The last two years have seen several surprises. Chief among them was the expectation that certain columns may prove to be controversial, but were not. Similarly, there were columns that received an unexpected response from the readership.

        On May 2 and May 9 of this year, I wrote a two-part series comparing today’s parents to their own parents. I observed that previous generations of parents wanted their children to be responsible, whereas the current generation places much more emphasis on their children being happy.

        I expected to receive many e-mails from readers on what could have been a controversial topic. In the end, I got none.

        In contrast to this, I wrote a column on January 3 of this year in which I included a photo of a sign with an apostrophe being misused. I explained some basic rules for the use of the apostrophe. No big deal, I thought, when I wrote it.

        This column generated e-mails for days! All of the writers expressed their appreciation for my writing the column and shared their own frustrations as they see the misuse of this simple symbol.

        At the suggestion of the Daily News publisher, this column has become a forum in which I answer questions from readers. Parents recognize how much school has changed since they were students, and they have asked me about these changes. I have enjoyed being able to clarify some of the reasons why we do things as we do in schools nowadays.

        I continue to welcome your questions and I will do my best to answer them in the column in a timely manner.

        Last summer saw the second and enlarged edition of my book (see below). The introduction and table of contents are available on my website, if you would like to have a sense of it before you buy.

        Thank you to all readers for making the column as successful as it is.