Q: Are you the only writer writing stories set in education?

 

A: No. Absolutely not. But no one focuses on education the way Tom Clancy focuses on the military. That’s what I do. And my stories don’t just take place in a school building and center on a classroom teacher, and they don’t have to. But I do make a point to address the learning process as well as the social dynamics between pupil and mentor. Movies like Finding Forrester and even The Karate Kid (the first one) were about the learning process, relationships between teachers and students, destroying ignorance, etc. Even though classrooms and school buildings played minor rolls, they’re still what I consider to be classroom dramas. Karate Kid is an excellent example of teaching students new concepts by using old concepts they’re familiar with. “Education” can happen any place, any time.