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Committed to a “strengths-based” approach to education, one middle school principal announced that all students should have an opportunity to learn in a way that reflected their own learning styles. In an unprecedented move, she asked that all teachers reexamine their curricula to find ways to implement the new philosophy. This took teachers by surprise in a school that generally had a traditional and conservative approach to instruction. Many teachers at the school were unfamiliar with this approach, and no training was provided except for a brief overview given by the principal herself. Some teachers were reluctant to try what they termed “fringe” and “untested” techniques, while others felt that the approach was inconsistent with their personal teaching philosophy. Still others felt that the investment of time to do curriculum revisions would not be worth it. No teacher brought these concerns out into the open for fear of engaging in conflict with the principal. Teachers who did adopt the new method found that students appreciated the changes. Parents who found out about the approach began to complain to the principal that not enough classic “reading, writing, and arithmetic” work was being done in the classroom.