On one side, pure horror at catastrophe, the work of human beings or nature alone; on the other side, speechlessness, an apathy of powerlessness. Lured by the media, educators become spectators of multiple tragedies, distanced, unable to grasp others' pain. How do they deal with the crumbling of the taken-for-granted, of the reliable and…

The author was invited to speak at a poetry slam conducted by Urban Poets, a group of teenage poets who perform their own works with the most passionate intensity. She had trouble deciding what to say to the young generation whose world differed so much from hers. She turned to Walt Whitman and a poem he wrote, "To the Young Poets," telling them…