Education Commons^™

Conservatives’ Use Of A Civil Rights Narrative Helped Them Secure Control Of American Education Policy. A Book Review Of The Death Of Public School: How Conservatives Won The War Over Education In America, Jeffrey Frenkiewich

Democracy and Education

In The Death of Public School, Cara Fitzpatrick traces the history of America’s move to privatize its education system. In 23 chapters, she follows the history of this movement from its beginnings as a white supremacist attempt to keep schools segregated, to its development into a bipartisan effort employing a civil rights narrative. Fitzpatrick provides case studies of how privatization efforts played out in places like Cleveland, Ohio, Florida, and New Orleans, and the author shows how conservatives appropriated a civil rights narrative to pursue their own aims for privatization in the 21st century. While others have outlined and …

Myths Economic And Civic. A Book Review Of The Education Myth: How Human Capital Trumped Social Democracy, Kelly Swope

Democracy and Education

I review historian Jon Shelton's 2023 book, The Education Myth: How Human Capital Trumped Social Democracy. First, I summarize the book's main claim that a pernicious myth about public schooling's role in developing human capital is the root of our current educational problems. Second, I provide a chapter-by-chapter summary of the book's contents. Finally, I analyze the book's accomplishments and suggest that there is one powerful education myth about public schools' relationship to American democracy that the author omits from this valuable new study.

Public Schooling For Democracy. A Book Review Of Public Education: Defending A Cornerstone Of American Democracy, Ellis E. Reid V

Democracy and Education

This essay is a book review of Public Education: Defending a Cornerstone of American Democracy.

Liberating Children, Or Breaking The Backbone Of Our Democracy? A Book Review Of Hostages No More: The Fight For Education Freedom And The Future Of The American Child, Jeffrey Frenkiewich

Democracy and Education

In Hostages No More, former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos provides a 10-chapter memoir in which she argues for school privatization, including the expansion of government funding of charter schools. DeVos argues that the modern public education system, supported by an “establishment” of government bureaucracies, the education industrial complex, and teacher unions, holds American children, especially poor Black and Hispanic children, “hostage” (DeVos, 2022, p. 261) and that her life’s work has been a civil rights struggle to help parents and their children obtain their “education freedom” (p. 216). However, many of her claims are supported with misleading information, and …

John O’Malley And Jesuit Education: A Journey Into Humanism, Cristiano Casalini, Alessandro Corsi

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

This article reflects upon the impact of the work of John W. O’Malley, S.J. (1927–2022), on the field of the history of Jesuit education. In The First Jesuits (1993), O’Malley provided an innovative approach to the subject that refuted some long-standing preconceptions about the way Jesuit schools and universities had originally developed. The approach that he took to to the topic throughout the 1990s and 2000s allowed him to identify two intertwined educational traditions at the heart of the Jesuit pedagogical model: the humanistic tradition of the Renaissance period, based on the Isocratic concept of pietas, and the scholastic …

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 …

The Morning Meeting: Fostering A Participatory Democracy Begins With Youth In Public Education, Rebecca C. Tilhou

Democracy and Education

There is a faltering sense of democracy in America’s current political climate due to polarized opinions about leadership’s decisions and antagonistic political parties. John Dewey (1916) proposed that education is the place to foster democracy, as schools can provide a platform to actively engage students in authentic democratic experiences that will empower them to act democratically beyond the walls of the school. The democratic schools that emerged during the Free School Movement of the 1960s and 1970s embody Dewey’s philosophy, specifically with the shared governance occurring in their School Meetings. Unfortunately, American public education’s present preoccupation with standardization, proficiency scores, …

