"You can regulate the worst abuses out of a system, but you can’t regulate
goodness or excellence into a system because goodness or excellence is
from the hearts and minds of the people involved."

— Professor Tom Sobol

It’s just something to keep in mind as we think about how to make our school… and schools in general… better. Policy… law… regulation… rules… they only go so far. What schools need, what kids need, what our society needs is to understand that "The Good" in the world is not something that can be legislated, but instead, it must be nurtured. We cannot expect people to spend all their days conforming to rules, following directions, and doing what they are told… and then create, care, live freely and think.

There is no question that we need educational policies based in broad legislation. There is no question that schools should have rules and regulations. But we need to remember at all times what the goals of those rules should be: Our educational goals should be to create schools where students can learn what it means to be a thinking, caring, questioning adult who can critically analyze the world around them both with a reasoning and a emotive and caring eye.