New Title, Broader Focus

Readers who follow this blog are now seeing a new title with the added words, “and Democracy.” As I continue to write this blog, my intention is to focus more on the connectedness of education and democracy. The link is vital, and public education is the surest way to maintain American democracy. This topic requires continued discussion, particularly during the current era when public schools are being attacked on multiple fronts. These attacks constitute a danger to the foundations of our democracy—a danger that can be confronted only through knowledge and understanding about the issues facing public education today and about the lessons of history that can be drawn from our national commitment to democratic governance since the Revolution.

A recent “civic education research tour” took me and my family to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., to renew our acquaintance with the beginnings of the “American experiment.” As we progressed from Independence Hall to Capitol Hill, my interest in making the connection between education and democracy more explicit in this blog was invigorated. Coming out of Washington, we stopped to visit Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello. Jefferson’s commitment to public education has been a lifelong inspiration. “An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people,” he said. It is a sentiment that a free people must never forget nor allow to languish. The challenges that face public education today imperil the education of our citizens and thus put at risk our freedom. I hope readers will continue on this journey of contemplation, discovery, and discussion with me through the posts to come.