The moral environment in an inner-city boys’ high school

Abstract

In this article, I characterize the moral environment in an inner-city high school that serves 300 African American boys. My focus is on how everyday patterns of interaction, and unusual, often dramatic events, combine to shape the school's ethos. The analysis discloses how daily conduct inside classrooms funds the larger environment of the institution. It spotlights the ways in which the school's adults strive to fashion a climate in which students can flourish morally and spiritually. In the face of numerous challenges and obstacles, many of which I touch upon, the people in the school succeed in making education something more than mere preparation for the future. Rather, their efforts render schooling into a formative experience in its own right.