Introduction: into the woods -- Play position -- Parents : the first teachers -- Air-traffic controller -- Mr. Rick, air-traffic controller -- Education -- Discipline : how do we get children to behave? -- Virtue, character, and integrity -- Getting our children to talk -- Making them strong, letting them fail -- Self do it -- Self do it -- Boundary setting -- We are all new -- Getting our butterflies to fly in formation -- It's academic -- Engaging genius -- Freedom to read -- Acceleration -- Abilities, disabilities, and success -- Being literate -- Letting them struggle -- Getting our geniuses to dance together -- Holding their hands when they suffer -- Living in the tension -- What comes then goes -- Enthusiastic struggle -- Which way success? -- "Normal" difference, and the pursuit of genius -- Real men wear pink -- What's "normal"? -- Greatness -- The sound of silence -- Anatomy of a miracle -- Staying out of trouble -- Don't throw me in that briar patch -- The story of the three little girls -- Good, bad, and integrity -- Safe to be bad -- Violence and evil -- The discipline of patience -- Let them teach you -- What would be the smart thing? -- Making mistakes -- Who's going to first grade? -- Who's saving whom? -- Being true to your genius -- Epilogue: mantras for working with children -- Appendix: disciplines a-z -- Notes -- Acknowledgments -- About the author