what is going on in this country?

I read a lot of weird news stories druing my couple hours a day surfing the web. I post a few of them when they really bother me, or I have something to say, but most of them just slip by. I just came across a story via Drudge Report today that sort of exemplifies my confusion and, to some extent, rage. As it turns out, an 11-year-old girl named Deirdre Faegre from West Covina, CA was suspended from school for doing the sorts of things that 11-year-old girls have always done: cartwheels and handstands. They're too dangerous, the officials at the school said, they asked her to stop, she didn't...so they suspended her.

Where has this idea come from where kids can't be kids at school anymore. There is always some story in the papers about a little boy being arrested for getting into a fight or some girl bringing a butter knife to the school lunchroom...the kind of stuff that just doesn't matter because they're damn kids. Why this sudden appeal to hold kids so accountable for the things kids do? What has happened to letting kids be kids and punishment like, I don't know, grounding or time outs or withholding of allowance or something? Or spanking? Ugh. And that doesn't even approach the innocent crap like playing on the playground which should be encouraged...but now suddenly is worthy of suspension.

Just one more weave in our handbasket to hell I guess.