How many teachers take the time to connect with students on a personal level? How do you find the time, anyway? Teachers who manage to transcend the normal student-teacher relationships can benefit everyone in school--particularly the "challenging" students--and, along the way, prevent school violence, support school safety, improve school climate, and promote learning. In a time of an increasingly rigid "zero tolerance" of the slightest hint of violence, which results in automatic suspension or expulsion, Allen N. Mendler calls for a more caring, flexible approach to school safety.