The Uncoolest Cool Kid in School
I went to one of our school's baseball games recently to cheer on the team. A few of my students and a few others I know slightly are playing, and I genuinely enjoy cheering them on. Shortly after I arrived and checked in with my colleagues to find out about the score, I looked, through the chain link fence, up and down the bench until I found Richie.The kid I'll call Richie is the subject of this post, the Uncoolest Cool Kid in School. He's one of the kindest, gentlest most young men I've ever met. He's not exactly shy; I wouldn't quite say he keeps to himself. He just doesn't say more than is necessary in any given situation. And he's nice to everyone, even to kids who seem very different from him.
In a school in which most of the males strive to live up to a macho or at
