{"id":6116,"date":"2014-06-19T14:05:49","date_gmt":"2014-06-19T18:05:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.educationrevolution.org\/store\/product\/educationalfreedom\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T11:21:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T15:21:24","slug":"educationalfreedom","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/www.educationrevolution.org\/store\/product\/educationalfreedom\/","title":{"rendered":"Educational Freedom for a Democratic Society"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n\tThis is a bold and provocative book about the most important educational issue of our time. It is essential reading for everyone involved in educational policy and administration, and it is certainly vital reading for anyone concerned about the future direction of education in the United States.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t<span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">Goals 2000 and other recent initiatives represent a massive shift of educational authority from families and local communities to federal and state bureaucracies, from teachers and learners to commissions of &quot;experts&quot; and policymakers. They replace intellectual freedom and cultural diversity with a narrow, economy-driven vision of standardization and uniformity. Educational Freedom for a Democratic Society examines the pedagogical, ideological, constitutional and moral consequences of the increasing centralization of educational authority. It provides a comprehensive, perceptive, hard-hitting critique of the national goals and standards agenda that goes well beyond the sporadic criticisms found in the professional literature or the superficial treatment given this crucial issue in the mass media.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t<span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">Educational Freedom for a Democratic Society is a unique anthology bringing together the perspectives of diverse scholars, educators, and parent activists; it is a collection of writings that are rarely encountered in standard educational literature. Leading theorists such as <\/span><strong style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">David Purpel<\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">, <\/span><strong style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">Nel Noddings<\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">, <\/span><strong style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">Harold Berlak<\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\"> and <\/span><strong style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">Patrick Shannon<\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\"> contribute a strong progressive voice, while the late <\/span><strong style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">James Moffett<\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">, <\/span><strong style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">Jeffrey Kane<\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">, <\/span><strong style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">Lynn Stoddard<\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\"> and <\/span><strong style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">Ron Miller<\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\"> approach issues of democracy, freedom, education and culture from a holistic perspective. <\/span><strong style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">Linda Dobson<\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">, <\/span><strong style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">Pat Farenga<\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">, and <\/span><strong style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">Katharine Houk<\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\"> and <\/span><strong style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">Seth Rockmuller<\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\"> speak as parents and homeschooling advocates about the growing threat to educational and cultural freedom. Legal scholar <\/span><strong style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">Stephen Arons<\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\"> (today&#39;s most important author on the politics of compulsory schooling), psychologist <\/span><strong style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">Gerald Porter<\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">, and <\/span><strong style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">Gary Lamb<\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\"> and <\/span><strong style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">Ronald Milito<\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\"> (both influenced by the libertarian\/spiritual philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Waldorf education) have also contributed important essays to this volume.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t<span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">Resisting the avalanche of government, foundation, corporate and academic commissions calling for heightened competitiveness, increased testing, and greater federal control of education, the authors argue that mandated standards will have devastating effects on our children&#39;s learning and on the quality of democratic community life. Instead, they portray a vision of educational freedom and cultural diversity that challenges the philosophical and ideological foundations of the modern corporate state. This is a book that could inspire an educational revolution.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t<span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">&quot;Goals 2000, the education reform proposed by President Bush and enacted in 1994, has been attacked by conservatives for imposing national &#39;voluntary&#39; curriculum standards, teacher certification guidelines, and student assessments. This volume provides a parallel critique from a left-leaning coalition of Waldorf school proponents, homeschoolers, and progressive educators&#8230;. The cumulative effect [of the book] is a powerful critique of federal political solutions to major social and educational problems.&quot;&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"line-height: 1.6em;\">(Choice, April 1996)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-size: 13px;\">\n\tA Critique of National Educational Goals, Standards, and Curriculum\n<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 13px;\">\n\tEdited by Ron Miller<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":6117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[168,14],"product_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6116","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-clearance","7":"product_cat-books","8":"product_shipping_class-books-media","10":"first","11":"instock","12":"featured","13":"shipping-taxable","14":"purchasable","15":"product-type-simple"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.educationrevolution.org\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/6116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.educationrevolution.org\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.educationrevolution.org\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.educationrevolution.org\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6116"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.educationrevolution.org\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.educationrevolution.org\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.educationrevolution.org\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=6116"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.educationrevolution.org\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=6116"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.educationrevolution.org\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=6116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}