Reflections on the ways in which decisions about the foundation and organization of a small progressive public school exemplify the challenges and trade-offs of living in and with democracy. For the Mission Hill School, democracy was not only an aspiration, it was a way of conducting school life so that every community member felt a sense of…

With the very existence of our system of free, universal education hanging in the balance, there has not been much of a frame of reference for discussing the need to make our schools more democratic. However, in the authors' recent book, "These Schools Belong to You and Me: Why We Can't Afford to Abandon Our Public Schools," they argue…

What's democracy got to do with teaching? To answer this question, the author recollects the personal experiences through which she came to understand the connections between democracy and teaching. Sustaining democracy requires its citizens--teachers, parents, and students, in the case of schooling--to fight for it intelligently. The way teachers…

The authors of the book argue that a fundamentally complex problem--how to assess the knowledge of a child--cannot be reduced to a simple test score. "Beyond Testing" describes seven forms of assessment that are more effective than standardized test results: (1) student self-assessments, (2) direct teacher observations of students and…

The lead essay in this collection, "Educating a Democracy" by Deborah Meir, rejects the idea of a centralized authority that dictates how and what teachers teach. Standardization prevents citizens from shaping their own schools, classrooms, and communities. Schools teach democratic virtues and provide much of this teaching by example.…

Offers five propositions to help schools prepare students to participate equally in a democratic society: Schools need focus; one size does not fit all; a democratic school culture would have lots of human interaction; forms of governance would differ, too; and reform consistent with democracy takes time. Describes how several exemplary schools…

High school students no longer keep company with the grown-ups they are about to become. Schools and districts have grown exponentially larger, impersonal, and bureaucratic, resembling post offices. Superintendents and boards who know their schools only through media representations or statistics fashion unrealistic policies. Coercion and…

New York City schools who have adopted the Central Park East model share a commitment to kindergarten principles that promote self-reliance and democracy. The central function of schooling should be to cultivate the mental and moral habits that a democratic society requires. These include openness to other views, the capacity to sustain…

This article details the demise of a small multicultural and democratic school in a large urban district. After a successful 25-year run, a public school built on principles of progressive and democratic education was dismantled and destroyed. The article attempts to expose the contradictions and untruths in the story of Mission Hill School's…

This book critiques the ideology of testing, describing a very different positive vision forged in the success stories of small public schools that were created in Boston and New York. These nationally acclaimed schools relied upon trusting teachers to use their own judgement, inviting parents into close relationships with schools, and surrounding…

At Central Park East (CPE) schools in East Harlem, New York City, 90 percent of students graduate from high school and 90 percent of those go on to college. Starting with the CPE success story, this book shows why good education is possible for all children, and why public education is vital to the future of our democracy. Begun in the mid-1970s,…

Four critical first steps to establish trust among school boards, schools, and the public are: (1) building a community-wide consensus about the essential purposes of schools; (2) agreeing on how to provide choices for minority viewpoints; (3) selecting key education leaders; and (4) providing these leaders with the freedom they need to do the…