Published: May 1, 1990

a One-Man Antiterrorism Unit

He is uniquely qualified for the job: The feisty, colorful 57-year-old says that in his 27 years in the classroom, he has broken up more than 1,000 fights and disarmed more than 400 students--only twice by force, and once by taking off his clothes, a trick to make the student think he was crazy. He teaches 299 other tactics, which include looking at the bridge of an angry student's nose rather than directly into the eyes to keep the student from feeling "dared''; reading hostile body language (a subtle roll of the shoulders signals the student is about to swing, so step to the side); and using nonprovoking language to tell kids to do something (a student who tosses a milk carton and misses the garbage can is more likely to bridle at "Pick up that milk carton'' than at "You just missed a...