A new deal for public schools / 29. In times of crisis, why we need public schools / William Ayers. 2. A brief history of public education / Diane Ravitch -- Part II -- 3. Values and education policy / Helen F. Ladd -- 4. Public schooling as social welfare / David F. Labaree -- 5. Reflections on the public school and the social fabric / Mike Rose -- 6. Our schools and our towns belong to each other / Peter Greene -- Part III -- 7. The great equalizer of the conditions of humanity: how transformative can schools be when society itself remains inequitable and quarrelsome? / Peter Smagorinsky -- 8. The mythical great equalizer school system: exploring the potential to make it real / Kevin Welner -- 9. Democracy's wobbly cornerstone: seeking to be the "great equalizer" in a deeply unequal culture / Martin Lipton -- 10. Reflections on what might have been / Sonia Nieto -- 11. Necessary but insufficient: why public schooling alone cannot equalize / Prudence L. Carter -- 12. Public education for the public good: black teachers and teaching / H. Richard Milner -- 13. Making the common school truly common: black Americans' long and unfinished fight for integrated schools / Jeanne M. Powers -- Part IV -- 14. We know better and must do better / Martin Brooks -- 15. If We believe that democracy is such a great idea, why don't schools practice it more? / Deborah Meier -- 16. The role of public schools in the preparation of young people to engage in civic reasoning and discourse / Carol D. Lee -- 17. Tensions between teacher professionalism and authentic community voice in public schools serving nondominant communities / Ken Zeichner -- 18. Horace Mann and a new common good / Joshua P. Starr -- 19. Horace and George and Zitkala-Sa: reimagining experimentation / Jacqueline Grennon Brooks -- 20. Public school funding and the "reform" distraction / Mark Weber -- 21. Education is our only political safety / James Harvey -- 22. Is there still a public for public education? / Gloria Ladson-Billings -- Part V -- 23. Public education at a crossroads: will Horace Mann's common school survive the era of choice? / Carol Corbett Burris -- 24. What's not to like about private schools? / Jack Jennings -- 25. Scrutinizing the school choice equity ethos for black parents / Julian Vasquez Heilig -- 26. The scandalous history of schools that receive public financing, but do not accept the public's right of oversight / David C. Berliner -- Part VI -- 27. Can public common schooling save the republic? / D.C. Phillips -- 28. Public schools and acting against the threats to democracy / Michael W. Apple -- 29. A new deal for public schools / William Ayers.
Summary:
"Twenty-eight eminent essayists remind our nations parents, educators, school board members and politicians that our democracy is in jeopardy and that our nation's system of free universal public education is also under attack. If that attack succeeds, American democracy itself would be further imperiled. That is because American democracy rests on a belief that the power of our government comes from the people, and the diffusion of knowledge and the enlightenment of the people has been a cornerstone of our democracy since the founding of our republic. America's public schools, therefore, have a special mandate"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.