News & Comment

What separates an authoritarian from an emancipatory notion of education is whether or not education encourages and enables students to deepen their commitments to social justice, equality and individual and social autonomy, while at the same time expanding their capacities to assume public responsibility and actively participate in the very process of governing. As a condition of individual and social autonomy, education introduces democracy to students as a way of life — an ethical ideal that demands constant attention — and, as such, takes seriously the responsibility for providing the conditions for people to exercise critical judgment, reflexiveness, deliberation and socially responsible action. read more »

Washington prefers to ignore Iraqi realities, but military officials working close to the ground know the country is in a state of disrepair. read more »

Once upon a time, George W. Bush, along with his top officials and advisers, hoped to preside over a global Pax Americana and a domestic Pax Republicana — a legacy for the generations. More recently, their highest hope seems to have been to slip out of town in January before the you-know-what hits the fan. No such luck. read more »

We have seen a “bailout” of corporate and Wall Street swindlers, with the working class being forced to pick up the tab. Struggling homeowners deserve a break, not the devastation of foreclosure. Hardworking families deserve a break, not the shock of unemployment. And public educators deserve a break, not the damaging mandates of program improvement and the threats of state takeover that have fallen on my high school and countless others like it due to the draconian quotas of the No Child Left Behind Act. read more »

One of the worst casualties of the Iraq war and the Wall Street failures is the U.S. public school system, which is central to the nation’s economic, intellectual and social health. With financial resources being consumed, education cuts are on the way. read more »

This summer, rumors stirred that the incoming class of college freshmen was having difficulty securing loans for college. The crisis, however, is more about the ways we're asking college students to finance their educations. read more »

This was an unusual spectacle at a Democratic convention: A megawatt group of Democrats, including Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, Mayor Adrian Fenty of Washington, D.C., and former Gov. Ray Romer of Colorado, bashed teachers' unions for an hour. Is this any way to treat allies in the progressive struggle? read more »

When students get loans this year, they will pay more for them. In at least some cases students are looking at rates of 23 percent. With those numbers a young person might be better off borrowing from the mafia. read more »

Sad but true: Intelligence is a political liability in the U.S. Author of The Age of American Unreason Susan Jacoby explains why. read more »

No Child Left Behind is one-size-fit-all. But any experienced teacher knows how warped a yardstick that is. read more »