At a school in Cleveland, each team of teachers decides if they want to give standardized tests to their students. They also decide which test will be given. In many independent schools faculty influence decisions about decorum, ceremonies, awards, dress codes, and architecture of new buildings. Teacher power leads to student power. When teachers invest in, create, and own their curricula, students tend to be similarly invested.
Autonomous teachers model for their students free and responsible behavior and accountability.
She is still a presence in the community where she taught. One of her former students, now a teacher with years of teaching experience herself, wrote to Miss Hearn thanking her for the positive impact she had on her life. Miss Hearn, of course, wrote back. That was her nature. The nature of private schools enables and even rewards self-expression.