School’s Shift from Community to Competition Can Harm Our Youth

This post is an op-ed that Deborah Malizia and I just published in the San Jose Mercury News.  Here's a link to the original.  It follows up on an earlier op-ed we did on the subject.   Schools’ shift from community to competition harms our youth U.S. education system created in the 19th century to serve the … Continue reading School’s Shift from Community to Competition Can Harm Our Youth

Public Schools for Private Gain

This post is a piece I published in Kappan in November, 2018.  It's about the declining American commitment to schooling for the public good.  Here’s a link to the original. PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR PRIVATE GAIN: THE DECLINING AMERICAN COMMITMENT TO SERVING THE PUBLIC GOOD When schooling comes to be viewed mainly as a source of … Continue reading Public Schools for Private Gain

We Live in the Best of Times — Really

            This is my first ever Pollyanna post.  I just wrote it in order to cheer myself about the world we live in.  Consider it my New Year's present. We Live in the Best of Times             We seem to be in a world that … Continue reading We Live in the Best of Times — Really

No Exit: Public Education as an Inescapably Public Good

This post is a piece I originally published in a 2000 book honoring David Tyack, Reconstructing the Good in Education: Coping with Intractable American Dilemmas. which was edited by Larry Cuban and Dorothy Shipps.  Here's a link to a PDF of the chapter.  Two years ago I did a short post about Albert Hirschman's book, … Continue reading No Exit: Public Education as an Inescapably Public Good

Educational Consumerism

This is an op-ed I published in the Detroit News way back in 1998.  It captures a key part of the argument about educational consumerism that I developed in my second book, How to Succeed in Schools Without Really Learning. EDUCATIONAL CONSUMERISM: BAD FOR SCHOOLS  BY DAVID F. LABAREE We hear a lot these days about how we … Continue reading Educational Consumerism

Public Schools for Private Gain

This post is a piece I published in Kappan in November, 2018.  Here’s a link to the original. Public schools for private gain: The declining American commitment to serving the public good When schooling comes to be viewed mainly as a source of private benefit, both schools and society pay the consequences. By David F. Labaree … Continue reading Public Schools for Private Gain

Levinson and Markovitz — The Biggest Disruption in the History of American Education

This post is a piece by Meira Levinson and Daniel Markovitz that was published recently in Atlantic.  Here's a link to the original. It's an astute analysis of the harmful effects of the pandemic on American schooling.  They argue that only part of the damage was done by school closures.  A lot of the harm … Continue reading Levinson and Markovitz — The Biggest Disruption in the History of American Education

Educational Consumerism: Bad for Schools

This is an op-ed I published in the Detroit News way back in 1998.  It captures a key part of the argument about educational consumerism that I developed in my second book, How to Succeed in Schools Without Really Learning. Educational Consumerism: Bad for Schools  by David F. Labaree We hear a lot these days … Continue reading Educational Consumerism: Bad for Schools

Are Students Consumers?

on Are Students Consumers? This post is a piece I published in Education Week way back in 1997.  It’s a much shorter and more accessible version of the most cited paper I ever published, “Public Goods, Private Goods: The American Struggle over Educational Goals.”  Drawing on the latter, it lays out a case for three competing educational … Continue reading Are Students Consumers?

Public Schools for Private Gain

This post is a piece I published in Kappan in November, 2018.  Here’s a link to the original. Public schools for private gain: The declining American commitment to serving the public good When schooling comes to be viewed mainly as a source of private benefit, both schools and society suffer grave consequences. By David F. Labaree … Continue reading Public Schools for Private Gain