John Dewey's model of education was more expansive than the character-education concepts promulgated by early twentieth-century corporate elites. Dewey linked individual to community, inquiry and reflection processes to action, and personal ethical decisions to social intelligence and democracy. This article shows how these educational components…

Ethical instruction is a difficult task in any society, but doubly so in the U.S., because our culture stresses individual development over commitment to the group. Attention to school bonding, special ethics instruction, California's Community of Caring project, and community service opportunities are powerful strategies to aid moral development.…

Educators should stop seeing self-esteem only in individualistic terms and move toward an integrated view of self and social relations. To enhance self-esteem, schools must value authentic participation, collaborative action, a problem-centered curriculum, and interdependent diversity and banish tracking, autocratic procedures, unicultural…

Based on the author's experiences working with several elementary schools, this article explores numerous issues confronting change agents who venture directly into grass-roots school reform projects. Focus is on the change-agent role and issues concerning ideology, power, and commitment. Outside consultants should be participants rather than…

The arts deserve an integral place in schools, since they provide outlets for individuality, enhance thinking and language skills, and possess intrinsic educational value. Arts counter modern society's awesome drive for conformity by offering opportunities for authenticity and spontaneity. Arts offer the last glimmer of warmth and humaneness in a…

Responds to comments by David Hursh and Aggie Seneway on the author's classroom experiments with student democracy. Clarifies points from her initial article to answer questions by the commentators. Finds agreement with them on most points, except for the necessity of parliamentary debate as a fundamental element of democracy. (DSK)

Vermont's Equal Education Opportunity Act of 1997 will radically increase the proportion of state money designated for public education and transform the entire state taxation system. Spurred by a court decision invalidating the state's school finance system, Act 60 establishes a statewide property tax for a general state support grant, includes…

Neither standards/high-stakes testing nor privatization/charter-school improvement approaches will live up to proponents' ambitious claims. Standardized tests cannot uphold new performance goals. Charter schools serve limited numbers of students, siphoning off pedagogical reform energies that would benefit kids left behind. Rigor and innovation…

Describes the work of Florence B. Stratemeyer, a democratic teacher/educator who respected and was committed to her students and believed in their potential. Presents several anecdotes that typify her ability, her commitment to the practice of college teaching, and her relationships with others. (SM)

Suggests that a goal of schooling should be to educate students for democracy as a means of challenging a status quo in which a relatively small number of people control a disproportionate share of society's social and economic resources. Examines the potential of critical, pro-justice, whole-language instruction to help create the conditions for…

Democracy's strength and Achilles's heel is freedom. The freedom democracy espouses permits myriad intrusions into schooling's primary mission--educating the young for the stewardship of democracy. Teachers must be caring, moral stewards of our schools--educated to understand democratic fundamentals and become good "crap detectors." (MLH)

Describes the international civic education program, Civitas, including background on its creation, national and international significance of and need for the program, program goals, elements for systematic implementation of civic education, program organization, program products and their effectiveness, and illustrative examples of program…

In 1963, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee established Freedom Schools as part of civil-rights undertakings to assist African Americans in Mississippi. Results of the curriculum conference that created the alternative summer-school program may help educators implement critical pedagogy in today's schools. Contains 61 references. (MLH)

The editors chose character education as the theme for this "School Administrator" special issue because it undergirds school leaders' true mission: creation of community, advocacy for children, and preservation of democracy through public education. Authors tackle numerous topics, from the need to recapture a sense of civic duty and…

Discusses the issue of purpose in teacher education, explaining that teaching, unlike most other professions, has varied perceptions and assumptions regarding its purpose and nature. A 1980s study found that most preservice teachers had not discussed the purpose of schooling within a democracy during any of their classes. Examines the importance…