•  4
    Populists employ truth as a tool for aligning the people against the elite. Citizenship education rarely takes up critiques of liberal democracy, discussions of populism, or conversations about what truth is. This paper provides an alternative pragmatist vision of truth that builds on the populist call for democracy to better reflect the will of the people, while also pushing back against the harms potentially caused by populism. Students today need to learn how populism works performatively and…Read more
  •  1
    Clarifying Education for Freedom
    Philosophy of Education 66 105-107. 2010.
  •  12
    Teaching Honesty and Improving Democracy in the Post‐Truth Era
    Educational Theory 73 (1): 51-73. 2023.
    In this paper, Sarah Stitzlein considers the consequences of honesty on our democracy, especially for citizens' ability to engage in civic inquiry together as they face shared problems. Honesty is a key component of a well-functioning democracy; it develops trust and fosters the sorts of relationships among citizens that enable civic dialogue and reasoning. Post-truth attitudes and truth decay pose serious obstacles to good civic reasoning as citizens struggle to draw clear distinctions between …Read more
  • Curriculum and the Conscience of Parents
    Philosophy of Education 69 250-258. 2013.
  •  1
  • Employing Emotion to Improve Thinking and Alleviate Inequality
    Philosophy of Education 67 161-163. 2011.
  • The State and Civil Society in Rejuvenating Public Schools
    Philosophy of Education 72 135-137. 2016.
  •  9
    Divisive Concepts in Classrooms: A Call to Inquiry
    Studies in Philosophy and Education 41 (6): 595-612. 2022.
    In this article, I will begin by describing recent divisive concepts legislation, which bans teaching about aspects of racism, sexism, and equity, speculating briefly on the motivations behind it and the implications resulting from it. I will then describe how discussing divisive concepts in classrooms may be a helpful way for students to better understand the particular concepts and for students to take a stand on them. While I will briefly argue for the importance of classroom discussion of di…Read more
  •  12
    Pragmatist Hope during COVID-19
    The Pluralist 17 (2): 18-23. 2022.
    as covid-19 set in, many people struggled to find or hold onto hope. TIME magazine devoted its entire annual TIME 100 Most Influential People issue to the very topic, offering up suggestions on how to find hope, from religious leaders, politicians, and celebrities. While some presented helpful ideas, I found myself seeking more satisfying and sustaining answers. I turned to pragmatist philosophers, both old and new, to help me understand what hope is, why it matters, and how to foster it.Intrigu…Read more
  •  24
    Free, open access book from Oxford University Press at link below. Democracy is struggling in America. Citizens increasingly feel cynical about our system and doubt they can influence public policy. Distrustful of other Americans and elected officials, some are even turning to authoritarian alternatives. Hyperpartisanship and recent contentious presidential elections have deepened political despair. While some citizens get swept up in optimism during campaign cycles, they often later find themse…Read more
  •  2
    Author Meets Critics
    Philosophy of Education 76 (4): 19-30. 2020.
  •  33
    Philosophy of education in a new key: Snapshot 2020 from the United States and Canada
    with Liz Jackson, Kal Alston, Lauren Bialystok, Larry Blum, Nicholas C. Burbules, Ann Chinnery, David T. Hansen, Kathy Hytten, Cris Mayo, Trevor Norris, Winston C. Thompson, Leonard Waks, Michael A. Peters, and Marek Tesar
    Educational Philosophy and Theory 54 (8): 1130-1146. 2022.
    This article shares reflections from members of the community of philosophers of education in the United States and Canada who were invited to express their insights in response to the theme ‘Snaps...
  •  262
    Democratic Education in an Era of Town Hall Protests
    Theory and Research in Education 1 (9): 73-86. 2011.
    One central aspect of a healthy democracy is the practice of democratic dissent. For the first time in many years, dissent is being widely practiced in town hall meetings and on street corners across the United States. Despite this presence, dissent is often suppressed or omitted in the prescribed, tested, hidden, and external curriculum of US schools. This article calls for a realignment of these aspects of curriculum with both a guiding vision of ideal democracy and a realistic interpretation …Read more
  • Curriculum and the Conscience of Parents
    Philosophy of Education: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Philosophy of Education Society 1 (1): 1. 2013.
    none
  •  132
    For-Profit Charter Schools and Threats to the Publicness of Public Schools
    Philosophical Studies in Education 1 (44): 88-99. 2013.
    none
  •  297
    Education for Citizenship in For-Profit Charter Schools?
