Typically, school curriculum has been viewed through the lens of
preparation for the workplace or higher education, both worthy
objectives. However, this is not the only lens, and perhaps not even the
most powerful one to use, if the goal is to optimize the educational
system. Curriculum on the Edge of Survival, 2nd Edition, attempts to
define basic aspects of the curriculum when viewed through the larger
lens of a school as the principal instrument through which we maintain
an effective democracy. In that case, the purpose of education is to
prepare our students to take their rightful place as active members of a
democracy. This purpose is larger than workplace or college readiness,
and in fact subsumes them. The second edition of Curriculum on the Edge
of Survival posits four major starting points for education under the
purpose of preparing students for functional membership in a democracy:
kindness, thinking, problem solving, and communications. These four
foundational elements should be taught in every class, at every level,
every day. They form the backbone of a great educational system.