The increase in gang activity has been blamed on many factors, such as poverty, lack of parental guidance and the shortage of alternative activities for youths. But according to a counselor who has worked with teens for 20 years, societal attitudes may be as much to blame. "We are socialized to think that violence might well solve a problem," said Karla Taylor Temple, a consultant for the Ind

Could you see yourself performing in an original opera? How about writing the script or composing the music for one? It's hard to imagine children undertaking such a great task. But a group of fifth- and sixth-graders at Eleanor Skillen School 34 proved it can be done. Students ranging in age from 10 to 12 produced their own opera, Future: Triumph Or Doom? Beth Brooks, a music teacher, and Edd