Contemporary political and socioeconomic conditions largely
characterized by corruption and inequity have added new urgency to
recurring calls for reorienting American public schools to their
historic purpose: educating a citizenry both equipped and motivated to
serve as the ultimate guardians of democracy.
While the Founding Fathers, including Jefferson, as well as the founders
of public schools, including Horace Mann, explicitly stated that
rationale, perhaps no one has done more than John Dewey to detail the
inextricable relationship between education and democratic society. In
Moral Principles in Education and My Pedagogic Creed, Dewey reminds
readers of public schools' original purpose, identifying specific
educational principles and practices that either promote or undermine
their essential democratic goals.
"There cannot be two sets of ethical principles," he says, "one for life
in the school, and the other for life outside of the school." In these
works and through such caveats, Dewey offers readers both the motivation
to engage in the struggle for a new emphasis on educating for democratic
citizenship and the guidance necessary to translate his theory into
effective practice.
Perfect for courses such as: Philosophy of Education, Teaching
Methods, Principles of Teaching and Learning, Education Policy,
Education Leadership, Education Foundations, Curriculum Theory and
History, Curriculum Design, The Philosophy of John Dewey, and School
Change/Reform.