Reimagining American Education to Serve All Our Children

Why Should We Educate in a Democracy?

Deborah Greenblatt, Nicholas M. Michelli

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781138363298
• eBook ISBN: 9780429776717
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Reimagining American Education to Serve All Our Children: Why Should We Educate in a Democracy? examines and reevaluates the history and purpose of public education in the United States, in order to provide students of current and future generations with a robust and fulfilling learning experience. The authors approach knowledge from a critical perspective, with the intention of broadening the definition of knowledge and critical thinking, positioning education as a gateway to life's endless possibilities and participation in a democratic society. In asking "why should we educate in a democracy rather than why do we educate in a democracy," the authors suggest directions that need to be taken to enhance democracy, social justice, and the positive effects of education for all.

Divided into ten concise chapters, this volume provides activities and strategies for developing meaning for often contentious concepts, illustrates concepts, and brings together new ideas as well as assessment ideas. Greenblatt and Michelli and their coauthors cover a diverse range of important topics allowing us to understand education in a democracy, including:

• Sociopolitical barriers to knowledge
• The importance of all subjects, including the arts, health and physical education
• Methods of fostering imaginative thinking
• The political nature of the effects of policies on education

Reimagining American Education to Serve All Our Children aims to provide practicing teachers, teacher educators, graduate education students—and all those interested in enhancing education, a discussion on the relationship between education and policy. A topical conversation, this book aids readers to develop a better understanding of the effects of social justice on American learners and the effects of education on social justice and democracy in order to take a position on these critical issues.

1

WHY SHOULD WE EDUCATE IN A DEMOCRACY?

The moral imperative

The question, “Why should we educate in a democracy?” summarizes our intent in this book. We often hear the question, “Why do we educate in a democracy?” That question is not good enough to face the future.

The difference between should and do is important in light of criticisms of education in America over the past several decades. Some of these criticisms are deserved, or at least the issues being investigated are troubling, such as aspects connected to inequity and inequality. However, other criticisms are about placing blame and not looking at social, political, economic systems that are strongly linked to schooling (Anyon, 2014; Nieto & Bode, 2018; Sarah M. Stitzlein, 2017).

Why Did We Write This Book?

All seven authors have worked together for years on issues of a reimagination of education during doctoral programs, while planning and delivering presentations at national conferences. Most of us met weekly with Ph.D. students working on their dissertations, almost all relevant to the issues we are discussing. We have come to a fairly consistent set of beliefs regarding why we should educate in a democracy, and we wrote this book for all who are interested in enhancing education—educators at all levels, parents, policy makers, and participants in our democracy who fit in none of these categories. This is not intended to be a political book, but education and the policies affecting it are indeed political.

The difficulty to achieve real change and progress cannot stop us from moving forward. As Michelle Obama (2018) writes about her husband's vision for America, “you may live in the world as it is, but you can still work to create the world as it should be” (p. 395). Since much of our work requires political and policy change, it is true that our ability to move forward is affected by the political climate. Of course, we must be certain that thinking about how we attend to learners in school at any level is seen as a high priority.

In June 2019, at the beginning of the election for the next president, The New York Times published an article that asked questions of the then 21 candidates for the Democratic nomination at the time. Among the 18 questions were questions on owning handguns, health care, climate change, human rights, foreign policy specifically involving Israel and Afghanistan, the death penalty, and expanding the Supreme Court. They also asked about the candidates' sleep, their heroes, their comfort food, and others, but there was no question about their views on education! We see this as a major omission (Burns, Ember, Kessel, & Park, 2019).

It inspires us further to write this book to have out there as a statement of convictions based on professional work, research, and our interactions nationally. We hope you think about all that is said here based on the work of some of the most progressive educators we know, consider the questions we pose, and let us know what you think and the progress you make on influencing education to focus on democracy and social justice. We have created an email address for the book in order to hear from you: [email protected].

Political Climate

In times when political parties do not communicate well with each other, do not seek compromise, and do not treat each other with respect, it becomes difficult to achieve a positive change. This is an occurrence, the emergence of political climate that limits progress, which has been present a number of times in our history. Two quick examples illustrate this. The process by which the Thirteenth Amendment eliminating slavery led to political conflict for different reasons. Lincoln led the charge, and some did not want to end slavery before the South surrendered. Others thought it as essential to move forward quickly. This was complicated by the presence of a group of negotiators from the Confederacy present secretly in Washington and kept even from some members of the cabinet. Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals (2006) makes this point effectively.

