In the decade I served on a school board, I learned a great deal about group dynamics. The most important lesson, I suppose, is that there are people -- most often highly neurotic people -- who deliberately create chaos. They undermine every effort to rationally deal with issues that require solutions. They violate norms like crediting the work of committees that were designated to analyze what needs to be done and offer solutions for the board to act on, dispiriting those desirous of accomplishing what must be done. They go behind the backs of board members to undercut the systematic...
