A Question of Snowday Civility

Teaser:  Snow day sparks frigid phone volley between student and administrator's wife.  News at 11.  Or down the page a bit.

Three early truths, for what it's worth:

• Truth #1:  I was not involved, nor have inside information, about the following news story.  All I have access to are the same newspaper/web articles that everyone else has.
• Truth #2:  Jumping to conclusions is hard to avoid on this one. Heck, hard on any news story that grabs your attention.  Hence, the very definition of journalism (even if objectivity is often touted as the goal).
• Truth #3:  The big story itself holds about 5 seconds of real interest for me. Truth be told.  The story within the story, however, holds infinite interest for me.  This post only hints at that.  I'll leave you to consider your own opinions.

Did you hear the one about the kid who left a phone message on the answer machine of a district administrator to 'inquire' and 'complain' about the lack of a snow day in his Virginia school district after 3-ish inches of snow fell? 

Better yet, did you listen to (or read the transcripts of) the wife of the same administrator who left a message of her own on the student's voice mail that could be described as 'not too happy' at best?

Better yet, did you read what the district spokesman said about the student's decision to call:

"It's really an issue of kids learning what is acceptable and not acceptable. Any call to a public servant's house is harassment," Regnier said.

Harassment?  "Any call"?  By calling a "public servant"at home?  Really?  Really?  Bueller?

Funny. 

Maybe I live in a peculiar world as a private/independent school educator, but calls at night to the homes of school administrators -- and all teachers -- are just part of our reality.   Even when teaching in the past in public or charter schools, I never would have found it odd to have a student call me at home. 

"Any call" by a student to a "public servant" (aka "district administrator") = "harassment"? 

Really?

What do you think?

Note:  I am NOT speaking to the 'type' of message the student left.  I am only speaking to the 'fact' that the call itself was questioned.  Perhaps if the district spokesman had said, "Any harassing call to a public servant is harassment", I'd see a bit of logic in his statement. 

You?

Comments

[Ben Chun]

I found it interesting that, "The Associated Press left a message at one Virginia number listed for a Dean Tistadt; there was no answer at another number listed under the same name."

Is this also harassment? Or is that just regular reporting?

Now, if you're the superintendent of a large district and you have thousands of students or parents (or teachers for that matter) calling you at home about everything that's on their minds, that won't work just from a logistics point of view.

But from a maturity point of view... aren't we as adults supposed to teach by example, and hold ourselves to high standards of conduct? As shown by this example, digital technology will hold us accountable either way.

[Jenny]

Given that the student found the 'public servant's' phone number in the phone book, I find it hard to imagine this is harassment. If he had come about the number is some, more under-handed way, then I might be more sympathetic. His initial phone call seems perfectly reasonable to me. (Although, I do teach in this district and I don't think the schools should have closed, but that isn't really relevant.) If this family did not want phone calls from the general public they should have an unlisted number.