A critical examination of the role of the school in the community and the impact of community expectations of the school is presented. Three major issues are addressed. The first of these is the growing attempt to degrade the function of the person in schooling, both the teacher and the student, by a constant reference to efficiency, input-output analysis, and cost-benefit analysis. The second issue is the tendency to view schools, teachers, and students as part of a national effort to accommodate the process of schooling to the purpose of the industrial community, belying any purpose for schooling other than those related to the profit motive. The final issue concerns itself with the growing politicization and polarization of teachers, students, and administrators about issues that divert attention from a basic examination of purposes, ideals, and goals of education. A brief discussion on the effects of school integration is appended to this paper. (JD)