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Defined less by geography than by demographic character, Block, Kansas, in many ways exemplifies the prevalent yet seldom-scrutinized ethnic, religion-based community of the rural midwest.

Physically small, the town sprang up around four corners formed by crossroads. Spiritually strong and cohesive, it became the educational and cultural center for generations of German-Lutheran families.Block provided a religious and cultural oasis--a welcome transition for German-Lutheran immigrants faced with a new language and unfamiliar customs. Yet the tight bond between an ethnic society and a religion that shunned Americanism and the English language paradoxically slowed the transition and maintained a culturally isolated community well into the twentieth century.

In Life at Four Corners, Carol Coburn analyzes the powerful combination of those ethnic and religious institutions that effectively resisted assimilation for nearly 80 years only to succumb to the influences of the outside world during the 1930s and 1940s. Emphasizing the formal and informal education provided by the church, school, and family, she examines the total process of how values, identities, and all aspects of culture were transmitted from generation to generation.

"Few ethnic or community studies have focused on a 'village' community that defined itself less by geographic boundaries and more by ethnic and religious identity," writes Coburn. "The community's strong religious and ethnic identity, coupled with its homogeneity and rural isolation, provided a unique educational environment that was total, ongoing, and more pervasive than in most rural settings or ethnic urban environments." ... Read more

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Why do America's public schools seem unable to meet today's social challenges? As competing interest groups vie over issues like funding and curricula, we seem to have lost sight of the democratic purposes originally intended for public education.Public schools were envisioned by the Founders as democratically run institutions for instilling civic values, but today's education system seems more concerned with producing good employees than good citizens. Meanwhile, our country's diversity has eroded consensus about citizenship, and the professionalization of educators has diminished public involvement in schools.This volume seeks to demonstrate that the democratic purposes of education are not outmoded ideas but can continue to be driving forces in public education. Nine original articles by some of today's leading education theorists cut a broad swath across the political spectrum to examine how those democratic purposes might be redefined and revived. It both establishes the intellectual foundation for revitalizing American schools and offers concrete ideas for how the educational process can be made more democratic.The authors make a case for better empirical research about the politics of education in order to both reconnect schools to their communities and help educators instill citizenship. An initial series of articles reexamines the original premise of American education as articulated by important thinkers like Jefferson and Dewey. A second group identifies flaws in how schools are currently governed and offers models for change. A final section analyzes the value conflicts posed by the twin strands of democratic socialization and governance, and their implications for education policy.Spanning philosophy, history, sociology, and political science, this book brings together the best current thinking about the specifics of education policy-vouchers, charter schools, national testing-and about the role of deliberation in a democracy. It offers a cogent alternative to the exchange paradigm and shows how much more needs to be understood about an issue so vital to America's future. ... Read more

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In 1905, the University of Kansas School of Medicine opened in the basement of a building in downtown Kansas City, Kansas. By 1991 it occupied 2.3 million square feet of space in Kansas City and many thousands more in Wichita and area health education centers; it had an annual budget of over $235 million and a staff of over 5,000.

A lot has happened in the last eighty-seven years.

In 385 black-and-white photographs, historians Lawrence Larsen and Nancy Hulston portray the tremendous changes that have taken place and illustrate a story of dramatic institutional growth from the humblest of beginnings.From its opening in the fall of 1905, the University of Kansas School of Medicine grew in fits and starts. Progress depended on legislative and public support, which was often unreliable, especially at first. Larsen and Hulston chronicle the development of the school in a brief text, in quotations from contemporary sources, and in carefully chosen photographs. "Photographic evidence was so complete," the authors note in their introduction, "that had we wanted to, we could have devoted an entire chapter to the development of the Medical Center power plant."

Instead, they focused on the changes in the physical facilities at 39th and Rainbow and the accompanying evolution of medical education there. Action shots show buildings under construction, as well as doctors and students in settings that range from primitive, turn-of-the-century laboratories to the gleaming present-day facilities. Many photographs portray doctors, nurses, and students going about their daily activities--conducting clinical examinations, performing nursing demonstrations, rehabilitating children, and caring for patients. Others depict social life, fraternal activities, and fun. One fascinating set of photographs documents the changes in operating rooms through the years.

