Education Commons^™

The Privatization Movement Is Not Dead! A Book Review Of A Wolf At The Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling Of Public Education And The Future Of School, Jeffrey Frenkiewich

Democracy and Education

In January of 2020, Diane Ravitch published Slaying Goliath, in which she claimed the movement to privatize America’s public school system was dying. While this might be true, the movement is not dead, and this review looks at Jack Schneider and Jennifer Berkshire’s A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door, which examines the history of school privatization and calls for renewed vigilance by those who oppose it. Schneider and Berkshire argued that defenders of public education need three conceptual frames to fight privatization efforts: (a) a clear presentation of the aims and objectives of the privatization movement; (b) knowledge of the …

Practices To Live With, Invitations For Change. A Book Review Of Descriptive Inquiry In Teacher Practice: Cultivating Practical Wisdom In Create Democratic Schools, Dana Frantz Bentley

Democracy and Education

This review explores the discourse between theory and practice put forth in Cara E. Furman and Cecelia E. Traugh's Descriptive Inquiry in Teacher Practice: Cultivating Practical Wisdom to Create Democratic Schools. Through the practice of descriptive inquiry, these two authors engage in a lively examination of schools and educators developing individualized democratic practices. This review explores the engaging conversations between schools, educators, and school communities as they learn to center their democratic teaching on human dignity, and a focus on practical wisdom.

Middle School Mathematics Teachers’ Efforts To Foster Classroom Democracies. A Response To "Creating A Democratic Mathematics Classroom", Amanda Jansen, Lorianne Kalb, Denise Mccunney

Democracy and Education

How can middle school mathematics teachers navigate their roles as authorities in managing classroom democracies while providing their students with opportunities to exercise their rights? The concept of complementarity (Vithal, 1999) acknowledges that a teacher’s authority is not always in conflict with students’ rights or agency, but instead a teacher’s authority can be exercised judiciously to invite students to enact their rights. In this response to “Creating Democratic Mathematics Classrooms,” we take up the authors’ invitation to reflect on how we consider the role of responsibilities in classrooms that promote Torres’s Rights of the Learner. We share ways that two …

How Teaching Virtues Became A Movement. A Book Review Of The Rise Of Character Education In Britain: Heroes, Dragons, And The Myths Of Character, Judith L. Pace

Democracy and Education

How did character education become so popular? What does its curriculum look like? And what is its educational impact? Lee Jerome and Ben Kisby answer these and other questions in a bold and brilliant book. Focusing on the character education movement in Britain, they dissect its theoretical foundation, explain its ascendancy, analyze its curricula, and examine its results. The authors construct a compelling argument that character education clashes with education for democracy.

Character education claims to be a panacea for improving individual children’s life chances as well as an array of societal problems. But with its deeply flawed ideology, curricula, …

The Power And Promise Of Scaffolded Reading Instruction For Teaching Civic Literacy. A Response To "Supporting Students To Read Complex Texts On Civic Issues: The Role Of Scaffolded Reading Instruction In Democratic Education", Melanie M. Mccormick, Anne-Lise Halvorsen

Democracy and Education

In this response, we make the case for the power and promise of scaffolded reading instruction for teaching civic literacy—civic content knowledge and skills needed to both comprehend and take a stand on civic issues at a local, national, or global level. We argue the following: (a) Now, more than ever, students need to develop the skills and will to critically consume and analyze media sources; (b) the Reading Apprenticeship model is a promising approach for teaching students the knowledge and skills to navigate and analyze complex text; and (c) intentional collaboration between literacy and social studies educators (K–12 teachers, …

Discussing Controversial Issues: Exploring The Role Of Agonistic Emotions, Emil Sætra

Democracy and Education

Drawing on recent work on affective citizenship and agonistic emotions, this article explores the role of emotions in discussions of controversial issues in Norwegian high schools. Empirical material was collected through individual interviews with 11 teachers (two of whom were interviewed together) and group interviews with 28 students (five or six students per group). This study contributes to the literature on the teaching of controversial issues by shedding light on the affective dynamics and emotional complexities involved. This task was carried out along two interrelated lines of inquiry. First, it explored the role of emotions in starting and sustaining discussions …