumont]

32. Patriarchal?

What the hell does gender have to do with this?!?! He should have handled this because he is the school official, NOT HER. This has to do with occupation.

Unbelievable. And yes it IS the same thing, and she DOES sound like she needs anger management. You're bringing this up because your argument is flimsy at best.

[Malikshah]

36. At first read your argument is patriarchal. Now it appears as if someone

has issues with dressing down children who misbehave.

No anger management is needed for this woman. She was clearly upset but in control.

No threats were made. No profanity used.

A stranger calls my home due to my SO's job and misbehaves, I'd be the first to call back and give them what for. Then call their parents and give them a stern dressing down as well.

What would your solution be to the child's misbehavior? Reason with them? Give it a pass?

If so, I weep for the future.

[SPKrazy]

39. probably there is enough misbehavior to go around on this one

I would be all over my son's case if he did this

and the wife of the principal or whoever administrator apparently thought she could dress him down on his cell phone with no consequences.

We live in a world of technology, and less and less privacy.

in some ways I fear for our freedom because we take it away almost as fast as the government by our actions...

:hi:

[bbernardini]

12. I think a lot of people are missing something in the story...maybe I'm wrong.

I seem to recall reading that he actually made the call in the middle of the day, wondering why students were not being let out early due to heavy snows currently taking place at the time. Several students from the school got into accidents on the way home due to poor road conditions.

[SPKrazy]

19. dunno

[TZ]

22. If he did that......

Then he was definitely breaking school rules....No cell phone use during school except for emergencies.
And actually...The roads were at their worst during mid-day...They were better when schools let out in general, although the side streets were slippery. I drove in it that day...It wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.
But there are always people who drive too fast for the conditions and teenagers are very guilty of doing that.

[Malikshah]

17. Wow-- she was right on the money and justified. She didn't use

profanity in the clip and basically said nothing untoward.

It would be interesting to hear what the kid said on the phone.

Where were the kid's parents? Didn't they teach him any manners at all?

[SPKrazy]

18. good question

i never would have thought of calling the principal to complain and my parents would have had me for dinner had i done that

[Sanity Claws]

26. 3 inches of snow is very disruptive in places not used to snow

I used to live in Seattle and that much snow used to shut down the city. Really. It sounds bizarre to people who live in a snow zone but cities that don't normally get snow don't have snow plows or salters, so roads are very hazardous. Also, Seattle is very hilly, meaning cars and buses can't get up the hills and travel their normal routes. Is this part of Virginia hilly?
BTW, I think the woman overreacted. I also think the kid was out of line. But who's the adult here?

[TZ]

28. Fairfax county is not very hilly..its accross the river from DC

And we get snow every year. Sometimes we get a foot or two of snow.

[Midlodemocrat]

30. It's more an issue that here in VA, because the road crews

are far more limited, the schools need to be more proactive. When it snows badly here in Richmond, school is often cancelled for weeks because the road crews just aren't as large as they were when I lived in CT. No chains on buses either.

[FloridaJudy]

37. As it is here

The few times it snows in Florida, it's a complete disaster: trees fall, power-lines go down, pipes freeze. Neither the infrastructure nor the local species are adapted to that type of weather. Add to that that no one has snow tires, and that few long-time residents are accustomed to driving in icy conditions, and travel becomes extremely hazardous.

We don't even have "snow days" here, because they happen so rarely. We get "hurricane days" instead!

[knitter4democracy]

48. Because of budget cutbacks, our city doesn't plow as much lately.

The next county over can't plow on the weekends at all, so whatever fell and froze over the weekend is still there Monday morning. School's still on, regardless of the road conditions.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

33. I think, since the phone call was intended for her husband...

that she should not have gotten involved.

[HughBeaumont]

34. My point exactly!!

His occupation, his issue. It'd be the same thing as me getting involved with my wife's occasional calls from clients to our personal residence. She calmly tells them "all calls are to be directed to either my work cell or office phone" and that's the end of it. Not difficult.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

35. That's right...

I wonder how often she answers her husband's messages this way?

Yeah, the kid was out of line; but I can understand why ignorance would lead him to call the Superintendant at home instead of his office, as would be appropriate. After all, he's still a kid, with much to learn about protocol.

The wife's phone call was an embarrassment to her husband's position.

[SPKrazy]

38. another good point GOG

I can't help but laugh at the whole situation

I can't imagine ever having called my principal at home

but life is different today I guess

my son better not though

:hi: