Rebooting Democracy: What a Lifetime in Education and Psychiatry Hastaught Me about Restoring Our Future

By James P. Comer

In Rebooting Democracy, James Comer uses his lifetime of experience to explore how insidious racism limits America's quest to be a democracy of "We the People."

Dr. Comer demonstrates how schools can provide a challenging curriculum and meaningful opportunities for social growth among many students from all backgrounds. He uses the Comer School Development Program (SDP) at Yale University as an example of a collaborative, trauma-informed, and relationship-child development approach to education.

This important book is a study of American democracy lost and found, personified through the story of Comer's upbringing; his training in medicine, psychiatry, and public health; and his legendary work in schools. It is the story of his unlikely journey to success as the son of two undereducated African American migrants whose five children earned 13 college degrees and became successful community leaders and professionals.

Comer offers a plan for education that honors the vision of founding father John Adams and many others who believed that "We the People" must have a good education--beginning with early care--if we are to successfully manage a democracy. The plan deconstructs principles and practices from Comer's own childhood and applies them to the construction of a public-school culture that enables families and schools to function well; and how this can paralyze racism and facilitate the kind of culture of democracy we need in today's changing society and world.

This retrospective by a world leader in child psychiatry, education, and civil rights activism examines broad social issues, such as the persistence of racial oppression and what we as a nation must do to live up to democracy's highest aspirations.

Book Features:
Shows how the Comer School Development Program (SDP) at Yale pioneered nationwide changes to traditional teaching and learning concepts.Explores the still-emerging conversation about the connection between democracy, race, and education.Moves beyond current racialized explanations for differences in achievement and performance among student groups.Urges a reexamination of traditional thinking about using test scores as the major measure of student, staff, and district excellence.Offers a collaborative approach to schooling without blame, fault-finding, and punishments.Calls for schools to better prepare students to meet the tasks and responsibilities of living in and protecting democracy.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807783692
• ISBN13: 9780807783696
• Release Date: May 2026
• Publisher: Teachers College Press
• Length: 272 Pages