In these divided states of America, schools should teach students how to participate in the democratic process, rather than avoid classroom conflicts. Education for citizenship in a democracy cannot happen in an artificially conflict-free environment. Citizenship's core challenge is learning to cope creatively with controversial issues (like…

The nation's educational system mirrors the dynamics of our marketplace democracy, recasting parents as self-interested consumers. Jane Addams' philosophy of education (enhancing people's productive capacities to benefit the commonweal) has been revived in Public Achievement, a work-centered, civic-earning program in St.Paul, Minnesota, that helps…

Compared to home life, schools resemble crossroads, village squares, marketplaces, and cities. Increasing deliberative interactions among diverse students helps instill habits of behavior necessary for public life: the courtesies, manners, tolerance, respect, sense of justice, and knack for forging public policy with others. This article explains…

The "disappearance" of civic America and atrophy of face-to-face associational life have become major social concerns. Meanwhile, governmental systems are decentralizing, and education remains very political. Striving to reinvigorate civic education for youth is not enough. Educators must further democratize education by involving citizens in…

Beset by bitter budget and teacher-salary disputes, a northern New Hampshire school district engaged citizens in thoughtful dialogs about children's learning by adopting an educational town-meeting format. Success hinged on courageous leadership; educators' listening attitude; a safe, respectful debating environment; teacher and union…

With workerless factories, virtual companies, and shrinking governments becoming reality, nations will be hard-pressed to employ millions of "surplus" young people in an increasingly automated global economy. An elitist knowledge sector cannot accommodate enough displaced workers. To advance the goals of civil education, educators must also look…

To educate children for a civil society, teachers should work to raise (noncollege-bound) students' skills to the levels that good jobs require. Maintaining the status quo and educating children to participate in Jeremy Rifkin's "third sector" are misguided options. The new basic skills should include hard skills (in basic mathematics, problem…

Economic inequality is tearing our civil society apart. Addressing this problem through school governance reforms (vouchers, privatization, and charter schools), or curriculum changes (teaching new basic skills), or a new instructional focus (Rifkin's civil sector) ignores the real challenge: redistributing wealth and softening inequalities.…

A Paterson (New Jersey) teacher criticizes well-meaning prescriptions for educating students for a civil society. Reforms based on skills-based instruction and test-driven assessment are failing. Inequality is the core issue. Schools cannot compensate for class and racial inequalities, particularly if inequitable funding mechanisms persist.…

Public Agenda's national surveys over the past six years depict an American public angered by the state of public education. Many see the schools as mirroring the moral decay that infects society. The public feels the schools are no longer theirs, that they have been captured by teachers, reformers, unions, or others. Unless educators address…

Since polls play an increasingly prominent role in shaping educational politics, educators need to distinguish between prevailing opinion and what polls really measure. Heroic leaders sometimes swim against the tide of public opinion and change it. Polls are fickle; they accurately depict near-future voting or consumer behavior, but are less…

Critics have long claimed that kids are getting dumber. Only in recent decades have schools been blamed for students' perceived ineptitude and our nation's declining competitiveness. Education indicators sagged around 1965 for a decade, then climbed to new highs. The schools shouldered the blame for the late 1980s recession, but got no credit for…

An Oregon elementary teacher attributes her best teaching year ever to parents' and community members' voluntary participation. They got involved in four ways--communicating through voice mail, sharing expertise in the classroom, helping gather lesson materials, and participating in monthly learning celebrations. These activities supplemented…

Develops a "theory of stretched analogies" to explain limitations of student-as-customer and athletic motivational notions. Schools are neither shopping malls nor knowledge factories; for unengaged students, there will be nothing to purchase. Also, caring teacher-coaches must decide how high to set the bar. The goal is helping all students…

A large portion of the general public, including senior citizens, feels disconnected from local schools. Some seniors see little reason to support tax increases to provide public education's programs and services. Highland Park Learning Center, in Roanoke City, Virginia, has brought retirees back with an innovative program that teaches basic…