"The book argues that the proper aim of civic education in schools is to shore up liberal democracy; shows how discussion can be the main dish, not a side dish, of classroom instruction; shows how classroom discussion develops voice, defined as the freedom to make and express un-coerced decisions, and disciplinary knowledge, defined as the knowledge that results from a public process of error-seeking, contestation, and validation; argues that students need to learn both disciplinary knowledge and voice if they are to take their place on the public stage and hold the 'office of citizen' in a liberal democracy; and finally, treats subject-centered and student-centered instruction as partners, not opponents"--