Yesterday, in Newtown, Connecticut, a mad man committed an act so horrific and grotesque that there are really no words for it. He killed his own mother, then went to the local elementary school, shot and killed 27 people. Twenty of them were kindergarten students. There's not much known as of yet as to motive, or any specifics. More than other extreme acts of violence and terror, this shooting hurts me and has affected me in a way that I have never felt before. Every time I think about the horror and terror those poor children must have felt in their final minutes, it breaks my heart all over again. I can’t possibly conceive what must have gone through those teachers' minds to protect their precious pupils. Maybe it's because not only am I teacher, but I am also the mother of a kindergarten student. I could not imagine Mikayla being that terrified, nor could I imagine having to go to her school to identify her body. This morning, Mikayla was acting up, and I...

It seems like every day, there is a new famous couple who is breaking up or getting a divorce. With the divorce rate at around 50 percent, something has gone horrendously wrong. I have such a hard time watching a marriage dissolve on reality TV. Kim Kardashian, a socialite who has too much money and too little personality, was married to NBA player Kris Humphries for 72 days. They have a reality TV show where the whole nation - make that world - can watch the 72 days unravel. The entire time I am watching this show, it is so blatantly obvious that Kim has no clue whatsoever about what love really is. The Kardashians have had several reality TV shows, including a $20 million wedding special of Kim and Kris' nuptials. Throughout the pre-marital shows, Kim and Kris are "in love." They both gush about how much they love each other, and they want to spend the rest of their lives together. As soon as they are married, everything that Kris does bothers Kim. Kim expect...