Perspective: The Silent Majority

It’s ironic that the only people who have been excluded from the school reform debate are those most affected by it: the students. Except for occasional tokenism and the efforts of a few enlightened educators and reformers, their voices have been remarkably absent from the national discussion about the objectives of schooling and how we should achieve them.

That’s worth thinking about. Do we not believe that the people closest to the action have anything useful to say? (If that’s the case, we’re at least partly responsible.) Or are we afraid to ask them because we won’t like their answers?

The reform rhetoric of the past 25 years has been about making sure that children acquire the knowledge and skills they need to become productive, responsible citizens and to help sustain America’s economic welfare and democratic institutions. Common sense suggests that we’re more likely to accomplish these goals if schools model democratic principles in the way they conduct their business and give students the opportunity to participate in decisionmaking. If we want kids to become productive citizens, we should expose them to real-world issues, both in classrooms and in their communities. And if we want them to become responsible adults, we should expect them to take more...