On Schools

May is traditionally the time of year when teachers are appreciated and graduates are cheered on as they move out of the cocoon of secondary education. This may also be the right time to consider what the high school experience has taught students about each other and what success is for the individual. Beginning in…

On Columbine

The following is a commentary that I wrote concerning the Columbine school shooting, April 20, 1999. It was written for NPR’s “Morning Edition,” although it was never aired.  I wrote this in 2003. Since then, gun violence has exploded as grizzly mass shootings proliferate and the grim parade of school shootings continues; Sandy Hook Elementary…