Roosevelt says the budget and policy proposals put forward by President Trump and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos show a lack of commitment at the federal level to teaching the values of "freedom and self-government" which are critical in a democracy.  "Nothing could speak to that lack of commitment more clearly and loudly than the idea that public monies should be directed to private and religious schools as opposed to being invested in public education."

Democratic values are not taught in today's public school classrooms, Roosevelt says, in part because they are not emphasized in teacher preparation programs, many of which prepare educators to teach in the current climate of "increasingly regimented, standardized and top-down curriculum, which really makes teachers behave as cogs in a machine" that ultimately could threaten the nation's democracy.

"One of the ideas behind the establishment of public education in the U.S. was that people in a democracy needed to be educated in developing the stance and the skills and the attitude of engaged citizenship." Today in public schools, he said, "many people in positions of power seem to have forgotten those ideas."

To hear the full interview, go here.

Published Thursday, Apr 27, 2017