Larsen and Hulston also place the development of the school in its larger social context, exploring programs like the Murphy Plan, designed to bring medical care to outlying areas of Kansas, and the effect of the two world wars on the school. ... Read more

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Written for a wide audience, this authoritative handbook describes and illustrates 117 species of Wyoming mammals, ranging from the dwarf shrew to Ursus arctos horribilis--better known as the grizzly bear. Generously illustrated with 233 photographs, distribution maps, and line drawings, and including information on size, appearance, range and habitat, reproductive biology, habits, and food--as well as fascinating natural history observations--this accessible introduction to the biology of Wyoming mammals will appeal to even casual observers of animal life in the state. ... Read more

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Education is intimately connected to many of the most important and contentious questions confronting American society, from race to jobs to taxes, and the competitive pressures of the global economy have only enhanced its significance. Elementary and secondary schooling has long been the province of state and local governments; but when George W. Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, it signaled an unprecedented expansion of the federal role in public education.

This book provides the first balanced, in-depth analysis of how No Child Left Behind (NCLB) became law. Patrick McGuinn, a political scientist with hands-on experience in secondary education, explains how this happened despite the country's long history of decentralized school governance and the longstanding opposition of both liberals and conservatives to an active, reform-oriented federal role in schools. His book provides the essential political context for understanding NCLB, the controversies surrounding its implementation, and forthcoming debates over its reauthorization.

Using education as a case study of national policymaking, McGuinn also shows how the struggle to define the federal role in school reform took center stage in debates over the appropriate role of the government in promoting opportunity and social welfare. He places the evolution of the federal role in schools within the context of broader institutional, ideological, and political changes that have swept the nation since the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, chronicles the concerns raised by the 1983 report A Nation at Risk, and shows how education became a major campaign issue for both parties in the 1990s. McGuinn argues that the emergence of swing issues such as education can facilitate major policy change even as they influence the direction of wider political debates and partisan conflict.

McGuinn traces the Republican shift from seeking to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education to embracing federal leadership in school reform, then details the negotiations over NCLB, the forces that shaped its final provisions, and the ways in which the law constitutes a new federal education policy regime-against which states have now begun to rebel. He argues that the expanded federal role in schools is probably here to stay and that only by understanding the unique dynamics of national education politics will reformers be able to craft a more effective national role in school reform.

This book is part of the Studies in Government and Public Policy series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Education policy review
This book takes a fascinating look at the educational policy in the USA since 1965. If you want to know more about US education policy, you need to read this book.

Great story (and data), good theory, weak on the key point of criticism
McGuinn's review of federal education policy and politics since Johnson's presidency is outstanding.His interview data dramatically enrich our understanding of the transformation of sentiment in the U.S. Congress since the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA).For readers who like to know what people were thinking about the role of the federal government in K-12 education, when they were thinking it, and how they acted in response to those ideas and proposals, McGuinn's study is essential reading.

At the same time, McGuinn's book is really about ESEA and its reauthorizations (the last of which is the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 [NCLB]), not all of federal education policy.Inadequate attention is given to the politics and policy development of the other dramatic federal influence in K-12 schooling, namely, the Education for All Handicapped Children's Act of 1975 (Public Law 94-142), now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; recently reauthorized as the Individual with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, but frequently abbreviated as IDEA '04 and still referred to as IDEA).If you have an interest in IDEA politics and policy, Tiina Itkonen, who is a professor at the California State University, Channel Islands campus, has a book forthcoming (derived from her doctoral dissertation, "Stories of Hope and Decline: Interest Groups and the Making of National Special Education Policy"), which is sure to be seen as a profound contribution to the field.

The idea of regime change, which is the theoretical perspective adopted by McGuinn, is a good one.Clearly, there was a change in congressional leadership, largely through a consensus among moderate Democrats and Republicans, as well as significant and active leadership across three presidential administrations.There was also an evolution in thinking about the role of the federal government in school reform.The power of McGuinn's perspective is that it requires a careful longitudinal analysis of political events and policy proposals.

At the same time, I think McGuinn understates the power of John Kingdon's work in explaining how we arrived at NCLB as well as the importance of the 1994 reauthorization of ESEA during the Clinton administration.I recommend Christopher Cross' book, Political Education: National Policy Comes of Age, and Larry Cuban's book, The Blackboard and the Bottom Line: Why Schools Can't Be Businesses, for additional insights into the development of the political consensus behind NCLB and the motives that had been slowly and increasingly driving the development of that consensus for nearly three decades.

