Kids do it all the time.
Many adults can remember making a comment or two that could have been misconstrued. These are dicey times, when common modes of expression or outbursts of anger, however misguided, can prompt a school lockdown. More than a dozen students have been questioned for threats since the shooting last week in Santee, Calif., learning the hard way to watch their words. If adults are unified on one point, it's to impress on kids the need to report threatening comments or actions. Several possible tragedies have been averted recently because of student willingness to break the code of silence.