Since 9/11, high school students have been extraordinarily fascinated by history and government. Check out what happened during my last week of teaching in Chapel Hill.

On Monday, Jackie asked why Guantanamo detainees are denied the habeas corpus protections guaranteed in Article I of the Constitution. On Tuesday, William demanded to know if water boarding was torture, and, if so, did it violate the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel punishment. On Wednesday, Martha asked, "Does extraordinary rendition encourage other countries to do nasty things so as to keep our hands clean?"

So, when I resigned on June 12, a parent asked me, "Why on earth would you leave a place where kids love your class?" She said she was miffed because, "you really discuss things that really interest them, and, for the first time ever, we actually have something to talk about over supper."

I am afflicted by quitter's remorse, since I will no longer be teaching the coolest kids on earth (teenagers) and in a school run by the best principal in North Carolina (Dave Thaden). Yes, I have loved being a teacher for 27 happy years, eight of which have been at East Chapel Hill High School.

Starting in August, I will be teaching International Baccalaureate history at the Academia Cotopaxi in Quito, Ecuador. As I pack up, I realize it is not easy to leave my hometown, and I will miss the students. On the other hand, I am happy to leave behind standardized testing and No Child Left Behind.

I could complain about NCLB but I won't. I'd rather celebrate the fires that burn in teenagers' hearts and minds. As long as I was surrounded by fired-up kids, I never thought about the tests. One day, Stephanie gave a report on Blackwater, a North Carolina firm that has $1 billion of security contracts in the Middle East. Afterward, a classmate asked if Blackwater's employees are "mercenaries." We looked up the definition of "mercenary" and the answer became obvious (yes). Scott wondered aloud: "If Blackwater was willing to work for the highest bidder, might it overthrow our own government?" Hmmm ... We discussed and debated this question and other hot topics all semester long.

Am I beaten down by testing? No, because I try not to threaten and I remind the kids that the tests have nothing to say about character. In civics, the tests have nothing so say about our willingness to combat injustice. Yes, tests are inevitable and are part of school. I tried really hard not to let tests get in the way of an education.

More important than the test is the occasional classroom epiphany, the "aha" moment, when we APPLY what we learn to our lives today. It is at this point that kids get fired up and class discussions become intellectual infernos.

It is not like the state or school board actually encourage this intellectual ignition. There is not one word in the book about torture or how our Constitution has been subverted by the war on terror.

Not to worry. Keep the debates going. Dive into the toughest topics and ignore the threats of the compulsive testers. Keep the liberty of open discussion intact. I leave Chapel Hill still believing that the fireworks of a lively discussion free us from the politics of fear. The real threat to our children is that we would abandon the liberal arts (including reflection, discussion and debate) in favor of bean counting. As Ben Franklin said, "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

Thanks, Ben! Students and teachers of North Carolina: Stay open. Fight for freedom. Cover the Standard Course of Study in half the time allotted, add time for respectful debate, and cook up an outrageously fun class.

Teenagers are on fire with idealistic hopes. They are quick to point out contradictions between what we say is supposed to be and what IS. They see through the spin. Their time is coming. Bring it on!