Finally, I would contend that McGuinn's assertion that NCLB represents revolution rather than evolution needs further examination.Here, I think his policy regime change perspective comes up short because it does not help us decide what sort of policy mechanism justifies the status of revolutionary precedent.The 1994 reauthorization of ESEA included nearly all of the policy language that appears in the 2001 reauthorization (NCLB).The difference between them is the policy mechanisms included in the legislation--ESEA 1994 was all voluntary and rhetorical, while NCLB 2001 is mandatory--not the substantive thinking behind where federal education policy should go.This is a fine point, but critical to those who are interested in the implications of McGuinn's book for political science.

If you are interested in additional books explaining NCLB, you may wish to consider these:
No Child Left Behind and the Public Schools by Scott Abernathy
Politics, Ideology & Education: Federal Policy During the Clinton and
Bush Administrations by Elizabeth H. Debray
No Child Left Behind (Peter Lang Primer) by Frederick M. Hess
School's in: Federalism And the National Education Agenda by Paul Manna
... Read more

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Before 1954, both law and custom mandated strict racial segregation throughout much of the nation. That began to change with Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark decision that overturned the pernicious "separate but equal" doctrine. In declaring that legally mandated school segregation was unconstitutional, the Supreme Court played a critical role in helping to dismantle America's own version of apartheid, Jim Crow.

This new study of Brown--the title for a group of cases drawn from Kansas, Virginia, South Carolina, Delaware, and the District of Columbia--offers an insightful and original overview designed expressly for students and general readers. It is concise, up-to-date, highly readable, and very teachable.

The authors, all recognized authorities on legal history and civil rights law, do an admirable job of examining the fight for legal equality in its broad cultural and historical context. They convincingly show that Brown cannot be understood apart from the history of caste and exclusion in American society. That history antedated the very founding of the country and was supported by the nation's highest institutions, including the Supreme Court whose decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) supported the notion of "separate but equal."

Their book traces the lengthy court litigations, highlighting the pivotal role of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and including incisive portraits of key players, including co-plaintiff Oliver Brown, newly appointed Chief Justice Earl Warren, NAACP lawyer and future Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall, and Justice Felix Frankfurter, who recognized the crucial importance of a unanimous court decision and helped produce it. The authors simply but powerfully narrate their story and show that Brown not only changed the national equation of race and caste--it also changed our view of the Court's role in American life.

As we prepare to commemorate the decision's fiftieth anniversary in May 2004, this book invites readers to appreciate the lasting importance of what was indisputably a landmark case.

This book is part of the Landmark Law Cases and American Society series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Court cases leading up to Brown v. Board of Education
Read this for graduate American history course.This book begins with a brief look at African-American history from slavery to Plessy v. Ferguson and Jim Crow. This history is important to understanding the events that led up to the infamous Brown v. Board of Education case. The authors explain throughout the book not only what the black population endured but also how these events in our nation's history led those involved in the Brown case to feel they finally had a chance at achieving what they had been fighting for. Although this case is known for forever altering American race relations, there were other lesser known and often forgotten cases which paved the way for the Brown decision. Before Mr. Marshall took Harry Brigg's case, Sarah Roberts, Dred Scott, Adolfus Plessy, and Lloyd Gaines had already used the courts to address the issues of segregation and racial prejudices.

Brown dealt with a caste system that dated back to antebellum America. The caste system was developed when the Supreme Court played a significant role in disassembling federal protection for blacks and allowing a system of caste-like restrictions that were to be reestablished and strengthened after Reconstruction (6). Even though the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and allowed Negroes to declare their citizenship, it only heightened the investigation for ways to clearly characterize the inferior status for African Americans.

In 1846 a black printer, Benjamin Roberts, wanted to enroll his five year old daughter,Sarah, in the nearby primary school. However, she was cast out because the school closest closest to her home was an all white school. Benjamin Roberts was required to enroll his daughter in the primary school for colored children, which was farther away. Roberts chose to file suit against the city of Boston on behalf of his daughter (15). The case was tried in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and was presided overby Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw, who decided against Roberts,believing that the institution is unfair; however, he abandoned
the idea of instantaneous abolition anyway (16).

In 1857, the issue of Negro citizenship was under attack in the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford. It was obvious that the South was against the idea that blacks (free or otherwise) were citizens of the different states and of the United States. Dred Scott wanted the court to decide whether they were going to agree with the North or the South asto whether or not
blacks should be considered citizens. Unfortunately, Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney chose the southern view (22).

