Parents often talk about the younger generation as if they didn't have anything to do with it.

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

When children feel understood, their loneliness and hurt diminish. When children are understood, their love for their parent is deepened. A parent's sympathy serves as emotional first aid for bruised feelings. When we genuinely acknowledge a child's plight and voice her disappointment, she often gathers the strength to face reality.

A modern teacher educates children to value their emotions.

Teenagers crave independence. The more self-suf-ficient we make them feel, the less hostile they are toward us.

I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or dehumanized.

Teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate tools. The miracle is that at times they accomplish this impossible task.