    Journal of Curriculum Studies 2 (45): 251-276. 2013.
    Most Americans and many residents of other democratic countries hold public schools to the social and political goal of preparing children to be good citizens. This goal is being challenged by some new forms of schooling promoted through popular education reform movements, especially in the US. This article reveals potentially insurmountable conflicts between the beliefs and practices of one of those forms of schools, for-profit charter schools, and their public task of educating for citizenship…Read more
  •  99
    Implications of Deweyan Non-Ideal Autonomy on Education Practice and Policy
    Philosophy of Education: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Philosophy of Education Society 1 (1): 254-258. 2014.
    none
  •  94
    Conscience in the Curriculum, Not Opted out of it
    Philosophical Studies in Education 1 (45): 74-82. 2014.
  •  1
    Every day teachers encounter moments of racial and gender tension in their classrooms. In the most drastic cases, these situations erupt into overt conflict or violence, while in other instances they go largely unnoted. Such incidents reveal that despite equality legislation and the good intentions of many teachers, racial and gender problems persist. How can teachers more effectively handle these moments? How can they prevent them in the future? This book is the first to unite two major schools…Read more
  •  5
    Teaching for Dissent looks at the implications of new forms of dissent for educational practice. The reappearance of dissent in political meetings and street protests opens new possibilities for improved democratic life and citizen participation. This book argues that this possibility will not be fulfilled if schools do not cultivate the skills necessary for our citizens to engage in political dissent. The authors look at how practices in schools, such as the testing regime and the 'hidden curri…Read more
  •  1
    Public school systems are central to a flourishing democracy, where children learn how to solve problems together, build shared identities, and come to value justice and liberty for all. However, as citizen support for public schools steadily declines, our democratic way of life is increasingly at risk. Often, we hear about the poor performances of students and teachers in the public school system, but as author Sarah M. Stitzlein asserts in her compelling new volume, the current educational cri…Read more
  •  19
    Hoping and Democracy
    Contemporary Pragmatism 15 (2): 228-250. 2018.
    Too often, hope is described in individualist terms and in ways that do not help us understand contemporary democracy or offer ways to improve it. Instead, I develop an account of hope situated within pragmatist philosophy that is rooted in the experiences of individuals and grows out of real life circumstances, yet cannot be disconnected from social and political life. This account can help us to better face current political struggles related to hopelessness and despair, all the while building…Read more
  •  18
    The Role of “Small Publics” in Teacher Dissent
    with Amy Rector-Aranda
    Educational Theory 66 (1-2): 165-180. 2016.
    In this essay, Sarah Stitzlein and Amy Rector-Aranda, drawing on John Dewey's theoretical suggestions regarding how to best form publics capable of bringing about change through deliberation and action, offer teachers guidance on how to form and navigate spaces of political protest and become more effective advocates for school reform. Using Aaron Schutz's analysis of teacher activism as a point of departure, Stitzlein and Rector-Aranda argue for the development in schools of “small publics,” th…Read more
  •  25
    In this essay, Sarah Stitzlein addresses a key current crisis in public education: accountability. Rather than centrally being about poor performance of teachers or inefficiency of schools, as we most often hear in media outlets and in education reform speeches, Stitzlein argues the crisis is at heart one about citizen responsibility and political legitimacy. She claims that the recent accountability movement has shifted the onus of curing society's problems almost exclusively onto schools, but …Read more
  •  23
    Throughout his works, John Dewey makes deep and intriguing connections between democracy, education, and daily life. His ideas have contributed to both the theory and practice of participatory democracy and, although he actually “had surprisingly little to say about democratic citizenship” directly, his scholarship has influenced the ideas of others working on citizenship education and has provided rich notions of democracy, education, experience, and public life underlying it.1 However, Dewey c…Read more