From the Publisher
“In this book, Kerry Burch offers a reading of Thomas Jefferson that treats him as the founding father of a radical democratic tradition picked up later by John Dewey and others. Jefferson emerges as a moral voice that speaks to the needs of democratic education today. Through Jefferson, Burch seeks to revive not just schools but America’s democratic spirit.”
—Johann N. Neem, Professor, Western Washington University, USA, and author of Democracy’s Schools: The Rise of Public Education in America (2017)
“Burch intriguingly brings Jefferson to bear on significant struggles in American life today. Emphasizing Jefferson’s call to cultivating the critical and experimental dimensions of active citizenship, Burch offers helpful curricular suggestions that cultivate democratic habits, call students to inquiry, and ignite their openness to change. Burch crafts an imaginative space that encourages all of us to reconstruct American democracy and our lives as citizens.”
—Sarah M. Stitzlein, Professor of Education and Affiliate Professor of Philosophy, University of Cincinnati, USA, and author of Learning How to Hope: Reviving Democracy Through Our Schools and Civil Society(2019)
“Democratic education in the United States is endangered. Maybe it is time for a revolution. Kerry Burch reminds us of the insurgent spirit endemic to our nation by returning us to Thomas Jefferson’s educational philosophy and the democratic-revolutionary tradition initiated by the American Revolution.”
—Jim Garrison, Professor in the Foundations of Education Program, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA