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Local 6.com Central Florida November 12, 2004 11-year-old
Girl Suspended for ‘Dangerous’ Cartwheels at School An
11-year-old girl in West Covina, Calif., was suspended from her school from
doing "dangerous" cartwheels and hand stands during lunch time,
according to a Local 6 News report. Deirdre
Faegre, who is a Student of the Month at San Jose-Edison Academy in West Covina
was dismissed from the school this week after school authorities warned her for
the last time to stop doing gymnastic stunts during lunchtime. Administrators
at the school said they were concerned about safety of their students. They
said gymnastics on the playground creates an unsafe situation. "I
thought they were absolutely weird, because I see other kids playing baseball
and soccer and I think that's more dangerous than gymnastics," Faegre said.
Deirdre's
parents are giving the school's actions a failing grade. The family says they'll
continue to stand by their daughter. "I
don't think they care about the children at all," father Leland Faegre
said. "What sort of a parent or administrator would ever enforce a rule
that would proscribe a child from using her arms and her legs? We have got to
fix this mess because we have to let children be children." Her
parents said they will home school Deirdre until they find a more
"reasonable" school. 'Cartwheel cops'
suspend student
Reuters--Cartwheels and handstands have gotten an 11-year-old girl temporarily bounced out of her Los Angeles-area school. Deirdre Faegre has been suspended for a week after repeatedly disobeying school officials, who told her not to perform gymnastic stunts during lunchtime. "Our first concern is the safety of all children," San Jose-Edison Academy Principal Denise Patton said. Ms Patton says Deirdre could accidentally strike another student or injure herself, and other children could get hurt trying to imitate Deirdre, who has been doing gymnastics for five years. Deirdre's father, Leland Faegre, says it was absurd to suspend his daughter for doing gymnastics when students were allowed to play basketball and other sports. "Contact sports, apparently, are fine, but this one is so dangerous it requires the cartwheel cops," he said. |