Document Type

Article

Original Publication Date

2004

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Journal of School Public Relations

Volume

24

Issue

2

First Page

177

Last Page

202

Date of Submission

June 2014

Abstract

As the 50th anniversary of the landmark "Brown v. Board of Education" decision arrives, a notably gesellschaftliche (individualist, freedom-oriented, rationalist) paradigm in the education policy agenda prevails. That is to say, in the wake of a series of Supreme Court decisions and the proliferation of publicly funded, ethnocentric charter schools in the past few decades, this country has moved away from "Brown's" celebrated ideals and closer to the old idea of "separate but equal." Furthermore, the disconnect is occurring along racial and cultural lines. Thus, if we are to achieve the benefits of diversity in schooling and create a more gemeinschaftliche (communitarian, help-oriented, democratic) orientation in education, we must think outside of the box; we must think digitally. The Internet as an embodiment of multiple forms of computer-mediated communications is a notably communal space imbued with gemeinschaftliche properties. Thus, to the traditional forms of schooling, we should look to add the community-building nature of computer-mediated communications to create virtual learning communities that bring together young people of different racial, cultural, economic and/or geographic identifications.

Rights

Copyright Rowman & Littlefield Education. All rights reserved. Please contact the publisher for permission to copy, distribute or reprint.

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