New Book: Dewey’s Dream: Universities and Democracies in an Age of Education Reform

Posted by on March 26, 2007

New Book: Dewey’s Dream: Universities and Democracies in an Age of Education Reform

Realizing Dewey?s vision of making public schools the seedbed of a democratic society

“For 20 years, the University of Pennsylvania has been a model for how an urban university can engage creatively with its surrounding community. In this thoughtful book, architects of this program describe its philosophical roots and explain how a bold, imaginative effort can invigorate democracy and civic life in ways that enrich the lives of students and neighborhood residents alike.??Derek Bok, Interim President, Harvard University

“Lee Benson, the noted historian; Ira Harkavy, a renowned urban leader; and John Puckett, who has written incisively about education, have produced an immensely valuable book exploring how community schools can strengthen the bonds between a society founded on the principles of justice and its equally deep commitment to participatory democracy. Their volume is a welcome, indeed necessary, addition to our ongoing national conversation about how education and schooling will evolve in the years to come.??Vartan Gregorian, President, Carnegie Corporation of New York

Dewey?s Dream: Universities and Democracies in an Age of Education Reform (Publication Date: March 31, 2007) is a timely, persuasive, and hopeful book that reexamines John Dewey’s idea of schools, specifically community schools, as the best places to grow a democratic society that is based on racial, social, and economic justice. The authors assert that American colleges and universities bear a responsibility for?and would benefit substantially from?working with schools to develop democratic schools and communities.

Dewey’s Dream opens with a reappraisal of Dewey’s philosophy and an argument for its continued relevance today. The authors?all well-known in education circles?use illustrations from over 20 years of experience working with public schools in the University of Pennsylvania’s local ecological community of West Philadelphia, to demonstrate how their ideas can be put into action. By emphasizing problem-solving as the foundation of education, their work has awakened university students to their social responsibilities. And while the project is still young, it demonstrates that Dewey’s “Utopian ends” of creating optimally participatory democratic societies can lead to practical, constructive school, higher education and community change, development, and improvement.

“Dewey?s Dream is a superb book. It brings alive the powerful legacy of John Dewey?s Chicago years. With colleagues like Jane Addams and William Rainey Harper, he crafted a philosophical foundation for participatory democracy and for powerful partnerships between schools and neighborhoods, and between universities and communities. Dewey?s Dream is a must-read for all who seek a firm conceptual and historical foundation for democratic educational reform at all levels.??Lee S. Shulman, President, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

“A breath of fresh air! A manifesto that shows how to do as well as how to think by scholars not afraid to put their hearts and minds together to make things happen. The book makes Dewey’s dream of building democracy from the ground up a real project rather than a historically interesting idea.??Gar Alperovitz, Lionel R. Bauman Professor of Political Economy, University of Maryland, College Park

Lee Benson is Emeritus Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania.

Ira Harkavy is Associate Vice President and Director of the Center for Community Partnerships, University of Pennsylvania.

John Puckett is Associate Professor in the Policy, Management, and Evaluation Division of the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. He is the co-author of Leonard Covello and the Making of Benjamin Franklin High School: Education as if Citizenship Mattered (Temple).

To place an order, please contact:
Temple University Press
c/o Chicago Distribution Center
11030 South Langley Avenue
Chicago, IL 60628
Phone: 1.800.621.2736
Fax: 1.800.621.8476
http://www.temple.edu/tempress