Good schools require, more than anything, genuine human engagement. Each student has a different aptitude and needs. Each teacher must have the autonomy to connect with students and to earn moral authority. Each principal must assert and enforce common values and standards that everyone knows and can trust.
A school’s culture is the sum of these countless human judgments and interactions. An effective school will generally have a culture where students feel cared for and inspired to do their best, where teachers feel a sense of ownership of their classrooms, and where principals have fostered a common feeling of aspiration and mutual trust.
I argue here that the endemic failure of America’s public schools is due, more than anything else, to a breakdown in human authority needed to build and sustain healthy school cultures. Educators feel powerless to act on their best judgment, much less build a culture of excellence and caring. Teachers and principals struggle to make a difference in a toxic atmosphere of disorder, disrespect, and entitlements. This futility infects students and parents, imparting a sense of fatalism instead of hope.