Includes bibliographical references and index.

In Times of Crisis, Why We Need Public Schools, William J. MathisA Brief History of Public Education, Diane RavitchValues and Education Policy, Edward B. Fiske and Helen F. LaddPublic Schooling as Social Welfare, David F. LabareeReflections on the Public School and the Social Fabric, Mike RoseOur Schools and Our Towns Belong to Each Other, Peter GreeneThe Great Equalizer of the Conditions of (Humanity): How Transformative can Schools be When Society Itself Remains Inequitable and Quarrelsome?, Peter SmagorinskyThe Mythical Great Equalizer School System: Exploring the Potential to Make It Real, Kevin WelnerDemocracy's Wobbly Cornerstone: Seeking to be the "Great Equalizer" in a Deeply Unequal Culture, Jeannie Oakes and Martin LiptonOne Puerto Rican's Reflections on What Might Have Been, Sonia NietoNecessary But Insufficient: Why Public Schooling Alone Cannot Equalize, Prudence CarterPublic Education for the Public Good: Black Teachers and Teaching, H. Richard Milner IVMaking the Common School Truly Common: Black Americans' Long and Unfinished Fight for Integrated Schools, Jeanne M. PowersWe Know Better and Must Do Better, Martin BrooksIf Democracy is Such a Great Idea, Why Don't Schools Practice it More?, Deborah MeierThe Role of Public Schools in the Preparation of Young People to Engage in Civic Reasoning and Discourse, Carol D. LeeTensions Between Teacher Professionalism and Authentic Community Voice in Public Schools Serving Nondominant Communities,, Ken ZeichnerHorace Mann and a New Common Good, Joshua P. StarrHorace and George and Sitkala-Sa: Reimagining Experimentation, Jacqueline Grennon BrooksPublic School Funding and the "Reform" Distraction , Mark WeberEducation Is Our Only Political Safety, James HarveyIs There Still a Public for Public Education?, Gloria Ladson-BillingsPublic Education at a Crossroads: Will Horace Mann's Common School Survive the Era of Choice?, Carol Corbett BurrisWhat's Not to Like about Private Schools?, Jack JenningsScrutinizing the School Choice Equity Ethos for Black Parents, Julian Vazquez HeiligThe Scandalous History of Schools That Receive Public Financing But Do Not Accept the Public's Right of Oversight, David C. BerlinerCan Common Public Schooling Save the Republic?, D. C. PhillipsPublic Schools and Acting Against the Threats to Democracy , Michael W. AppleA New Deal for Public Schools, William Ayers

Twenty-eight eminent essayists remind our nations parents, educators, school board members and politicians that our democracy is in jeopardy and that our nation's system of free universal public education is also under attack. If that attack succeeds, American democracy itself would be further imperiled. That is because American democracy rests on a belief that the power of our government comes from the people, and the diffusion of knowledge and the enlightenment of the people has been a cornerstone of our democracy since the founding of our republic. America's public schools, therefore, have a special mandate