On the first day of classes in 1981, a student was stabbed at New Jersey's crime-ridden Eastside High School. The next year, some 300 students were expelled the first week of classes. After two years, Eastside was declared a model school by New Jersey's governor. The school's new principal, Joe Clark, a former Army drill instructor who often patrolled the halls wielding a baseball bat. Without discipline, there is anarchy.
Good citizenship demands attention to responsibilities as well as rights.
Clark sees education as a mission. Instead of offering sympathy, Clark holds high expectations for students, challenging them to develop habits for success and confronting them when they fail to reform. I can't think of anything more noble. The award is named in honor of Thomas Ehrlich, past chair of the Campus Compact Executive Committee and president emeritus of Indiana University. During summer hours, which end Aug. 7, the normal work week will be reduced from 40 to 35 hours.