Teacher Education for a Democratic Society (Issues in Education) (Priority on Education for Democracy and Application of John Dewey's Theories) (Column‪)‬

Although we often hear that everything has changed since the September 11th terrorist attacks, I beg to differ. In terms of how the United States views the purpose(s) of education, at least, nothing has really changed. We have a long history of using our schools not to support democracy, but rather to hold, sort, and indoctrinate students to be compliant workers and consumers (e.g., Karier, 1973; Miller, 1997). I am much concerned about the trend, evident over the last few decades, that seems to be unapologetically supporting this inherently antidemocratic, narrow training model. Since the time of the Reagan administration, and most notably since the publication of A Nation at Risk in 1983, U.S. schools have overtly served the needs of the business community, the government, and the military. Danny Weil (2000) contends, "The business agenda for public schooling views education purely as a domesticating act--one that legitimizes current political and economic relations in the interest of the corporate elite" (p. 129). Ron Miller (1997) goes even further, writing, "Modern schooling is a spiritually devastating form of social engineering that is hostile to human values and democratic ideals, especially now that our nation is embarking on a crusade to standardize teaching and learning" (p. 4). In this troubling time of increased government surveillance, decreased public discourse, high-stakes standardized testing, direct corporate involvement in schooling, and top-down dictates to prepare students to conform to others' dictates (see, e.g., Kohn, 2002; Novak, 2002), we must set as our highest priority a focus on education for democracy. More than ever, we need a conception of education that focuses on preparing students for full, active citizenry in a democratic society. I believe that John Dewey's ideas, although many are now more than 100 years old, provide an excellent starting place for teacher educators who seek to pursue this goal.