Democratic Schools

by Michael W. Apple (Editor)

In "Democratic Schools," you'll see how educators in four communities in the United States have committed themselves to preparing students for the democratic way of life. Editors Michael Apple and James Beane have gathered here narratives written by those intimately involved in each school reform effort. These stories of change attest to the power of people working together to overcome difficulties and achieve common goals in creative ways.

At a time when the viability of public schools is being questioned by many, the schools in this book--Central Park East Secondary School, the Rindge School of Technical Arts, Marquette Middle School, and La Escuela Fratney--remind us that public schools play an important role in laying a firm foundation for our future as a democratic society. Being themselves living models of democratic principles in action, these schools help young people comprehend the meaning of active citizenship and teach them the knowledge and skills they need to sustain and enrich our democracy.

Genres: Education, Professional Development

Paperback

First published June 1, 1995

About the author

Michael W. Apple is the John Bascom Professor of Education at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. A former primary and secondary school teacher and past-president of a teachers union, he has worked with educators, unions, dissident groups, and governments throughout the world to democratize educational research, policy, and practice.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I appreciated Democratic Schools' concepts and ideas, I must also document some of my frustrations with the book's organization and execution.

I'll begin with what I liked. First, the educators the authors selected worked in a variety of educational contexts and with a variety of kids across the country. Democratic education, the authors want us to understand, is possible in both urban and suburban contexts and with kids labeled gifted and talented as well as at risk. It can also be created as part of a community-wide re-imagining of the school space or as through the efforts of a single committed teacher. Additionally, I thought that the types of democratic education the authors chose to profile were laudable both in concept and practice. The Fratney School's bilingual, anti-racist curriculum represented a vast political project that required community-wide commitment; the Central Park East High School implemented an impressive portfolio system that provided a more holistic assessment of students' progress through high school, helping them take pride in their academic growth as well as their ultimate accomplishments.

My frustrations come as a would-be democratic educator seeking to take away practical lessons to use in the classroom. In this case, the text proved muddy. Each educator adopted a similar approach to describing their unique approach to democratic education; this means you have to read through each six different curricular philosophies, six different accounts of institutional hurdles overcome, six different sets of inspiration anecdotes, six different recitations of shortcomings, and six different vaguely worded prescriptions to would-be democratic educators. Rarely did I come away from a chapter saying, "Wow, this is important, and I need to start doing this in my classroom -- and I now I know how." Rather, I usually thought "Huh, this is interesting, but I would need to see this school in action and talk to teachers and students to understand how it really looks and feels." In other words, this text often piqued my curiosity about more democratic possibilities for education, but failed to deliver substantive answers of how, exactly, to implement it.

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit and spend the day in one of the schools profiled in the book. The visit raised a third frustration: the school I saw was a bit different from its depiction in the book (a product of the original textual account being over twenty years old). Even though my version of Democratic Schools was supposedly a second edition updated in 2007, the authors had not noted some (fairly sizable) changes in the school's curriculum that had taken place since the original piece's publication. In the same update, the text glosses over the fact that two of the other schools profiled have since closed and at least three of the educators profiled no longer work in the classroom on a daily basis. If there is a third edition, some of the profiled schools need a more in-depth accounting of their evolution since the book's original publication. Programs that have altered to the point they no longer qualify as "democratic schools," need to be replaced with new schools' democratic initiatives.

If democratic education is to persist as a viable alternative to corporate-style, accountability-driven ed reform, readers need more than the fossilized memories from erstwhile educators from which to draw inspiration and practical lessons to apply to today's classrooms.

[Laura Sanz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Denso como el solo. Pretendía aprender pero mucho de lo que cuenta al estar ubicado en EEUU la organizacion de las escuelas y asi es diferente. Me llevo algunas cosas para mi futuro aunque sean pocas!

[Celeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who works in the field of community schools I'm not a practitioner in the classroom so I wasn't sure what I might get out of this book. Many of the case studies center around student directed class projects and curriculum that examine social issues within the context of their communities. I really hope to fold in some of the ideas of setting up democratic processes in schools as well as projects that allow for more student directed learning into my community schools work.

[Guillermo Legorburo Torres · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tras una introducción teórica que plantea muy buenas bases para la democracia en las escuelas, se plantean 5 historias de centros educativos diversos que llevan a la realidad con éxito diversos principios y prácticas democráticas.
Muy buen libro para formación inicial y permanente del profesorado, lo he leído en tertulia pedagógica dialógica en 2016, 2020 y 2025 en 3 espacios diversos y ha suscitado diálogos muy inspiradores y activadores. También para familias y alumnado creo que sería chulo.

[Chrissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the only way to teach in urban America. I have worked with James Beane and Barbara Brodhagen. They are both amazing. With their guidance and love, I have taught in a democratic way and can't imagine doing anything else.