Thursday, February 19, 2015

Democracy and Condominiums

BusterStronghart@Gmail.com



Subject: Democracy


Thursday, February 19, 2015

Today I read an article in the New York Review about a book written by Joel Klein, former Chancellor of Education in NYC.
Allow me to change a few words: 

“Our condominiums were founded to use democratic methods, which are premised on the belief that people of equally good motives can reason from the same set of facts to different conclusions. In the heat of differing opinions, however, some Owners—and some of their more jaded critics --- seem to have lost that essential democratic faith. Each side casts the other not as decent people who might see the world in a different way, but as unknowing fools or biased charlatans. The lack of goodwill and understanding here is palpable. It should make all of us worry the future of Condominiums in general, and also of our democracy.”

Here’s the original:
“Our public schools were founded to teach democracy, which is premised on the belief that people of equally good motives can reason from the same set of facts to different conclusions. In the heat of our (educationally) revolutionary moment, however, some contemporary school reformers—and some of their more jaded critics --- seem to have lost that essential democratic faith. Each side casts the other not as decent people who might see the world in a different way, but as unknowing fools or biased charlatans. The lack of goodwill and understanding here is palpable. It should make all of us worry the future of our schools, and also of our democracy.” Jonathan Zimmerman, New York Review, March 5, 2015