Public education at the beginning of the 20th century held the promise to produce a vigorous democratic public life. Quickly, though, powerful elites took control of public education to implement a factory model of schooling that has failed public life. we are at a turning point in the history of democratic public life and public education, and that we must re-imagine, re-design and re-invent the current system. Promises to Keep looks to the confluence of schooling, cultural life and the public sphere to envision what education can and should be in the future.