For far too long, public education had been under the shadow of terms such as failing schools, achievement gaps, and poor classroom management. While many publications have outlined these issues, the goal of this book is not to resonate despair but to illuminate individuals' hopes and dreams for public education. For the authors of this book, having the audacity to hope for better public education means trusting teachers and children to engage in intellectual endeavors that advocate for the development of the whole person and active participation in a democratic community. This book will be a great resource for pre-service and in-service teachers, professors, administrators, and policy-makers in exploring a new pathway for educational reform. Contents include: (1) Foreword (Terri Jo Swim, Keith Howard, and Il-Hee Kim); (2) Mr. President: The Time Has Come to Reskill Our Teaching Force, So Please, Please, Let's Get Real! (Barry Kanpol); (3) Expanding the Realm (Chris Strople); (4) The Rights of Children: Policies to Best Serve 3-, 4-, and 5-Year-Olds in Public Schools (Ben Mardell, Lisa Fiore, Marina Boni, and Melissa Tonachel); (5) School Readiness and the Power of Documentation: Changing the Public Image to See the "Rich Child" (Terri Jo Swim); (6) Teachers Reclaiming Their Voices in Student Learning and Initiating Their Own Professional Growth: Suggestions for the Obama Administration (Zeynep Isik-Ercan); (7) Teacher Collaborations Provide an Opportunity to Improve Education for All Students Along the Continuum of Learning (Jane M. Leatherman, Nancy J. Bangel, Tracy L. Cox, Amber Merrill, and Rebecca D. Newsome); (8) Developing Critical Thinking Skills in the Age of President Obama (Il-Hee Kim); (9) Hybrid Technology Classrooms for Mathematics Instruction (Keith Howard); and (10) The Hope for Audacity: Moving from Adversarial Contests to Respectful Alliances (Alice H. Merz and Terri Jo Swim).