Democracy in Education

“This treatment is the result of nearly ten years of university teaching in the field of the history of education. The majority of the students of the history of education echo the remark of a superintendent of schools of one of our largest cities: “I don’t see that the study of history has any-thing to contribute to the solution of our problems, however much it may have of interest in general.” But my own excuse for this presentation may be illustrated by the statement of a former student who wrote in a paper, at the conclusion of the course in the history of education: “Up to the time that I took this course I felt it was the duty of a cultured individual to sit at the side of the road and watch the procession go by; now I want to get into the procession.” At a time in the history of the world when the demand is upon us all that we “get into the procession,” this book, with its plea for a larger interpretation of democracy in education, may find for itself a place in the illuminating of the task and in the inspiriting of the toil.”
– Excerpt from the Author’s Preface

“Democracy in Education is to history of education something like what Adms’ Civilizationn during the Middle Ages is to the history of the Middle Ages. It is more, in that it attempts to bring the teachings of history to bear upon the definition and illumination of present uncertainties. Therefore, it should prove to be a most valuable book for use in courses in the history of education. This book is a conservative attempt to realize in a field of great human endevour whatever of capital the past has to offer.” – Excerpt from the Book Review by Dr. C. L. Clarke published in The School Review