I always marvel that the things that bring out the best in people can, paradoxically, bring out the worst in them too. Take Facebook, for example. It's a marvelous invention. Sure, by over-surfing on Facebook, many of us waste the precious time we complain we don't have enough of; but it is an area of technology that I simply love.

Closing the achievement gap between groups of students on national exams has become a familiar imperative for many educators and politicians. We are still grappling with moot questions such as: how can students meet high academic standards if they do not believe in their ability to do so?

Don't cry anymore, though it burns your heart sore./Kiss away the broken pieces of the shattered past./Make way for a new, a fresh start./Fold your fist at the crooked lies,/And blow away their cunning existence./Trample upon the curses that reign/In the veins of your generation.