Michael G. Thompson knows independent schools. He attended them in elementary and secondary school, and has worked in them as a psychologist. He consults with more than 30 schools a year, addressing a myriad of issues related to complex human interaction. He has written often in "Independent School" about everything from understanding the social lives of children, to educating boys, to dealing with difficult parents, to gracefully managing the college admissions vortex. Thompson is the co-author (with psychiatrist Edward M. Hallowell) of "Finding the Heart of the Child," published by the National Association of Independent Schools, though he has attracted more attention in recent years for his groundbreaking book on boys, "Raising Cain," coauthored with Dan Kindion. This past fall, Thompson published "Speaking of Boys," a collection of thoughtful questions and answers regarding the development of boys. His newest book, "Best Friends/Worst Enemies: Friendship, Popularity and Social Cruelty in the Lives of Children," coauthored with Catherine O'Neill Grace, is due out in August of this year. Topics discussed in this interview include: (1) The greatest concerns of faculty members, and administrators in independent schools; (2) overloading of school programs and student burn out; (3) parental pressure for achievement; (4) his views on choosing schools for his own children; and (4) student fear of failure. He concluded the interview by sharing his concern that if parents continue to pressure for more and more academic excellence, and schools continue to add more enriched activities to their schedules, that students will eventually be unable to savor anything. He feels they may become psychologically burned out and lose the thing about independent schools that is most precious, which is the relationships that develop between students and teachers.