Before Brown v. Board of Education there was Jim Crow which developed a system of rigid separation between blacks and whites in regards to everything (Le. public restrooms, water fountains, separate seating on public accommodations, etc.) (28). This system became state-mandated segregation of which the highest court approved (29). At the same time the
Supreme Court handed down it decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).The Plessy case dealt with a gentleman, Adolphus Plessy, who was arrested on June 7, 1892 for attempting to ride in the first-class coach reserved for white passengers. He was told to move, but he refused and was arrested because of his one-eighth African ancestry (29). Plessy's attorney, Albion Tourgee, argued the same argument that Sumner and Morris argued for Sarah Roberts which was that the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments prohibited forced segregation (31). Justice Henry Billings Brown discarded the claim that the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendment prohibited segregation. He also rejected the argument that mandated segregation stigmatized blacks (31).

In the aftermath of Jim Crow and Plessy v. Ferguson the results of the two were essentially the same. The Courts permitted states to treat Afro-Americans separately as long as they received equal treatment (33). It was as if the United States overlooked the word If United" in our country's name. The courts decided the law of the land to allow two different races to be able to exist together while totally separate at the same time which is a complete paradox.

In 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was formed. It was an interracial organization that wanted to challenge discrimination through campaigning for all rights of black people, specifically civil, economic and political rights. The NAACP would help those who had been discriminated against by taking on their case and having it tried in the courts. One example is the case of Lloyd Gaines. He was a graduate of lincoln University, Missouri's university for Negroes. He wanted to go to law school; however, the University of Missouri did not admit African Americans (63).Missouri law required Lincoln University to establish a law school if there was enough interest.- The state law also required that the state pay tuition for Missouri's black students enrolled in professional schools in neighboring states if lincoln University lacked the same program. Gaines brought suit which boiled down to the issue being the adequacy of the out-of state tuition scholarship. The Missouri Supreme Court found that the state's scholarship program satisfied the objections and there was adequate funding for the program (63). Gaines' case would continue on in the court system for quite a few years. While he waited, Gaines moved on with his life. He would work temporary jobs, receive a master's degree from the University of Michigan and move to Chicago. Then Gaines mysteriously disappeared. In 1939, his case ended because without him the NAACPcould not pursue the case any further (68).This case much like those before it would all playa monumental role in leading up to Brown v. Board of Education.

The Brown case originated in much the same way as the Roberts case. There were many plaintiffs in the case with the same complaint regarding the desegregation of schools. Once the case began there was no way of knowing the monumental proportions it would reach. Brown v. Board of Education was exceptional in explaining the history up to the case that ultimately
changed our nation's history forever. The authors went into great detail involving each justice, lawyer, and plaintiff dealing with the case.

It was, however, unfortunate that even after the Supreme Court ruled in Brown's favor that it took years to achieve integration in the school systems. The explanation of the relationship Brown had in regards to other racial issues was evaluated in brilliant fashion. The; book ends with a summary of how Brown impacted race relations and how America is still lacking in racial equality today.

My only criticism is that there are a few factual eras regarding the Governors name in Virginia, and some facts about school closings in Virginia.

As a graduate student in philosophy and history, I recommended this book for anyone interested in American history, civil rights era history.

Putting a landmark case in context
This book looks at the case of Brown vs. Board of Education that outlawed segregation in schools 50 years ago this month. The actual case only takes up several chapters in the middle of the book. What is important is that the book tries to put the case in terms of legal, and societal, context. Chapters leading up speak about the legal challenges to segregation that appeared in the 50 prior years since Plessy v. Ferguson enshrined the doctrine of "separate but equal" in our nation's laws. Because law is built upon precedence, these cases mark the stones on which the group of cases, eventually to be grouped under Brown, would stand. The authors take us inside the Supreme Court and helps analyze the decision making process, and examine the subsequent practices and pitfalls of the implementation of that decision. It is a case that even a half century later the repercussions are still felt in America.

This is not a scintillating read. The focus is on the law and the legal actions leading up to and after the decision. But it is an excellent book to put this event into legal context.

Good book, but does not focus on Brown v. Board of Education
When one sees the title "Brown v. Board of Education", it immediately stirs up notions of a Supreme Court case involving desegregation of public schools in America.Robert Cottol, Raymond Diamond, and Leland Ware have given us some of that feel, but not enough in this book.

The book, only 240+ pages to start with, does not even touch on the Brown case (or any of the six cases that collectively were referred to as "Brown") until page 119.The first half of the book is spent exploring the history of segregation in education and in America as a whole.I believe that this is an important topic, but not of enough importance to require half of a book that is supposed to be about this one Supreme Court case.