Stealin' The Meetin': Black Education History & The Black Panthers' Oakland Community School, Robert P. Robinson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation frames the Black Panthers' Oakland Community School (OCS) as a convergence of Black self-determination/Black Power, Black education history, and curriculum studies. Drawing from widely-cited archives, rarely-cited archives, oral history, periodicals, and secondary source material, the proposed study extends the OCS narrative by tracing its curricular trajectory and highlighting the voices of students, parents, and staff. It considers how the school’s history provides examples of educational practices—such as restorative justice and culturally relevant pedagogy—that would not become named or popularized in mainstream education until much later, asserting that histories of this sort can inform educational endeavors in the present. …

Negating Amy Gutmann: Deliberative Democracy, Business Influence, And Segmentation Strategies In Education, Brian Ford

Democracy and Education

The task of creating a public will is daunting in any political system, but a democracy dedicated to the principles of participation and public deliberation faces specific challenges, including overcoming organized opposition that may not accept democratic tenets. In the sphere of education (and social reproduction more generally), business-influenced movements to reform public education question many of the established goals and norms of democratic education and thus may be the vanguard of such opposition. In order to interpret and explore these movements, this article enlists Amy Gutmann's work as a heuristic device. In so doing, it looks at the task …

Disrupting Whiteness In Curriculum History. A Book Review Of Reclaiming The Multicultural Roots Of U.S. Curriculum: Communities Of Color And Official Knowledge In Education, Christopher L. Busey

Democracy and Education

The canon and curriculum of curriculum history remain grounded in Whiteness. Little attention is given to multicultural narratives of curriculum history, especially those that emerge from marginalized communities of color in the U.S. This book review details how Reclaiming the Multicultural Roots of U.S. Curriculum: Communities of Color and Official Knowledge in Education (Au, Brown, & Calderón, 2016) aims to address a void in the canon of curriculum history. Through the lens of Indigenous peoples, Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, Mexican Americans, and African Americans, the field of curriculum history is enriched with discourses as to how communities of color both …

The History Of High School Ethnic Studies Courses In California: A Case Study Of Santa Maria Joint Union High School District, Brian Gounod

History

Ethnic studies in California's high schools has a 51-year history, beginning in 1968. The growth of ethnic studies has occurred through this period and can be separated into four key time periods. The growth of ethnic studies across these time periods have been issues of ethnic segregation, ethnic self-determination, educational inequalities and immigration issues The greatest period of expansion for ethnic studies has been the 5-year period from 2014-2018, when numerous high school districts adopted new courses and requirements for ethnic studies.

One such high school district to expand its ethnic studies department was Santa Maria Joint Union High School …

Racism, Reform, Revolution? The Segrenomics Of American Education. A Book Review Of Cutting School: Privatization, Segregation, And The End Of Public Education, Sue Ellen Henry, Michael Drabich, Charlotte Detwiler, Katelyn Kempf, Katherine Kromer, Anthony Scrima, Kafilat Oladiran, Melanie Scurto, Will Simonson, Janey Woo

Democracy and Education

A review of the book Cutting School: Privatization, Segregation, and the End of Public Education, by Noliwe Rooks (The New Press, 2017).

Does The Common Core Further Democracy? A Response To "The Common Core And Democratic Education: Examining Potential Costs And Benefits To Public And Private Autonomy", Johann N. Neem

Democracy and Education

The Common Core does not advance democratic education. Far from it, the opening section of the language standards argues that the goal of public K–12 education is “college and career readiness.” Only at the end of their introductory section do the Common Core’s authors suggest that K–12 education has any goals beyond the economic: learning to read and write well has “wide applicability outside the classroom and work place,” including preparing people for “private deliberation and responsible citizenship in a republic.” The democratic purposes of K–12 education are not goals but, in the Common Core’s words, a “natural outgrowth” of …

Teaching Controversial Issues In American Schools, Emily Robertson

Democracy and Education

Robert Kunzman's review of our book is thoughtful and generous. There are numerous points of agreement between us. We indicate a few areas where comments might be helpful to our readers, including our support of pedagogical neutrality, our legal analysis of teachers' rights to free speech, our support of academic freedom for teachers, and the goals of teaching controversial issues.

