Local cultures, according to Bruner, can help people integrate their different ways of knowing, so they can function and find meaning in what they experience. Thus, the primary way to help people learn to make good decisions is through the collective wisdom, beliefs, and values of their community, or in other words, its culture. Qualities such as learning to plan, knowing how to cooperate, recognizing and applying accuracy and precision, developing a work ethic, and understanding change are the result of culturally focused experience and thinking. Taken together, these scholars have told us that reasonable and responsible behavior depends on sound, logical thought, based on shared values that result from both technical and grounded experience mediated by community. Small, rural towns and urban neighborhoods can offer community naturally.
Schools can offer only certain aspects of community.
When the school is an interwoven part of the community, both are potent educators. Thus, discussions about school improvement get expressed in purely economic terms, leaving out powerful cultural considerations. By separating schools from communities, consolidation may be contributing to the social problems that concern parents and educators. The sound development of children is closely linked to the well-being of communities. Consolidating schools often destroys those links.