Crutcher, an advocate for children above all else, revisits a few of the most urgent issues facing teachers--Censorship, "No Child Left Without Life Threatening Test Anxiety," Zero Tolerance, to name a few--and an encouraging word about addressing them. He believes teachers "have the toughest job in our culture," and urges them to "rise up . . .…

Points out the powerful basic truth that respect is a healer. Notes that fear is not a synonym for respect, and that increasing respect for kids and for adolescence itself would automatically create better communication. Argues that all literature, be it about children, teenagers, or adults, should reflect some truth about what is rather than what…

Describes how the author realized that his prepubescent Superboy hero is not brave and represents what can never be. Describes how he came to believe that true heroes are defined by how they respond to what they do "wrong." Notes how this affects the author's writing and the heroes he creates in his novels. (SR)