The Stoolie in Home Room

Today's school kids are too young to remember McCarthyism -- and will probably never study it -- but you'd think their parents would know better. But a growing trend in schools around the country suggests that we haven't learned much about the dangers of informing on a friend or neighbor. Using violent incidents like Columbine and Red Lake as a pretext, some school officials are now encouraging -- and rewarding -- students who report classmates they see breaking school rules. Common sense tells you to sound the alarm if you see somebody carrying a gun, but to rat out the guy sneaking a smoke behind the gym? If the schools involved in this so-called Student Crime Stoppers program want to sow the seeds of distrust, they've hit on a great way to do it.
-- Tony Long