A Baltimore high school trying to change its image of being a haven for unruly teens had little luck with its recent assembly on anger management. Rather than a peaceful gathering, the assembly descended into an auditorium-wide field of skirmishes that ended in 11 suspensions and two arrests.

As far as anyone can tell, the problems mainly stemmed from an incident that took place off stage while students on stage acted out harmonious scenes of resolving conflict. The mother of a student told off a group of girls who'd been bothering her daughter. Screaming became shoving and shoving became what Woodlawn High principal C. Anthony Thompson described as "chaos" as the 750 ninth-graders present tried to get a better look, or take care of grudges of their own.

Though police managed to bring an end to the debacle within 15 minutes, Thompson points out that, insofar as bettering the school's image goes, they're "back at the starting point."

» Scott Saxon