I think it's fairly unique to define the end goal of K-12 schooling as helping students become better thinkers, more creative thinkers, and to organize the whole school around creative and critical thinking.

One of the biggest reasons that teachers have trouble with student-centered learning is that they have to give over a level of control to the kids. And, when you do that, you can have chaos, or you can have high levels of learning. Often, teachers are afraid of the chaos.

If student A 'impacts' student B with a fist, they shouldn't 'dialogue as equals.' Student A should be disciplined. When you assault your co-worker or curse out your boss, you don't get a 'restorative circle' - you get fired.

To me, that is really fundamental to social justice: to have choices in life.

When I was a student, I was working at the technology call center, where students call in if they can't get their email to work or something. A minimum-wage kind of job.

You know, a lot of those angry sort of Southern man characters that I've been doing are based on different people I might've had as, like, a soccer coach or as a teacher.

If you have religious faith, very good, you can add on secular ethics, then religious belief, add on it, very good. But even those people who have no interest about religion, okay, it's not religion, but you can train through education.

So I grew up in a very book-friendly environment and my education as a writer was reading. I think that's the best education. Reading, and taking from the people I admired.