Making Schools and Families Successful: How To Unify Students, Parents, and Teachers

In 1966, Gauld founded the Hyde School, in Maine, the first U.S. school whose program was based on character education, or the idea that students’ sense of ethics and conduct were just as crucial as academics; the school asked parents to model good character in the home. Citing problems endemic in many schools, such as bullying, cheating, and school shootings, Gauld offers a blueprint for administrators, teachers, and parents, using his own school to illustrate how to unify students, parents, and teachers in order to help both schools and families successful. Gauld describes the foundation of character education, how it can be achieved, and how it can unite families and schools. The subsections cover roles and responsibilities, tools, unifying principles, and learning and leadership models. Gauld emphasizes the importance of family–school cooperation, individual responsibility, and the need for parents to serve as character role models. What is missing, however, is consideration of wider environmental factors that may also affect academic success in education, such as systemic racism, gender, and socioeconomic status.