Earlier this month, the FAA notified Southwest Airlines that it was going to fine the company an unprecedented $10.2 million for violating safety inspection rules. Gary Kelly, the company’s CEO, immediately responded, saying the fine was unfair because his company had “acted responsibly.”
As it turned out, that wasn’t the case. In 2006 and 2007, Southwest operated 47 planes – almost 10% of its fleet – without inspecting them for fuselage cracks. The planes flew a total of 61,000 flights before they were finally grounded for inspection. Cracks were discovered in six of the planes, with some of the cracks as long as four inches.
Within a week, Mr. Kelly had apologized to customers and regulators for the company’s “poor judgment.” Three Southwest employees were placed on administrative leave, and the CEO vowed to make Southwest “the safest airline in the world.” He acknowledged “there are some that have lost trust in Southwest Airlines,” and that the company would “have to regain that trust.” Now, with several FAA inspectors alleging Southwest tried to control the inspection process, Southwest is facing a full-scale crisis – its response will dictate the sincerity of Mr. Kelly’s words.
The rank-and-file aren’t the only ones affected by stupid rules.
According to Business Week (Feb. 25, 2008), the new employment contract between investment firm Lazard and Bruce Wasserstein, its CEO, has one of the most far-reaching non-disparagement agreements in recent memory.
Education at the primary and secondary levels has always been rules-based:
raise your hand, get a hall pass, obey the dress code, show your work,
double-space, check your chewing gum at the door. Learning in the classroom
means following the rules. 
But over the last few years, the trend toward
more rules has been focused on how classes can be taught, as well.
But do stricter curricula, standardized testing, and an ever more rules-based approach prepare our kids for the world to come?
Young people have more access and exposure than ever before, and are called upon daily to make decisions that may now affect the rest of their lives, from the colleges they get into to the jobs they can land. In an internetworked world, do we need to find a way to make our kids more self-governing?
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