Deborah Meier

(Beacon Press, 1995)

Deborah Meier is the widely respected educator who has guided the dynamic Central Park East schools for more than twenty years. In The Power of Their Ideas, she provides both a personal memoir of the history of these programs, and a thoughtful commentary on the state of American education today. In plain, nonacademic language she presents a compelling case for a progressive and constructivist approach to teaching and emphasizes the importance of public schools in a democratic community.

For Meier, a commitment to democracy includes the belief that all students deserve a meaningful and challenging education. This means helping them make sense of their world through “habits of mind” (Meier is an ally of Ted Sizer and his Coalition of Essential Schools), rather than mandating laundry lists of facts to be covered. “A good school for anyone is a little like kindergarten and a little like a good post-graduate program — the two ends of the educational spectrum, at which we understand that we cannot treat any two human beings identically, but must take into account their special interests and styles even as we hold all to high and rigorous standards.” Central Park East Secondary School demonstrates convincingly that a democratic, collaborative high school model can be enormously successful, even in the inner city. Meier also reflects on the ways her schools have addressed issues of race, class, and poverty.

Like Richard Gibboney (in The Stone Trumpet), Meier argues that legislated, top-down reform does not and cannot succeed. While criticizing the trend toward privatization and dispelling “myths” and “lies” about the failure of public education, Meier explains why there should be more choice for teachers and families within public schools. She argues that meaningful educational practice demands “collective co-ownership of new designs of schooling in an atmosphere that allows for reflective examination and reshaping based on experience....” Educators need to be freed from bureaucratic entanglements, and more opportunities to collaborate with each other and with students and parents.

The Foundation for Educational Renewal
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