ABSTRACT
As a verb, struggle means to make a forceful effort to get free of constriction. Since the 19th century, progressives have struggled to overcome institutional barriers and social conventions that justify, reproduce, and hide economic, cultural, and political inequalities. The successes resulting from their efforts to share power with the self-anointed and chosen have been many but also measured. Progressive struggles continue in the hope of realizing a just democracy. Identifying common standards is just the starting point. Reading education policymakers turn toward a common core set of standards and testing in order to ensure that all graduates will be career- and college-ready. By moving the goal of reading education from the traditions of imparting skills to the challenges of changing each learner's participation in inquires that matter, progressive teachers favor pluralism over norms, collaboration over competition, and inclusion over separation.
