The search for a personal identity is the life task of a teenager.

Responsibility is fostered by allowing children a voice and wherever indicated a choice in matters that affect them.

To be himself, one neeeds to be free from the pressure of evaluative praise

Many teenagers are tormented by terrors they deem private and personal. They do not know that their anxieties and doubts are universal.

While parents possess the original key to their offspring's experience, teachers have a spare key. They, too, can open or close the minds and hearts of children.

Whenever I hear about a child needing something, I ask myself, 'Is it what he needs or what he wants?' It isn't always easy to distinguish between the two. A child has many real needs which can and should be satisfied. His wants are a bottomless pit. He wants, for example, to sleep with his parents. He needs to be in his own bed. At Christmas he wants every toy advertised on television. He needs only one or two.

When gentle persuasion [of children] falls on deaf ears, we resort to ridicule and rebuke. Then we return to threats and punishment. This is the modus operandi of a mutual frustration society.