Too many laws or rules and we have totalitarianism. The result is liberty with limits - certain individual liberties are given up in order to ensure protection for all and provide a forum for consensus. This is a social contract all people face within their societies. The individual is important because of the need for principles like independent thought, privacy, freedom, and due process. Justice, equal opportunity, legitimate authority, truth and participation require people to see themselves in a social context and take responsibility for all our benefit.
Schools are the most common forum for that kind of experience.
Conclusion Mr. Butts has given us a relatively simple example of the kinds of terms and rules our society needs if we are to return to civility in our public lives. We could add to his list interdependence, honesty, patience, and trust just to name a few civic virtues. Teachers also have special moral obligations, including the protection and safety of their students, ensuring equal opportunity to learn, respect for basic human dignity, and fairness in judgement and treatment of their charges. They also are moral and civic lessons all teachers must know and teach themselves. There may be additional topics future teachers may need to understand, but at least these moral precepts give us a place to start in the recognition of our additional responsibility besides subject matter and skill acquisition.