The Cartwheel Police.
From the Pasadena Star News. I have placed exceptionally ridiculous statements in bold and, when necessary, commented on them in brackets.
School officials flip over gymnastics, suspend girl
By Christina L. Esparza, Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - WEST COVINA -- Some cartwheels and handstands sent an 11-year-old West Covina girl tumbling into the principal's office and booted out of school this week.
Deirdre Faegre, a sixth-grader at San Jose-Edison Academy in West Covina -- a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade charter school with 1,150 students --was suspended Tuesday when school authorities warned her for the last time to stop doing gymnastic stunts during lunchtime.
"They told me I can't do it anymore because I can hurt other people or myself," the 90-pound Deirdre said. "There's other kids that do ... but it's obviously only been told to me and I don't know why."
Denise Patton, principal of San Jose-Edison Academy, said she's tried everything to keep from suspending Deirdre: warnings, lunch detention and speaking to her parents.
But, she said, Deirdre continues to defy authority. [Go, revolutionary cartwheel girl, go!]
"Our first concern is the safety of all of our children," Patton said. The gymnastics have "created an unsafe situation for herself and others."
Another child could walk into Deirdre's path and get hit, or an open door could smack her while she's performing a stunt, Patton said. [And, as Wayne used to say, monkeys could fly out my ass. Why not ban walking and opening doors, too?]
West Covina Unified School District Superintendent Richard Vladovic said there a very small number of children are hurt on campus each year. However, the charter school reports directly to Edison Schools in New York, not the West Covina school district.
Vladovic said he agreed with Patton's decision to suspend Deirdre.
"There's a time and place for everything," he said. [And wouldn't that time be freakin' RECESS?]
There would be chaos if all students decided to do gymnastic stunts at school, he said.
Also, Patton added, most children are not as skilled as Deirdre, who has been practicing with the Charter Oak Gymnastics team since she was 6. They may try to copy her and get hurt.
"She may be skilled in being able to do these stunts, but I have had children who have tried to mimic what these skilled children do and end up hurt."
Deirdre's father, Leland -- who has run several times as a Libertarian candidate in various elections -- said it is ridiculous a little girl is getting suspended for doing cartwheels when sports like basketball are being allowed.
"Contact sports, apparently, are fine," Faegre said. "But this one is so ... dangerous it requires the cartwheel cops."
Deirdre, who Faegre said won a Student of the Month award in October, is slated to return to school Monday.
If she continues to do the cartwheels and hand-stands, Patton said she'll probably have to take up the issue with the West Covina Unified School District's board.
"It's unfortunate that the parents are pushing this issue without seeing the entire picture," Patton said. "This isn't just about their daughter; it's about the safety of all the students at the school."
[Those who choose safety over freedom deserve neither.]
posted by The Last American at 9:24:00 AM
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2 Comments:
Why would you create sensationalism without having all the correct facts?
First and forth most, the young girl in question was suspended for ONE day NOT one week, as many of these so call reputable news organizations have reported!
Second, if you knew Leland Faegre you'd KNOW he is using his own daughter as a means of gaining notoriety for himself and his own selfish political reason (www.ontopofacloud.com), not to mention he has definitely blown this out of proportion!
I just do not understand how you can commment on this without knowing both sides and without knowing the motives behind this selfish and evil man. He has a personal vendetta on this school and he has waited for years for something like this to happen. He is milking this for all it is worth, because he is just plain and simply EVIL!
If he hates the school so much, then why has he had his daughter attending their for years! Hmm, perhaps it was the top notch education his daughter received! He is rude, not only to the teachers and staff, but to other parents as well, my children and I will not be one bit disappointed that the Faegre Family will no longer be a part of the San Jose Family.
He seems to hate the staff, he seems to hate us parents, the only thing he seemed not to hate was the education his daughter was receiving. When all was said and done, he just could not stand taking his daughter out of the school without making sure he did it in true Leland style. I feel so sorry for his daughter, because in the end she is the only one that looses. She is a puppet, she did the cartwheels only because her father told her to keep doing them, how do I know, because she told all her classmates that her father told her to do them any chance she got, anywhere on campus. In other words, he provoked this - all a part of his evil master plan. Listen to her conflicting stories in the interviews she has given. She has no clue. She is just doing what Daddy Leland tells her to do!
There you have it - and if I a parent know so much about this man and his wicked ways - then maybe you should too! I have no reservations with the schools decision. If it makes it a better school for my child than more power to them!
Trust me, Leland Faegre is a guy seeking personal attention while not seeking any solutions in this world. The poor guy is lacking in the social graces and could never be put in a leadership position that would rally support to his cause. And why is this? Because his need for personal attention is the only thing he truly seeks and certainly not any public responsibility.
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