"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free,
it expects what never was and never will be." -- T. Jefferson

Professionals trained for, and content with, merely executing the will of others just as easily serve a tyranny as a democracy.

Today’s educators are too often treated as little more than the least-skilled of assembly line workers. Schools are “teacher-proofed” or administrators denied discretion via so-called "zero-tolerance" policies while persons distant from contact with real schoolkids unilaterally impose “reforms.” Educator involvement in the how, what and why of things becomes increasingly cosmetic. Mirroring this occupational reality, an educator’s initial training tends to bypass the foundational aspects of reflective instruction and administration.

However, not only educators, but professionals in other fields find themselves losing voice in decisions that are appropriately theirs to make. Novices in their professions are taught to give lip service to a variety of organizational nostrums, but anything other than a shallow acquaintance with the how, the what and -- especially -- the why of reflective practice is often neglected. A self-governing future requires reflective practitioners who command a critical understanding of their professional thought and practice; ones who are ready and able to play a meaningful role in decision-making. NewFoundations provides resources and a forum for realizing this purpose.

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