Reaching all the way back to the classical and medieval past, Teaching the Commons chronicles ideas and resulting policies that have shaped contemporary rural life and living in much of the industrial West. The book examines philosophical assumptions and charts their evolution into conventional wisdom about how human beings should meet their needs,

"Education Now" is a clear and persuasive account of the way in which popular seventeenth- and eighteenth-century theories about the human condition formed the basis for America s choices in the realms of politics, economics, and education. Theobald chronicles the fate of alternative, less popular ideas about the human condition ideas that would have led to vastly different political, economic, and educational landscapes than those we experience today. This book exposes the flaws among prevalent theories and the strength of those alternatives that were dismissed or ignored. In so doing, Theobald points the way toward substantive changes across three dimensions ubiquitous to human life: politics, economics, and education.Paul is using Kickstarter to fund his project The Great American Failure Documentary. He writes "In our current culture, public education has been primarily about increasing one s power to earn money, or said another way, to ...play a successful role in the nation's economic arena. The Great American Failure offers viewers the opportunity to see the shortcomings in this approach to education, but also to glimpse a more noble and satisfying approach, one that balances preparation for the economic market with preparation for the political arena.""

"Education Now" is a clear and persuasive account of the way in which popular seventeenth- and eighteenth-century theories about the human condition formed the basis for America s choices in the realms of politics, economics, and education. Theobald chronicles the fate of alternative, less popular ideas about the human condition ideas that would have led to vastly different political, economic, and educational landscapes than those we experience today. This book exposes the flaws among prevalent theories and the strength of those alternatives that were dismissed or ignored. In so doing, Theobald points the way toward substantive changes across three dimensions ubiquitous to human life: politics, economics, and education.Paul is using Kickstarter to fund his project The Great American Failure Documentary. He writes "In our current culture, public education has been primarily about increasing one s power to earn money, or said another way, to ...play a successful role in the nation's economic arena. The Great American Failure offers viewers the opportunity to see the shortcomings in this approach to education, but also to glimpse a more noble and satisfying approach, one that balances preparation for the economic market with preparation for the political arena.""

Reaching all the way back to the classical and medieval past, Teaching the Commons chronicles ideas and resulting policies that have shaped contemporary rural life and living in much of the industrial West. The book examines philosophical assumptions and charts their evolution into conventional wisdom about how human beings should meet their needs, govern themselves, and educate their children. Further, this book examines how policies emanating from these assumptions have slowly eroded the vitality of rural communities, finding that if there is sufficient interest in saving what is left of rural America, an educational agenda at the local level needs to be embraced by America's rural schools. Using concrete ideas generated in rural schools across the country, Teaching the Commons demonstrates that it is possible to simultaneously revitalize rural schools and communities. Through concerted curricular and pedagogical attention to place-the immediate locality-schools can contribute to rebuilding community in rural America on an educational foundation. Arguing that vital, self-governing communities rather than self-interested individuals represent the greatest hope for American democracy, Teaching the Commons lays out an institutional foundation that would turn the cultivation of civic virtue into an educational goal every bit as important and attainable as education for success in the economic market.