Education for Everyone: Agenda for Education in a Democracy - Hardcover

by John I. Goodlad (Author), Corinne Mantle-Bromley (Author), Stephen John Goodlad (Author)

The founders of our Republic envisioned education as providing for all citizens the necessary apprenticeship in the understanding and practice of democracy. To make democracy safe we must have universal schooling; to make schooling safe for education we must have democracy. But since the founding of our country the study and practice of democracy in our schools has weakened. We must return to the primary purpose of education and ensure that it is indeed for everyone. The Agenda for Education in a Democracy proposed by the authors is more than an effort to simply revitalize a faltering civics curriculum. It is about restoring a shared humanity to the educational process. It is about the need to make caring, compassion, freedom, dignity, and responsibility central to the mission of schooling. It is about placing power and responsibility--a concept more demanding of the individual than is accountability--in the hands of those who need and deserve it. It is about taking the idea of excellence seriously. It is about taking democracy seriously. It is about having real faith in real people to do what is right, just, and honorable.

Front Jacket

The founders of our Republic envisioned education as providing for all citizens the necessary apprenticeship in the understanding and practice of democracy. To make democracy safe we must have universal schooling; to make schooling safe for education we must have democracy. But since the founding of our country the study and practice of democracy in our schools has weakened. We must return to the primary purpose of education and ensure that it is indeed for everyone.

The Agenda for Education in a Democracy proposed by the authors is more than an effort to simply revitalize a faltering civics curriculum. It is about restoring a shared humanity to the educational process. It is about the need to make caring, compassion, freedom, dignity, and responsibility central to the mission of schooling. It is about placing power and responsibility-a concept more demanding of the individual than is accountability-in the hands of those who need and deserve it. It is about taking the idea of excellence seriously. It is about taking democracy seriously. It is about having real faith in real people to do what is right, just, and honorable.

Back Jacket

Praise for Education for Everyone

"This is a provocative and intellectually stimulating collection of wisdom designed for the reader who truly believes in the altruistic purpose of public education in today's tumultuous world. Education for Everyone invites the reader to think deeply about the power of one word, 'DEMOCRACY, ' and why it remains the true foundation of the American educational system."
--Cile Chavez, president, Cile Chavez Consulting, Inc.

"The authors of Education for Everyone provide a basic primer for why public schools are central to democracy and how they need to change in order to fulfill their historic purpose. Here is a compelling vision of what schools must do to create a learning environment that will foster an educated citizenry."
--Anne Bryant, executive director, National School Boards Association

"Education for Everyone tells the story of several decades of work on educational renewal. In contrast to 'reform' movements that assume a universal problem without diagnosing it, 'renewal' reminds us to think again about the aims of education and how we might do better. This is a powerful message."
--Nel Noddings, author of Happiness and Education

"John Goodlad, Stephen Goodlad and Corinne Mantle-Bromley remain pioneers in the field of democratic education. As theorists who have applied their agenda to the real world of practical education, and as educators who are deeply reflective about their practical experience, they have become invaluable guides to teachers, administrators, and students alike-to all who believe democracy and education are reciprocal arts and want to know how best to marry them."
--Benjamin R. Barber, author of Fear's Empire: War, Terrorism, and Democracy in an Age of Interdependence and Jihad vs. McWorld: Terrorism's Challenge to Democracy

Author Biography

John I. Goodlad is president of the Institute for Educational Inquiry and professor emeritus of the University of Washington. He is the author or coauthor of numerous books including Developing Democratic Character in the Young, Educational Renewal, The Moral Dimensions of Teaching, and The Public Purpose of Education and Schooling, all from Jossey-Bass.

Corinne Mantle-Bromley is executive vice president of the Institute for Educational Inquiry and research professor at the University of Washington. She is a former classroom teacher and associate professor at Colorado State University with research interests and publications most recently focusing on school-university partnerships for educational renewal.

Stephen John Goodlad is a writer and philosopher whose interests center on the relationships between environmentalism, ecology, and democracy and, in turn, the implications of those relationships for education and schooling. He is the editor of The Last Best Hope from Jossey-Bass.