A few weeks ago, there was an opinion piece in the Arizona Republic titled Why Are Arizona Schools A Mess? Because Everyone Fears Kids, Who Fear No One.

The author, a retired teacher, argues that teachers are leaving the profession because kids aren't afraid of anyone. She claims that teachers are powerless to punish kids, and administrators won't "do anything" to the kids.

Now she makes some valid points. Student behavior issues and lack of parental support are significant factors why teachers state they are dissatisfied. Our current Teacher Retention Survey is returning that evidence.

But what I found jarring from her remarks was the assertion that lack of fear is why kids are acting up.

If that is true, we have a pretty big problem. After all, what is anyone going to do to scare this generation of kids? They spent two very formidable years living through a global pandemic, blatant demonstrations of racial injustice, binge-watching social media accounts of mass shootings, and threats of nuclear war.

Lack of fear is not the issue. Lack of trust is.

And this is why I believe that.

Hope and Durango are almost entirely composed of kids who don't fear their parents or teachers. Many of them were already kicked out of school; some were kicked out of their families. Some are even locked up (or have been locked up) for some pretty scary stuff.

You can go into classrooms at Durango, or walk through learning spaces at Hope and observe intentional examples of trust and mutual respect, order, and learning.

But here's the thing. You all who make those environments happen have figured out the secret. School has to look pretty different than what the author of the op-ed is fighting for. She and a lot of educators are holding on to an antiquated model of what school is. We have a generation of kids that are wired differently, yet most schools have stayed exactly the same.

What we are doing here is creating a blueprint for educating without exclusion, intimidation, and fear. And it's pretty impressive to see.

Leadership and Learning