Years to Build, but Seconds to Destroy
On October 2, 1967, the city of Philadelphia broke ground on what would become Veterans Stadium (it did not receive its name until 1970). The Philadelphia Phillies did not play their first game in the Vet until April 10, 1971. It took approximately three and a half years to build the massive structure, but on March 21, 2004, it took approximately one minute to demolish the stadium. Years to build, but seconds to destroy. Many things in life might seem to follow a similar trajectory. It can take a lifetime to build a reputation worthy of respect, but it can be destroyed by a simple lapse of judgment. It can take years to build a healthy marriage, but it might only take seconds to cause substantial harm to that bond of trust.
One might find some solace in the fact that both the Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia Eagles moved into objectively nicer stadiums once they vacated their former home. That is not always the case when we demolish things in our lives. We talk about beauty from ashes, and that can be true. The Christian view of salvation, after all, is that we were in total rebellion from God. We were demolished, and God gave us new life. It is a redemption story, and it is beautiful. However, there are times when we demolish things, and the damage runs far deeper. There is not always the excitement of moving to something new and better; sometimes, we have to face the reality that the damage has been done, and we must live with it.
As Christians, we believe in forgiveness. Jesus commanded us to be willing to forgive as many times as necessary. Intellectually, that is easy to affirm and clear from Scripture. We ought to be people that forgive. In practice, forgiveness becomes substantially harder. We naturally want grace from other people when we have hurt them, but we find it much harder to extend grace to others when we have been violated. We know when we feel genuinely sorry for doing something, but we doubt the sincerity of others and therefore do not want to accept their apologies and forgive. The necessity of forgiveness is easy to affirm, but it is much harder to practice. Rebuilding should happen, but it does not always take place in our fallen world.
Writing on the importance of forgiveness may seem somewhat out of place on this website which is typically dedicated to considerations on education. However, educators hold positions of trust. Teachers have the opportunity to pour great deals of information into the minds of their students. Being given the opportunity to share information and influence young lives is not something that should ever be taken lightly. As the title of this article implies, it can take years to build trust, but it can be destroyed in a much more efficient fashion. If students do not trust that their teachers guide them towards truth and share honest information with them, the entire institution will collapse.
In 2021, Gallup released data that indicated that only 32% of Americans had “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the public school system. When that data is broken down by political party, 20% of Republicans and 43% of Democrats had “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the public school system. Over two-thirds of the American population do not trust the public school system, and a greater proportion than that in certain areas that are more Republican-leaning lack trust. We can debate the merits of those claims and the validity of the arguments against that system, but my purpose for highlighting this data is to emphasize that there is no quick fix to this problem. Trust has been broken.
As educators in private or public institutions, we must recognize the reality of our situation. If you read through the remainder of the Gallup data, institutional trust, in general, is substantially down. It is not just public education; it applies to pretty much every form of institutional authority. Public school data seems to be the most relevant, but we should not become so comfortable in our private institutions that we think we are immune to the anti-institutional trends of our world in this cultural moment. We all must be committed to looking for ways to build trust with our students because many voices are telling them they should not trust any authority.
Reflecting on his role as a young father in his book, The Unbroken Thread, Sohrab Ahmari writes, “How do I transmit to my son the value of permanent ideals against a culture that will tell him that whatever is newest is also best, that everything is negotiable and subject to contract and consent, that there is no purpose to our common life but to fulfill his desires?” Permanent ideals, including the value of traditional authorities, have very little place in our modern-day discourse. Tom Nichols, the author of The Death of Expertise, concurs, “The death of expertise is not just a rejection of existing knowledge. It is fundamentally a rejection of science and dispassionate rationality, which are the foundations of modern civilization.” Expertise doesn’t seem to matter as much as what is going viral.
There are a few steps that educators can take to combat this trend. The process always begins with individual trustworthiness. Many things in the world are outside of my control, but I can control how I educate my students. I can try my best not to contribute to the ongoing demolition. While I still may be lumped in with the general cultural perception of institutional authority, there is value to maintaining a faithful presence in the classroom. Students may experience cultural pressure, but they can also see what is right in front of their own eyes. Witnessing teachers actively trying to fight against this trend can at least inspire trust in a particular classroom.
On a larger scale, new institutions might be necessary. If it becomes clear to everyone that the current institutions are not fulfilling their role in the educational process, separation may become necessary. Although I do not subscribe to this particular movement and actually find it problematic, consider Christians who refuse to label themselves as evangelicals, often for political reasons. They believe that the label has been polluted enough that they need to find something new to identify themselves with that is distinct. While it is partially a question of branding, they are telling the world that they are something different so that people perceive them differently. In essence, they are separating from one institution and creating a new institution (although I imagine they would reject this characterization). Perhaps a similar trend needs to happen in education. I don’t entirely know what that looks like, but if there is a loss of trust, then maybe we better start building institutions that can be trusted because they are distinct from the status quo. It will take time and a great deal of effort. Like I have been continually emphasizing, gaining trust is not easy. That being said, trust is necessary for educators. If our students do not trust us, our communications will be stymied.