Introduction

Until about 25 years ago, public education was widely regarded as one of the great institutions of this country.  Open to all children, public schools have long embodied our national ideals of equality and opportunity, and they have served as a vital resource for American communities, as the center of children’s social as well as academic life. Public school facilities provide auditoriums for performances, community sports facilities, and after-school rooms for adult education and other activities. And many of those people who have graduated from public school have gone to become leading figures in American society – in business, politics, the arts, and other fields. 

Public schools have a proud history of enriching American community life. Public education has long involved much more than reading, writing, and arithmetic. For generations of immigrants, public education facilitated the learning of English and eased the transition into American society. Students learned about civics and government and developed respect for our democracy and an understanding of the responsibilities of citizenship. In more recent years, public schools have provided food, counseling, health care, and social assistance for kids from all backgrounds.  Public schools have also sought to innovate, to improve, to represent the best interests of their communities, and to enable talent, creativity, and ambition to be recognized and rewarded.  Not all public schools were equally successful, and none was perfect, but that is true of every major institution. The fact is that, until the late1970s, our public school system enjoyed the admiration and respect of the American public. It was considered one of the essential institutions of our society. Although still well regarded by much of the public, this previous high level of public esteem has gradually eroded. There is now significant concern about, as well as opposition to, public education. So what happened?

Opposition to public education has occurred as a result of a broader ideologically and politically motivated assault, by what we will term here as the “Right” on “liberal” institutions and policies. This assault is not generally recognized by the public or even many educators. Its major targets include the national media, college professors, organized labor, the regulation of business, progressive taxation - and public education... These attacks have greatly influenced how the American public thinks about institutions and policies that had long been considered as the bedrock of our country. In particular, the Right has systematically worked, for more than two decades, to undermine the public’s confidence and respect for public education.

Initially promoted as providing “choice,” the Right is becoming less covert about their real goal – privatizing schools and eliminating as much of the public education system as possible.  This should not be very surprising, given that the “school choice” campaign is actually part of a broader ideological movement intent on shifting a whole array of government functions – from the military to Social Security – to the private sphere.

The alternatives to public education being proposed by the Right, by any reasonable and objective standards, are not in the broad public interest. Vouchers can lead directly to a breakdown of the separation of church and state, and could result in an education system consisting of religious and private corporate based schools only.  The history of corporations in this country, both past and present, show that a corporate run, for-profit school system cannot be expected to serve the public interest.

Understanding the nature and full scope of the opposition is a prerequisite for countering the ongoing campaign to weaken public education. Where does this attack come from, who is behind it, and why are they doing this?  As background for understanding the opposition, Sections 1 and 2 of this report summarize the history, ideology, and the specific forces behind the assault on public education. Section 3 examines the opposition’s strategies and tactics, including the underlying ideology promoted by those seeking to undermine public education. Section 4 assesses the effectiveness of their efforts.

The keys to success of those who oppose public education are that they have been strategic, focused, disciplined, and committed to long-term efforts to accomplish their goals. They have brought together their resources, financial, intellectual, and ideological, to create an impressive infrastructure of organizations that create the appearance of independent voices.  They have done this over time with patience and determination.

While the subject of opposition to public education has been covered by other reports, it may still surprise many to learn the degree to which that this opposition  is well-coordinated and is part of a larger ideological assault on government, the concept of community in general, and even, it could be argued, democracy itself. The CI report quotes extensively from other reports and sources, but offers the perspective of interpreting the actions of the opposition in terms of strategy. By doing so, it enables the presentation of counter strategies that are available to those who are advocates for public education.

What can be done to counter the attack on our public education system effectively?  This is the vital question that this Commonweal Institute (CI) report addresses. Section 5 of the report recommends strategies and tactics for countering the Right, protecting public education, and advancing an education agenda in the public interest.

Strategy is the key. The main purpose of this CI report is to suggest executable strategies that can effectively counter those being used by public education opponents. These strategies fall broadly into two categories: (1) those that education organizations can do for themselves, and (2) those that could best be done by organizations and individuals that are independent voices for public education. It should be emphasized that these strategies go beyond countering public education opponents, or the Right more broadly. This report also describes positive strategies for strengthening the role of public education in our society. These strategies can enable public education organizations and their advocates to take the initiative in advancing an education agenda that is in the public interest. Ironically, it is the opponents of public education that provide not only the impetus for strategies proposed by this report, but also serve as a model for a number of specific strategies. However, although the Right can serve as a model for certain specific strategies, they do not serve as a model for what might be considered appropriate ethical boundaries in the execution of strategies. In executing the suggested strategies, it is vital that it is done in a manner that respects the intended audiences and incorporates the highest standards of ethical conduct.   

How urgent is the need to put into place strategies and an infrastructure of organizations and individuals that can effectively counter the opposition to public education? There is no question that public education is losing ground. Major print and broadcast media, public opinion polls and the positions taken by politicians of both major parties make it clear that there has been a steady shift toward the school-privatization movement’s and the Right’s attitudes and policies. Very little that reaches the major media frames issues to the advantage of public schools and teacher organizations.  Without an effective counter, it is likely only a matter of time before there will be a major shift toward privatization.

Pubic education advocates can be successful. Those with a progressive agenda for public education have a natural advantage over their opponents. Progressive principles are clearly much more in the public interest than the competing ideologies of the Right. However, to be successful, public education proponents have to be strategic in their thinking and disciplined in executing their strategies. This report provides a roadmap for getting started on this journey.