Describe a school—its location, its structure, its people, the way they work and the systems they operate while doing that---and you have described a complete social unit. A minuscule one maybe, but a living, breathing, working unit. And each one of us is a part of it in one way or other. Oh yes, we are. As a current member of the school community; or as a parent or as a patron, or as a neighbour. Can these omnipresent entities, which are so intimately familiar to all of us, be effective agents of change? They appear to be intensely active always, but can they also prod others to act—meaningfully, sustainably, differently?

Now hold that thought for a moment, and answer these questions. We urge you to be candid.