Aside from the fact that there is little in the book that deals with the case itself (besides the history of segregation in education, there is a substantial section of the book that deals with direct ramifications of ordered desegregation and the reactions of state and local governments to this order), the book is well written.I enjoyed reading the book, but I think that I would refer readers to a broader history of the Supreme Court and interventions in race relations, such as the new Klarman book "From Jim Crow to Civil Rights: The Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality" instead of this book.

If, however, one is looking for a consice book that does indeed provide the story of segregation in American education, including the historic decision in 1954 that abolished that segregation, this is a great book to read and understand. ... Read more

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This book offers a new understanding of the learning process and guides us in maximizing our lifelong learning journey. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Visionary content
The authors of this book introduce readers to a little-known field related to education: free choice learning. It happens every day for learners of all ages, and it is an area that educators and the general public pay too little attention to. This prescient work is an excellent beginning for people who are interested in education outside the classroom, and it gives a glimpse of where education needs to go in order to succeed.

Everyone should have one
This is an excellent book for mom and dad to read in order to gain a better appreciation of what learning is and about.Too many times we allow schools to judge the intelligence of children, when in fact, it is what happens outside of school that is more important. ... Read more

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Twice denied admission to a California medical school despite better grades and test scores than successful minority applicants, Allan Bakke took his grievance to court and set off a major controversy over affirmative action. Bakke claimed that he was a victim of reverse discrimination, and his case has been considered by many as the most important civil rights decision since the end of segregation-and also one of the most difficult ever heard by the Supreme Court.

Howard Ball now reviews the many issues raised by this case that placed affirmative action on trial. He examines the law and politics surrounding Bakke in an even-handed manner, presenting both sides of the debate and discussing key arguments presented by pressure groups. He also offers a behind-the-scenes look at what transpired during the months between oral arguments before the Court and the justices' final decision, including secret conference sessions and judicial memos.

While four justices confirmed that Bakke had been the victim of reverse discrimination, four others agreed that the school's affirmative action plan was a logical application of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Justice Lewis Powell sided with both viewpoints, resulting in Bakke's admission to the school and the upholding of affirmative action. The Court's unusual split decision invalidated UC-Davis's quota program for minorities but also struck down a California court's ruling that race could not be used as a factor in considering applicants.

In light of eroding public support for affirmative action today, Ball examines the impact of Bakke and its use as a precedent. He also reviews recent events such as California Proposition 209, Washington Initiative 200, the "One Florida Intitiative" program, and the Supreme Court's refusal to overturn Texas v. Hopwood--a decision that forced the University of Texas to eliminate affirmative action in its law school.

As affirmative action continues to divide judges, legislatures, and citizens, the fragile consensus forged by Justice Powell seems to be collapsing. This book offers essential background for anyone interested in the controversy, helping readers to better understand the dynamics of Supreme Court decision making in emotionally charged litigation and to arrive at a more informed opinion over this vexing issue.

This book is part of the Landmark Law Cases and American Society series. ... Read more

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In an era when most colleges and universities have become vocational schools, their improvement measured in terms of cost reduction or instructional efficiency, the essential values of higher education are too often overlooked. Students are being filled with knowledge, but are not learning how to use it wisely, nor even understanding that it's important to do so.

According to philosopher and educator George Allan, what is most important about a college education is not what students are taught but whether they learn the moral practices that determine how they may best conduct their lives and how they can become responsible individuals--practices that cannot be taught but can only be learned in an environment that encourages imaginative play and open-ended dialogue. The most important thing colleges can offer young people, claims Allan, is a place to converse: to learn the skills of cultured intercourse and not just a trade.

Allan argues that the current goal-orientation of America's colleges and universities has undermined the very nature of higher education. He shows that while colleges historically may have been based on a religious sense of mission or on the Enlightenment's commitment to rational inquiry, today's universities have become resource centers organized to serve the needs of a diverse customer base of students. In its commitment to giving students what they want, this model of higher education not only neglects the broadening and deepening of minds, it encourages students to recognize the validity of numerous points of view without ever learning to interact creatively with them.