Response To “Seeking Democracy Inside And Outside Of Education”, Catherine Broom

Democracy and Education

This response considers the strengths of Carr and Thesee's paper and explores further areas of research related to education for democracy or citizenship education.

Is Group Therapy Democratic? Enduring Consequences Of Outward Bound’S Alignment With The Human Potential Movement. A Response To “How To Be Nice And Get What You Want: Structural Referents Of 'Self’ And ‘Other’ In Experiential Education As (Un)Democratic Practice.", Jayson Seaman

Democracy and Education

Franklin Vernon provided an example of how programs viewing themselves as “cultural islands” are in fact embedded within historical capitalist relations, through the discourses of self that they promote. In this response, I expand on Vernon’s argument to situate the quasi-therapeutic practices he identified in the history of the human potential movement, which effectively merged with Outward Bound starting in the 1960s and continues to define outdoor experiential education. Where Vernon sought the structural referents to different models of self, this response seeks their historical origins. The response concludes by linking Vernon’s argument with existing critiques and parallel efforts in …

Neoliberal Ideology And Democratic Learning. A Response To "Challenging Freedom: Neoliberalism And The Erosion Of Democratic Education", Emery James Hyslop-Margison, Andrés Ramírez

Democracy and Education

In "Challenging Freedom: Neoliberalism and the Erosion of Democratic Education," the author suggests that the presumed decline of democratic learning in public schooling follows from two primary forces: (a) the metaphysical implications of Cartesian psychophysical dualism that support an ontological understanding of the self as distinct from social influence and (b) a corresponding concept of freedom emerging from this ontology that exonerates individuals from any meaningful level of social moral responsibility. Although we agree in large part with the general argument advanced in the essay, there are some theoretical and historical gaps that we attempt to bridge in this response. …

Review Of Education For Empire: American Schools, Race, And The Paths Of Good Citizenship, Brianna Lafoon

Department of History - Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Stirling Education: Education In Antebellum Louisiana, Seth T. Eisworth

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the surviving archival evidence from several 19th century prominent West Feliciana families found in the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections (LLMVC) at the LSU libraries in an effort to understand how Louisianans’ value and support education. The antebellum period was chosen for study because it was arguably the last time period in which the South was not influenced or controlled by the dominant narrative of the Common School Movement, which Wayne Urban (1981) refers to as the “phenomenon of Massachusetts Myopia.” The archival collections containing correspondence from the immediate family of Lewis Stirling, Sr. and their …

How History Shows The Damage Done By Corporate Influence On Education. A Book Review Of Schooling Corporate Citizens: How Accountability Reform Has Damaged Civic Education And Undermined Democracy, Clio Stearns

Democracy and Education

Evans’s book addressed the history of accountability-based reform against the thesis that corporate interests have played an extensive, insidious rule in directing the nature of educational policy. This review lauds Evans’s careful history and documentation, as well as his sharp critique of the dangerous implications of corporate involvement for social studies education. The review questions Evans’s open-mindedness in relation to the Common Core State Standards.

Educating Each According To His Needs: A Response To “Beyond The Schoolhouse Door: Educating The Political Animal In Jefferson’S Little Republics”, Andrew Holowchak

Democracy and Education

This essay is a reply to Brian Dotts’s “Beyond the Schoolhouse Door,” which focuses on the need of a system of general education in Jefferson’s writings on educative reform.

Beyond The Schoolhouse Door: Educating The Political Animal In Jefferson’S Little Republics, Brian W. Dotts

Democracy and Education

Jefferson believed that citizenship must exhibit republican virtue. While education was necessary in a republican polity, it alone was insufficient in sustaining a revolutionary civic spirit. This paper examines Jefferson's expectations for citizen virtue, specifically related to militia and jury service in his 'little republics.' Citizens required not only knowledge of history and republican principles, but also public spaces where they could personify what they learned. Jefferson often analogized the nation as a ship at sea, and while navigational instruments are necessary in charting an accurate course, i.e., republican theories, they become inconsequential without the decisive action required for their …

Jefferson And Democratic Education. A Response To "Thomas Jefferson And The Ideology Of Democratic Schooling", M. Andrew Holowchak

Democracy and Education

This essay is a reply to James Carpenter's “Thomas Jefferson and the Ideology of Democratic Schooling.” In it, I argue that there is an apophatic strain in the essay that calls into question the motivation for the undertaking.

