Reviews Robert Westbrook's book, "John Dewey and American Democracy," which analyzes intellectual debates in which Dewey was involved. The book provides a critical account of Dewey's role as an agent of political change and a promoter of participatory democracy and participative decision making. (SM)

Discusses three concerns about inequities in public education: the national movement to write off poor urban students (and growing pressure to privatize public schooling), the sense of hopelessness in the literature on public education, and the lack of action in creating educational change and improvement. (SM)

Kozol's books examine how public schools perpetuate racial injustice, noting ethical abdication by the affluent in violation of children's innocence and capability by urban schools. Schools fail children by deforming the spirit of the poor and soothing the conscience of the rich. Kozol demands greater resources for poor students. (SM)

Kozol's book, Savage Inequalities, examines inequality between urban and suburban education and encourages suburban residents to reflect on U.S. education since the 1970s and on the role of their communities in structuring the current savage inequalities. The book suggests affluent parents successfully transmit their ideology of inequality to…