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 crisis is not about accountability, but rather citizen responsibility. Now, more than ever, citizens increasingly do not feel as though public schools are our schools, forgetting that we have influence over their outcomes and are responsible for their success. In effect, accountability becomes more and more about finding failure and casting blame on our school administrators and teachers, rather than taking responsibility as citizens for shaping our expectations of the classroom, determining the criteria we use to measure its success, and supporting our public schools as they nurture our children for the future. American Public Education and the Responsibility of its Citizens sheds an important light on recent shifts in the link between education and citizenship, helping readers to understand not only how schools now work, but also how citizens can take an active and influential role in shaping them. Moving from philosophical critique of these changes to practical suggestions for action, Stitzlein provides readers with the tools, habits, practices, and knowledge necessary to support public education. Further, by sharing examples of citizens and successful communities that are effectively working with their school systems, Stitzlein offers a torch of hope to sustain citizens through this difficult work in order to keep our democracy strong. "Sarah Stitzlein marshals an impressive array of empirical evidence and theoretical arguments to make the case that the real crisis of American education is a collective civic failure by citizens to take responsibility for public schools and for what children learn there. Situating herself in the increasingly significant field of Civic Studies, Stitzlein persuasively demonstrates that democracy is best served when citizens form publics , and that public schools can and should be essential sites of public engagement. I recommend this book to all who care about the contributions that public schools, civic educators, and citizens ourselves can make to the future of democracy." -- Meira Levinson, Professor of Education, Harvard University "This timely book reveals the assumptions of, and tensions between two distinct forces operating in educational politics today...Stitzlein argues that notions of educational accountability are misguided, and badly need a sense of citizen responsibility in order for us to achieve the public schools we need and deserve. Challenging citizens to awaken our responsibilities to and for our public schools, Stitzlein's hopeful book reminds us of the central role that public schools can play in reproducing, however imperfectly, our democratic society and norms." -- Kathleen Knight Abowitz, Chair, Department of Educational Leadership, Miami University "In her book American Public Education and the Responsibility of its Citizens: Supporting Democracy in the Age of Accountability Sarah M. Stitzlein reaffirms the critical role that public schools should serve in producing responsible democratic citizens. In this important book she looks at recent educational reform movements and finds many lacking a civic purpose. She reminds us of the critical role that schools must play in supporting democratic forms of life, and worries that neo-liberal reforms will encourage parents and citizens to neglect the public school and its role in producing a responsible civic body. The book is an important addition to the body of literature on the civic role of public education. Recent political events serve to reinforce the timeliness of this message. -- Walter Feinberg, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign "We're constantly told that teachers and schools must be held accountable. In this philosophically rich and practically informed book, Sarah M. Stitzlein argues that we are accountable as citizens for good schools, and a major purpose of education is to build such responsibility. Her work should reorient debates about public education and inspire citizen-activists." -- Peter Levine, Associate Dean and Lincoln Filene Professor, Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University Sheds an important light on recent shifts in the link between education and citizenship Sarah M. Stitzlein is Associate Professor of Education and Affiliated Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cincinnati. She earned her bachelor's degree in Philosophy and master's degree in Curriculum & Teacher Leadership from Miami Uni