Ah, now we're "disciplining disruptive children," are we? A good thing, i suppose. Otherwise they'll grow up into rude, potty-mouthed assholes like Dick Cheney. I actually work with kids, and have done so for a while. When a Principal, underpaid or overpaid, starts playing Offisa Pupp, ripping down banners and punishing miscreants for speech that's goofy but, on the whole, protected, they do it NOT to maintain "an environment conducive to learning," but rather to avoid rousing the (easily roused) rage of the local wowsers. Can you imagine the horror of being in charge, more or less, when one of the little darlings decides to test the limits of some stupid flag desecration law? Can you? Life is too short. I feel for the principal in the BHFJ case, but that doesn't mean I think she made the right decision.