Spring fever has officially set in at Churchville-Chili Junior High School. That has both its good and its bad sides. The good is that people generally have more energy in the spring; more daylight seems to transform into higher moods. The bad news is all of the above—more energy and higher moods. For some reason, those characteristics often lead to behavior that makes learning a little harder. I had a student ask me to talk about one of the things she is seeing more of this spring—what she called “instigating.” According to her, that means spreading rumors for the purpose of causing trouble for someone else. Instigating, defined as provoking or inciting, is a good word, because it cuts through the myth that telling stories about someone else is harmless or neutral in intent. Spreading rumors is almost always aimed at causing harm, destroying a reputation, or dishonestly improving the teller’s social standing. Stopping instigating is easy if you are aware of what you’re doing and you have the courage to stand up for what’s right. You will have many choices in this short week of school to do the next right thing or the next wrong one. The Hippocratic Oath for doctors says, “Do No Harm.” I would hope you could agree to that as well.