My daughter (26) is smart. Like, whip smart. I started writing about the relationship between schools and democracy when she was young, inspired in part by her experiences. As a teenager, she read my manuscripts, offered candid feedback and I gotta say, made my books better. While in college, she worked as my assistant. She interviewed subjects, organized my papers, and even wrote passages in several of my books. The books, though, remained mine. I did most of the thinking and more of the writing than she did.

A few months ago, she down and designed an entire research project involving talking to dozens of teachers, schoolmen, and students. She visited dozens of schools in the Chicago area, took copious notes, and wrote entire chapters. I read what she wrote and it's good. I think it's going to change how people think about education.

I just finished reading the final manuscript. I would be lying if I said you couldn't tell which chapters she wrote and which ones I wrote. Mine are smarter. Hers are more accessible. My publisher is waiting. WIBTA if I left her name off? My name on the spine sells books. We included her name once before and that book didn't sell as well as the others. And the few times she's tried to publish books under her own name, she wasn't very successful. We use the money from publications to fund research at our school and I am all for women having the right to vote and own property but... it's my book.