Fights at a local middle school caused a lockdown earlier today. And in other news. . .

I know I'm old, but I don't understand all the fighting. Students attacking teachers and each other. And it happens so often that it's barely news now.

One of my teenagers just wrote a teacher-mandated report on the connections between video games and increasing violence. I'm very happy with the teacher who assigned the topic. My son has been forced to admit that video games can have bad effects.

Not that he plays often. I won't allow a game system into the house. My kids were playing interactive internet games, but I've had to ban those too. They were causing my normally obedient kids to talk back on a regular basis. Not to mention the waste of time.

I can't say exactly why teachers have to add self-protection to their to-do lists. I think video games play a major role. I suspect lack of parental involvement has something to do with it. And kids are generally coddled, even compared with my baby boomer generation. Self-esteem and instant reward are two of the expectations facing teachers today. Some of it is good--no kid will be told she's too clumsy to play ball, as I was. But a little goes a long way.

I have six more years until my youngest finishes high school. After that, I hope I won't have to worry so much about finding good schools for my children. Violence is now a fact of life in America--in middle school, at college, in the workplace. But I'll relax just a little if I can make it through the next six years.