In the period beginning with 2016, a controversy about immigration led to a difficult political climate that resulted in deep political disagreement. There was strong opposition to President Trump's position on immigration. Many did not agree to his call for a border wall, to the use of tear gas to stop a group of immigrants from entering the country at Tijuana to seek asylum, and the separation of parents and children at the border. Political climate is critical, can't always be controlled, and requires a mindset of a willingness to listen, disagree, seek compromise, and move forward, and as we shall see, this is in fact is part of how we define democracy.

From the outset, we want it clear that we do not talk about reform—which is usually pejorative and is a process in place until the “problem” appears solved. Our work is based on educational renewal, which is a process of ongoing interrogation and reflection, and it is part of the responsibility of everyone in a healthy organization. Renewal is created through a “shared vision” that guides the organization and leads to reimagining what is possible. The process of renewal continues and often leads to a new shared vision as new people and perspectives are added. It is the absence of a shared vision that leads to a detrimental political climate and to stagnation in organizational change.

Just as democracy requires continual renewal through rebuilding and restorative strategies, so does the success of educational policies within a democracy. Rebuilding and renewal come through dissent—through presenting new and different ideas about how to best achieve a desired end or to purpose a different goal (Sarah Marie Stitzlein, 2012, p. 122).

In writing this book, we utilized the process of renewal to set forth a vision for reimagining why we should educate in a democracy. Again, with this in mind, we welcome you to join us in the quest for education that meets real needs, equips our students for success, opens doors, and sees education as a moral responsibility we all must assume. We will clarify what we mean in our conceptual framework toward the end of the chapter.

The Major Sources of Our Views

We acknowledge our debt to John Goodlad and his associates, with whom some of us have worked with for almost a quarter century. Goodlad's work (J. Goodlad, 2004a) gives guidance to confronting the question of why we should educate, but, as you will see, we hope to take them further to meet our current needs. Goodlad's proofing ground for trying out ideas was The National Network for Educational Renewal (NNER), an organization that brings together educators in teacher education, colleges of arts and sciences, and K-12 educators. After an earlier iteration that came to an end when Goodlad did not see adequate commitment to involving the schools, the NNER was started again in 1992 with eight settings, each including educators from departments, schools and colleges of education, educators from arts and science, and educators from the schools. These were selected from among 300 settings expressing interest, and admission depended on clear evidence of commitment to the work envisioned by Goodlad. The key to the work of the NNER has been what is known as the Agenda for Education in a Democracy and four dimensions, called “moral dimensions” that constitute and describe the agenda, and provide in part an answer to the question “Why do we educate in a democracy?” Originally, these dimensions were identified as actions to:

1. Providing access to knowledge to all children and youth.
2. Practicing pedagogical nurturing.
3. Ensuring responsible stewardship of schools.
4. Enculturating the young in a social and political democracy (Goodlad, 2004a).

The dimensions changed over time, and as of 2019, the NNER website refers to them as “fundamental beliefs” or “The Four Pillars of American Democracy” rather than “moral dimensions.” At that time, the beliefs were states as follows:

1. Provide access to knowledge for all children.
2. Educate the young for thoughtful participation in a social and political democracy.
3. Base teaching on knowledge of the subjects taught, established principles of learning, and sensitivities to unique potential of learners
4. Take responsibility for improving the conditions for learning in P-12 schools, institutions of higher education, and communities (National Network for Educational Renewal, 2019).

