Some took their seats, others stood around talking. Robert Billings was by the windows, tying knots in the blind cords. While he was doing that, Brad, his incessant tormentor, walked past and patted him on the back, sticking a small sign that said “kick me” to his shirt. It looked like just another typical day in history class until the kids noticed that their teacher had written in large letters across the blackboard: STRENGTH THROUGH DISCIPLINE. “What’s that supposed to mean?” someone asked.“I’ll tell you just as soon as you’re all seated,” Ben Ross answered. When the kids were all in their places, he began to lecture. “Today I am going to talk to you about discipline.” A collective groan went up from the seated students. There were some teachers whose classes you knew would be a drag, but most of the students expected Ross’s history class to be pretty good—which meant no dumb lectures on stuff like discipline. “Hold it,” Ben told them. “Before you make a judgment, give this a chance.
