Carol Burris, executive director of the Network for Public Education, and Johann Neem, a professor of history of education at Western Washington University, discussed the meaning and purpose of public schools in a forum organized by the History of Education Quarterly.
Why care about public schools? Why resist the “school choice” movement for charters and vouchers? Why stand up for public schools? Why do public schools matter?
Burris and Neem’s dialogue will answer your questions. It’s a well-informed discussion about why public schools are central to our democracy, not merely a consumer choice.
Their conversation was sponsored by the History of Education Society.
Open the link and read the responses of two very knowledgeable people who understand the importance of public schools.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I don’t care about what “two very knowledgeable people” think. I want to know what actual educators have to say. I respect expertise, but when it becomes Clinton/Obama-style reliance on consultants, et al., it often wanders off the correct course.
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Carol is an “”actual educator. She taught Spanish for many years, was an assistant principal, then a principal.
Johann is a historian of education who deeply appreciates the value of public education because of his own experience.
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Good morning Diane and everyone,
I personally can’t wait to start using A1 in my classes. According to Linda McMahon, kids are like sponges and soak up everything – even A1. Who knew?!?!! But how will we get them to drink it?? 😂😂😂😂
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Thank you for this realistic discussion surrounding public education. The extreme partisanship in education comes mostly from right wing extremists. Maybe those on the right seek to shelter their children from public school diversity, but the the so-called “woke” claims are overblown and distorted to encourage distrust in the public system. Right wing politicians have repeatedly made false claims of indoctrination in the public schools in order to transfer funds out of public schools and send it to private schools. This results more segregation and the”Balkanization” of education which leads to more partisanship and mistrust. When public services are privatized, the result is more neglect and disinvestment in the public sector. Public schools are by far the most efficient and effective use of public dollars for providing universal access to education. Public schools have served this nation well. It is unfortunate that so many people have been conditioned to distrust them.
In Pensacola, FL, the community revolted against DeSantis right wing leadership for The University of West Florida. To paraphrase the governor, he said that Florida cannot give those “woke” leftists an inch and claimed that the “Florida plan” works. His plan is to suppress and repress anyone that does not see the world they way the governor does.
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I agree that the fundamental function of public education is an educated citizenry. Educated citizens keep out tyrants. Public education’s purpose underlying democracy is fare more important than training young people for that job wearing hoodie and flip flops on a skateboard programming drone attacks at Big Tech Co.
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The Orange uneducated, ignorant, mentally disturbed Dictator wants to be able to dictate what is done in public schools.
From The Hill
Military academies could increasingly show what President Trump wants to see from public schools and colleges.
While K-12 districts and universities are fighting back against book removals; transgender athlete bans; and the termination of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, the administration has a far freer hand at military institutions.
Military schools fall under an entirely different set of laws and regulations from public ones and are under the direct control of Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, though a recent protest at a military middle school in Germany shows students are not entirely on board with their reforms….
“In some respects, the military can be used as a social experimentation area because of the controlled environment, and everybody has to roger up to the orders,” Jones continued, adding “it would not surprise” him if what is happening at service academies was indicative of what the Trump administration wants…
The president has signed multiple executive orders affecting military schools, including bans on DEI and on transgender girls and women competing on sports teams that match their gender identity. Unlike with some of his other education orders, the results have been swift.
The U.S. Naval Academy has already removed around 400 books from its library that it says promoted DEI. The removals from the Nimitz Library collection, the academy said, were done “in order to ensure compliance with all directives outlined in Executive Orders issued by the President.” …
https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5244886-military-academies-trump-education-dei-book-bans-hegseth-transgender-athletes/
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For some reason, my comment wasn’t able to post through the Comments section so here it is. Thanks, David Crandall
Interesting dialogue but missing a crucial aspect given the relatively high level of abstraction. It reminds me of the failure of the Democrats in the last election when they put major energy into the threats to democracy, which were/are real, and downplayed the economic realities experienced by everyday citizens. While the pundits discussed democracy and how well the economy was doing, voters were worried about the price of eggs and a gallon of gas. In education discussions like this, the equivalent concerns of parents are: is my kid safe, is s/he learning to read and do math. They’re not worried about whether their kid becomes an informed citizen, appreciates other cultures, etc. All the pushback against charters et al has distracted energy from acknowledging what most public schools haven’t done well. Instead of urging radical change in how public schools are organized and operate, resistance to change is front and center. Absent alternatives the sclerotic system is headed to a slow death, accelerated by an increasing number of options via technology and an escalating tax burden for citizens who don’t see commensurate benefit.
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