POOR KEVIN FRANCOIS. He gets his cell phone grabbed away from him by school authorities while he's talking to his mother in Iraq, and they suspend him for 10 days. And then he discovers a message on his phone from his mom, angry at him for not answering the phone when she called back.

That's the problem with "zero tolerance" policies. They leave no room for common sense.

Plus, "being that" Kevin was "talking" or "having a conversation" on his cell phone -- not "conversating" -- perhaps the assistant principal should be suspended for 10 weeks while he gets his grammar and vocabulary up to speed.