In this paper, we continue an ongoing conversation on the German philosophy of Bildung and American pragmatism, to explore what these traditions can contribute to schooling in the early 2000s. The purpose is to conceptually compare these two educational traditions of Didaktik (developed by Klafki) and “transactional realism” (developed by Dewey), focusing on the individual’s relationship to the self (self-determination), to other people (co-determination), and to the world (solidarity), and the assumptions on which these three dimensions are based. The analysis shows significant similarities  in terms of the philosophical ideas underpinning these two pedagogical approaches. However, while critical-constructive Didaktik emphasizes self-determination, transactional realism emphasizes co-determination in terms of democracy as a way of living as its focal point.