This paper is based on a year-long inquiry into the possibility of democratic education in traditional environments. The study was guided by the questions: (1) what are the teacher qualities needed to transcend the structures of schooling to engage in democratic practices?; and (2) how are these practices manifested in the classroom? The researcher interviewed and observed three secondary social studies teachers who expressed a commitment to democratic ideals. The results of the study were that it is the personal and moral commitments of the educator that allow democratic pedagogy to take place. Pedagogical identity is formed from personal human characteristics and is characterized as an integrated identity as opposed to the rational-technical model prevalent in school settings. Teacher qualities that constituted pedagogical identity were depicted as residing in the moral, intellectual, and personal dimensions of human personality. The teachers in the study practiced democratic education by moving into the free spaces of the structures of schooling. In these free spaces, teachers created a democratic classroom climate, used connected knowledge, and promoted active learning. (EH/Author)