Volume 3, Number 1 (2008) Schooling as if Democracy Matters

EDITOR'S PREVIEW AND GUIDE TO THIS ISSUE

Editor: On November 1, 2006, John Goodlad was invited to speak as the Third Annual Distinguished Speaker at the Woodring College of Education. Readers can view the video of the lecture or listen to the audio of the lecture. His lecture provided the impetus for the theme of this issue and the journal is dedicating this issue to John Goodlad's lifetime work in helping us to think about the kind of education that is required to sustain a vital democracy. John Goodlad has written a special prologue for this issue. The journal is also providing a special section on some of the schools that are part of the League of Democratic Schools, a project that was started by Dr. Goodlad. Woodring College of Education partners with one of these schools, the Whatcom Day Academy, in an effort to create a model school that is a laboratory for democratic practices.

In addition to our articles in response to the controversy, we have several special sections.

PREVIEW OF INTRODUCTION

Our introductory section provides articles around two separate themes that provide a context for what follows.

Theme 1: A Look Back at John Dewey on Education and Democracy

Theme 2: A Look at the Current State of Controversy on Civil Liberties in U. S. Democracy

PREVIEW OF SPECIAL SECTION 1

Theme: A Look Inside the Classrooms of the League of Democratic Schools

The Editor invited teachers and principals whose schools participate in John Goodlad's League of Democratic Schools to talk about their schools and classrooms. Readers will see a variety of ways teachers have interpreted their democratic mission in schools from Washington, Oregon, and Ohio. We invite teachers from around the nation and the world to respond in our Rejoinder page. We plan to provide a more informal discussion section for a sustained interaction among educators as well as space for more formal responses. We invite you to respond to the authors' accounts, share what you think is helpful or problematic in their practices, provide an account of what your schools and classrooms are doing, describe what you see as the obstacles to a truly democratic education, make recommendations for new directions and new initiatives, etc. We will keep publishing responses as long as the conversation continues.

PREVIEW OF SPECIAL SECTION 2

Theme: The U. S. Supreme Court's Most Recent Decision on Student Rights

Click on the Authors Talk link and Public Forums link for videos that supplement the articles in this section.
 

Read the U.S. Supreme Court decision, MORSE et al. v. FREDERICK, at:  http://laws.findlaw.com/us/000/06-278.html