These moral dimensions can be connected to what Stitzlein (2017) calls the “corresponding responsibility” of the public. We also argue that is it not just teachers and administrators who are responsible for educating in a democracy, but that there must be investment in our public schools by society at large. As previously mentioned, there is a lot of blame placed on educators, but

The responsibility of citizens includes social and public work, motivated by care for current and future citizens. It entails upholding a commitment to schools as a central institution of democracy – something that not only sustains democracy but also, in its best forms, is democracy in action. (Stitzlein, 2017, p. 66)

From the beginning, the work toward these pillars or dimensions ran into some serious objections. An example was the word “moral,” which in the eyes of some cannot be imposed, and also, the word “enculturation,” a term used by anthropologists, because it was read by some to mean imposed rather than becoming part of a culture. Of the dimensions, the one that seemed to create most concern, much to the surprise of those engaged in the work, was the idea of schools teaching for democracy. In fact, one of the authors in a presentation to the Education Commission of the States, which includes governors and legislators from across the country, discussed the role of education in promoting participation in democracy. A legislator stood up and said, “You want schools to teach about democracy? That's un-American!” Some objection also arose in settings where educating around a concept such as democracy went beyond “reading and writing” and imposed responsibility on the family. A core of our belief is that education is the only institution that is charged with developing democratic character in our children, and it is essential that we accept it as a core responsibility to be nurtured and improved, that is, perhaps, our most important message, with other ideas all related to it.

So, we began with the educators who inspired us with their work, but we have gone beyond their views to consider the present and future.

The Purpose of Education in a Democracy: For Individual Gain or for the Public Good?

The purpose of education in a democracy is contested and multifaceted. We agree that among other things, “[e]ducation is about learning, questioning, discovering, inquiring, growing, and developing. It is about learning good habits, good citizenship, and personal responsibility” (Ravitch, 2016, p. xxxi). We also agree that education should help in college and career readiness; however, we have seen that in recent decades, there has been a narrow focus on the purpose of education as a means to securing a good job or to assuring a place in the economy. The connection between better schools, better education, and better jobs seems to preoccupy many policy makers. This thinking is linked to the political-economic theory of neoliberalism, which became the dominant discourse of America (and much of the world) in the late 20th century (Harvey, 2005). Many of the national reports on education in the 1970s through the 1990s focused on the tie between the economy and education. The quality of schools was often blamed for the failure of the United States to compete effectively internationally or for the health of the economy at home. However, when the economic “boom” of the 1990s came, it was hard to find anyone who gave credit to education for the prosperity.

Neoliberalism posits that improved well-being occurs when people have the freedom to advance their own interests and gain economic success. This is achieved through competition, free-markets, and globalization (Harvey, 2005). Neoliberalism ignited the educational reform movement that focuses on improving human capital with a focus on self-interest and individual gain (Rizvi, 2017). The neoliberal agenda is deeply embedded into the American educational system in the form of standardization, individualism, outcome-based accountability, and free-market schooling. These concepts are integral to educational policies focused like Race for the Top, school vouchers, and charter schools (Ravitch, 2016). Neoliberalism ignores the political economy of schooling, the biases and flaws in standardized tests, and how the tests are scored. Results of these tests are also used to justify the privatization of public schools under the assumption that if schools were run more like businesses, there would be a more efficient use of time, money, and resources while ignoring that in over 25 years of using free-market practices, there is no evidence that this change leads to school improvement (Lipman, 2011; Ravitch, 2016). Not only have these policies created a system of “winners and losers,” but, as we will explain, they have also changed education in America to the point where we felt a moral imperative to reimagine education in democracy and move from why do we educate in a democracy to why should we educate in a democracy?

Through the lens of neoliberalism, education is a means to earn more capital. As Stizlein explains:

Increasingly, students (guided by their parents) are understood to be self-reliant consumers who pursue education to build their own human capital and prepare for a life of economic competition and exchange. Education is seen as something in which one personally invests in order to reap private return, rather than as a commonwealth of knowledge or collective benefits. (2017, p. 5)

Although we agree that education is a path to social mobility, we also believe that education has additional purposes such as self-fulfillment, in...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figures and Tables
• Foreword by Catherine Wolfe Bornhorst
• Acknowledgments
• 1 Why Should We Educate in a Democracy? The Moral Imperative
• 2 What are the Different Meanings of Democracy and Social Justice?
• 3 What Is Knowledge and How Does It Lead to Power and Success?
• 4 Critical Thinking as a Lifelong Tool
• 5 The Role of Imagination and Confronting Life’s Chances
• 6 Critical Democratic Education as a Way to Prepare for Civic Participation in a Social and Political Democracy
• 7 Working in Educational Settings
• 8 Accountability and Assessment
• 9 Mobilizing for Change
• 10 Conclusions and Some Hopeful Signs
• Index