While the purpose of K-12 education is largely to train students for college and career, free education in a democratic society has another purpose: to prepare citizens to rule themselves. In this article, Anderson and Gurnee explain how place-based learning equips students to be active citizens in their communities. In this model, school localize…

Describes the aims, benefits, and challenges of service-learning programs in public schools. (PKP)

At Horizonte, an alternative Utah high school, students help direct their own learning. The five guiding principles resemble fundamental beliefs more than specific strategies. Curriculum is shaped to meet student needs and learning styles, technology access is universal, the program is inclusive and multicultural, students are assisted to meet…

The nation's educational system mirrors the dynamics of our marketplace democracy, recasting parents as self-interested consumers. Jane Addams' philosophy of education (enhancing people's productive capacities to benefit the commonweal) has been revived in Public Achievement, a work-centered, civic-earning program in St.Paul, Minnesota, that helps…