Writing with the same inventive openness he encourages for our colleges, Allan explores the essential nature of education and seeks to refocus the debate concerning its future. Rethinking College Education engages readers in fundamental issues rarely broached by the current educational literature, and it challenges American colleges and universities to reconsider their priorities before they lose completely the spirit and style that have been the sources of their importance to the nation. ... Read more

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This lively book, now available in paperback, focuses on the women responsible for educating prairie children. Most were natives of the region, often teenaged girls away from home for the first time. Teaching under difficult circumstances, schoolwomen not only struggled to meet their students' needs but also used all the means at their disposalsummer institutes, normal schools, and even reading programs by mailto upgrade their own educational credentials. ... Read more

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Highlights the key personalities and memorable games in the history of the team, begun in 1969, whose wealthy owner, Ewing Kauffman, vowed to make the Royals into champions. ... Read more

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Examines the history of the Kansas University basketball program over the past 100 years. ... Read more

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A team history of the Kansas City Royals, born in 1969 and successful ever since. ... Read more

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With critical issues like desegregation and funding facing our schools, dissatisfaction with public education has reached a new high. Teachers decry inadequate resources while critics claim educators are more concerned with job security than effective teaching. Though urban education has reached crisis proportions, contending players have difficulty agreeing on a common program of action. This book tells why.

Changing Urban Education confronts the prevailing naivete in school reform by examining the factors that shape, reinforce, or undermine reform efforts. Edited by one of the nation's leading urban scholars, it examines forces for change and resistance in urban education and proposes that the barrier to reform can only be overcome by understanding how schools fit into the broader political contexts of their cities.

Much of the problem with our schools lies with the reluctance of educators to recognize the profoundly political character of public education. The contributors show how urban political contexts vary widely with factors like racial composition, the role of the teachers' union, and relations between cities and surrounding metropolitan areas. Presenting case studies of original field research in Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, and six other urban areas, they consider how resistance to desegregation and the concentration of the poor in central urban areas affect education, and they suggest how cities can build support for reform through the involvement of business and other community players.

By demonstrating the complex interrelationship between urban education and politics, this book shows schools to be not just places for educating children, but also major employers and large spenders of tax dollars. It also introduces the concept of civic capacity--the ability of educators and noneducators to work together on common goals--and suggests that this key issue must be addressed before education can be improved.

Changing Urban Education makes it clear to educators that the outcome of reform efforts depends heavily on their political context as it reminds political scientists that education is a major part of the urban mix. While its prognosis is not entirely optimistic, it sets forth important guidelines that cannot be ignored if our schools are to successfully prepare children for the future.

This book is part of the Studies in Government and Public Policy series. ... Read more

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Drug and alcohol education in public schools may be important, but its authoritarian stance often invites skepticism among teachers and students alike. Yet this program has its roots not in modern bureaucracy or even Prohibition but in a social movement that flourished over a century ago.

Scientific Temperance Instruction was the most successful grassroots education program in American history, championed by an army of housewives in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union under the leadership of Mary Hanchett Hunt. As Hunt and her forces took their message across the country, they were opposed by many educators and other professionals who believed that ordinary citizens had no business interfering with educational matters. STI sparked heated conflict between expert and popular authority in the debate over alcohol education, but it was eventually mandated as part of public school curricula in all states.

The real issue surrounding STI, argues Jonathan Zimmerman, was not alcohol but the struggle to reconcile democracy and expertise. In this first book-length study of the crusade for STI, he shows Mary Hunt to be a wily and manipulative politician as he examines how citizens and experts used knowledge selectively to advance their own agendas. His work offers a microcosm for observing Progressive Era tensions between democracy and professionalism, localism and centralization, and social conservatism and liberalism.

Distilling Democracy points up a crucial and ongoing dilemma in our education system: educational directives handed down by experts deny citizens the right to transmit their values to their children, while populist educational values sometimes stifle classroom debate. By using history to demonstrate the public's participation in shaping public education, Zimmerman suggests that however unappealing the program, society needs to embrace such popular movements in order to uphold true democracy. His book offers fresh insight into an overlooked chapter in our history and will spark debate by raising new questions about lay influence on school curricula in modern America. ... Read more

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Over 40 selections of enduring intellectual value--classic articles, book excerpts, and research studies--that have shaped the study of multicultural education and our contemporary understanding of it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A comprehensive survey
This book includes a wide spectrum of persepctives on multicultural education and all of its complexities.It is a great sourcebook for pre-service teachers and teachers who want to develop a philosophical foundation for equitable schools.It is not a "how-to" book - it provides an overview of the literature on how race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and gender intersect with educational systems.And, despite what another review writes, it is not a book set on chastising white males.Instead, it challenges the status quo to recognize the privileges that are associated with power.

No real intellectual value
This book contains a series of rants against the United States, capitalism, and whites.The editor has made no attempt to provide opposing views.The result is propoganda in the guise of a textbook. ... Read more