Educating for Democracy: The Rule of Law and the Law of the Rulers -- A Lesson for Memorial Day

On the occasion of Memorial Day, I thought it appropriate to write about the importance of citizenship and the apparent contradictions between our ideals and the reality of living in what is supposed to be a democratic society ruled by law. A few weeks ago I was disappointed to realize that almost none of my very talented evening-class students at Kingsborough Community College could name either of our U.S. senators, Chuck Schumer or Kirsten Gillibrand, let alone the students' representatives in...