And I hoped to hear that there was going to be a way to reach that student in a personal way, but the teacher said that he probably wouldn't even find out about the problem until six months later when the computer would spit out a letter to the student's parents saying the student failed in three or more subjects. That's an example of why I want to reduce the impersonality in high school. Only when you build a relationship can you transmit values. As important as English and science and math are, integrating the teaching of values in the curriculum is more important. Take off the home economics or Spanish or something, but don't take off teaching values, as that's what school is about.
Teaching is impossible unless it happens.
But that's quite controversial. A moral person is somebody who, when he or she feels an impulse, can defer responding long enough to pass judgment about the appropriateness of that action. That's what separates us from the animals. All the rest is details. With saints and psychopaths, one of the two sides always wins.