The Complexity Of Thomas Jefferson. A Response To "'The Diffusion Of Light': Jefferson's Philosophy Of Education", James Carpenter

Democracy and Education

This response argues that Jefferson's educational philosophy must be considered in a proper historical context. Holowchak accurately demonstrates both Jefferson's obsession with education and the political philosophy on which his educational beliefs are built. However, the effort to apply modern democratic and meritocratic attributes to Jefferson is unwarranted.

We Were There Too: Learning From Black Male Teachers In Mississippi About Successful Teaching Of Black Students, Cleveland Hayes, Brenda Juarez, Veronica Escoffery-Runnels

Democracy and Education

Applying culturally relevant and social justice–oriented notions of teaching and learning and a critical race theory (CRT) analysis of teacher preparation in the United States, this study examines the oral life histories of two Black male teachers recognized for their successful teaching of Black students. These histories provide us with a venue for identifying thematic patterns across the two teachers' educational philosophies and pedagogical practices and for analyzing how these teachers' respective personal and professional experiences have influenced their individual and collective approaches to teaching and learning.

Thomas Jefferson And The Ideology Of Democratic Schooling, James Carpenter

Democracy and Education

I challenge the traditional argument that Jefferson’s educational plans for Virginia were built on modern democratic understandings. While containing some democratic features, especially for the founding decades, Jefferson’s concern was narrowly political, designed to ensure the survival of the new republic. The significance of this piece is to add to the more accurate portrayal of Jefferson’s impact on American institutions.

Is Jefferson A Founding Father Of Democratic Education? A Response To "Jefferson And The Ideology Of Democratic Schooling", Johann Neem

Democracy and Education

This response argues that it is reasonable to consider Thomas Jefferson a proponent of democratic education. It suggests that Jefferson's education proposals sought to ensure the wide distribution of knowledge and that Jefferson's legacy remains important to us today.

“The Diffusion Of Light”: Jefferson’S Philosophy Of Education, M. Andrew Holowchak

Democracy and Education

Jefferson's republicanism—a people-first, mostly bottom-up political vision with a moral underpinning—was critically dependent on general education for the citizenry and higher education for those who would govern. This paper contains an analysis of Jefferson’s general philosophy of pedagogy by enumerating some of its most fundamental principles, applicable to both elementary and higher education.

From Collections To Laboratories To Centers: Development Of The Curriculum Materials Collections Or Centers To 1940, Rita Kohrman

Rita Kohrman

The need for curriculum materials collections/centers is evident with the study of the development of education practices in the United States. "Keeping-school" was viewed with such disdain that anyone without training was believed to be able to teach - "Any farmer can teach" (Bowen, 1887, p. 14). As education became more important to the growth of the nation and its citizens, teacher preparation changed from mimicking how one was taught to being viewed as a science and requiring its own laboratories similar to science and medical laboratories.

Moving Forward, Looking Back: Renewing The Struggle For An American Curriculum, Dave Powell

Dave Powell

Rationales for public school reform in the United States are often tied to historical perspectives on the birth and development of schools and are buffeted by the assumption that the history of public schooling says much about how reform efforts should proceed. This interpretive article explores 2 such perspectives on 21st century schools: those of Diane Ravitch, distinguished educational historian and commentator; and those of Herbert Kliebard, considered one of the preeminent authorities on the development of the American curriculum. This investigation reveals that Ravitch’s longstanding condemnation of progressivism and curricular differentiation as the source of what ails public schools …