I forgot about Chester Barnard

Yesterday, the question was posed of "why don't more teachers speak up?"

I responded that I too have for years wondered about this. During the night, I remembered that I tried to research this phenonenon a long time ago and I did find that some sociologists had attempted to make sense of it. Chester Barnard is one of them, and I presented some of his theory in my post "How To Sleep At Night". This is not an easy read, but to get an understanding of how leaders gain and maintain influence over their subordintates, one should comprehend the entire writing of Barnard.



The answer to these local issues lies deep within the "culture of the system". The depth and strength of the "culture of the system" is dependent on several factors, including time that "the leaders" have been the influential factor and the degree that the leaders and their supporters gain "power". This is nothing unique to edcuational systems. It stands to reason that keeping the leadership within the group that "controls the culture" will enhance the longevity of same. Powerful political families such as the Kennedys and the Rockefellers have been around for a very long time, and they have tremendous influence over the "status-quo" of what they have power over.

I believe that all politics are local. Studying the history of Hillsborough County would provide the information about political, social and econonmic influences of individuals as well as the resulting "culture of the system" that these individuals have created.