All in the Family

This might be the craziest news story I've seen out of Italy in a while. Guess it's not just Americans who go nuts over grades.

Parents beat up principal over grades

Mon Mar 5, 8:58 AM ET

BARI, Italy (Reuters) - An irate Italian family beat up a principal because they were unhappy with the grades a young relative had received and a ban on cell phones at school.

Three male relatives, including the father and grandfather of the student, punched and pushed principal Ugo Castorina at the Lombardi middle school in Bari on Saturday, police said.

They were angered by grades on the latest report card and by a recent ban by Castorina on cell phones at the school he has run for the past 22 years.

Castorina was taken to hospital and treated for mild contusions. Police escorted him back to the school.

"Some people may not like it but standards must be set and rules must be respected if a school is to function," Castorina told reporters.