Schoolhouse Burning: Public Education and the Assault on American Democracy

by Derek W. Black

The full-scale assault on public education threatens not just public education but American democracy itself.



Public education as we know it is in trouble. Derek W. Black, a legal scholar and tenacious advocate, shows how major democratic and constitutional developments are intimately linked to the expansion of public education throughout American history. Schoolhouse Burning is grounded in pathbreaking, original research into how the nation, in its infancy, built itself around public education and, following the Civil War, enshrined education as a constitutional right that forever changed the trajectory of our democracy. Public education, alongside the right to vote, was the cornerstone of the recovery of the war-torn nation.




Today's current schooling trends -- the declining commitment to properly fund public education and the well-financed political agenda to expand vouchers and charter schools -- present a major assault on the democratic norms that public education represents and risk undermining one of the unique accomplishments of American society.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Politics, American History, Sociology

320 pages, Hardcover

Published September 22, 2020

About the author

Derek W. Black is a professor of law and one of the nation's foremost experts in education law and policy. He focuses on educational equality for disadvantaged students and the privatization of public education. In this era of dwindling public school resources and ever-expanding inequality and privatization, his commentary and essays regularly appear in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, Atlantic, Newsweek, and more. His scholarly research is published in the Yale Law Journal, Stanford Law Review, and other top legal journals, and has been cited several times in the federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.

He currently teaches at the University of South Carolina. He began his career in teaching at Howard University School of Law, where he founded and directed the Education Rights Center. Prior to teaching, he litigated education cases at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Reviews

[Hailey Layne]

Fund public schools. I love democracy and public education. (extremely biased woman who is a product of the Mississippi public school system )

[Sierra Luce · Rating 4 out of 5]

soooooo interesting. history of public education in the us & its connection to racial justice and democracy. learned a ton will be thinking about this a lot. so so so much research went into this - want to go through and read everything in the index! (but also like a little idolizy of the founding fathers)

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book public policy book I've read in years. Should be required reading for every American. Review to come.

[Vince · Rating 5 out of 5]

Derek Black's background in constitutional law and education law along with his expertise in and advocacy for civil rights and public education uniquely suit him to author this remarkable history of public education from the nation's founding to the early days of the 2020 pandemic. Although it is meticulously researched and on solid academic footing, it is written for a broad audience; it is written for the people. Black makes abundantly clear that, since the beginning, public education has always been the beating heart of democracy and thus deserving protection from those forces that would seek to undermine it. Throughout history these forces periodically arise to weaken public education whether through racist intent to deny educational equality to African Americans and other people of color or through far right ideology that would defund and privatize education
leaving it to the markets to define the winners and losers in the struggle to learn. An equal and adequately funded system of publicly supported schools or its commodification as exemplified by many state voucher and charter programs that are often thinly veiled efforts to resegregate schools? Do we continue to denigrate the teaching profession or act to elevate it the high career status that it deserves? The stakes have never been higher. This is a wonderfully written treatment of the subject and a must read for anyone with school age children, an abiding faith in education as a pillar of citizenship, or a concern about ongoing threats to democracy.

[Genie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The basis of a democracy is an informed citizenry. Derek Black thoughtfully writes about our historical and current commitment to (or lack thereof) to provide this “fundamental” right to provide a public education to all children in the United States. Every state constitution includes a guarantee to provide its citizens with a public education. As Black stipulates, “ the state has a constitutional duty to provide adequate and equal public education—a duty that comes before all others.”

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tons of great information and insight. The first half (minus the intro, which is 🔥) really gets into the weeds of individual state constitutions, so that took me a while to get through. The second half flew by.

[Janice Resseger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Derek Black’s stunning new book threads together a history that has rarely been collected in one volume. Black, a professor of constitutional law at the University of South Carolina, presents the history of an idea first articulated in the Northwest Ordinances of 1785 and 1787, threatened again and again throughout our nation’s history but persistently revived and reanimated: that a system of public education is the one institution most essential for our democratic society. And, while the specific language defining a public education as each child’s fundamental right is absent from the U.S. Constitution, the guarantee of that right is embedded in the nation’s other founding documents, in the history of Reconstruction that followed the Civil War, in the second Reconstruction during the Civil Rights Movement, and in every one of the state constitutions. Black’s new book also explores how the idea of public education is faring right now a decade after the collapse of public school funding during the Great Recession and after years of growing school privatization Black concludes by reminding readers of America’s education idea, which has survived since 1787: “Public education represents a commitment to a nation in which a day laborer’s son can go to college, own a business, maybe even become president. It represents a nation in which every person has a stake in setting the rules by which society will govern itself…. Public education represents a nation where people from many different countries, religions and ethnic backgrounds come together as one for a common purpose around common values. We know that the idea has never been fully true in our schools, but we need to believe in that idea… The pursuit of that idea, both in fact and in mind, has long set us apart from the world….”

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I got deeper into reading, I kept thinking the book reminded of another book, one I'd recently read. Finally, it clicked: Schoolhouse Burning reminds me of White Rage by Carol Anderson. They're written for different purposes--Anderson presents a chronology of political shifts and court cases that define the history of racism (White Rage) in America, but Black takes us through the political shifts and court cases that outline the American commitment to public education.

But both books felt like a meticulous extended history lesson. Looking at the number of strategies that the NAACP employed to open law schools (not Black law schools, as a good-enough version of a legal education) to prospective Black lawyers, it was the kind of indepth detail that a student of education appreciates.

The heart of 'Schoolhouse' begins after the lively introduction, where that series of events and judgments takes up the next 2/3 of the book. Black writes clearly; it's easy for a non-lawyer to understand the journey to protect education as an essential element of citizenship and thus, a democracy.

But the best part of the book is the last 50 pages or so, where Black starts writing about not only the venerable position public education has maintained, but the very real danger it's in right now. He thinks public ed will survive and may thrive, but it's no sure thing. Even if you only read the beginning and last quarter of the book, it's powerful and well-considered stuff.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Schoolhouse Burning is an eye-opening and thorough account of the history of public esteem of the public school system. Meticulously tracing the history from the Northwest Ordinances of the 1780s through the Brown v. Board decision in 1959, Black highlights the special treatment public education receives in the Constitution, the importance ascribed to schooling by former slaves during Reconstruction, and the firm requirement that the federal government imposed on Confederate states to provide for integrated public education in order to rejoin the Union.

This book offers a tremendous amount of historical context, particularly around desegregation efforts and where they were successful and where they stalled. I found the section about the desegregation of law schools and the Sweatt v. Painter decision particularly fascinating. I remember Sweatt being included in a list of terms in my AP US History class in high school, but the teacher saying we wouldn't have time to cover it, and all we needed to know was it was related to desegregation. But reading this book made me wish we had spent actual time on it. In particular, the argument that segregated law schools deprived the Black students of the benefits of exposure to their professional peers is a fascinating one to me.

While I was certainly aware that public education was regarded by the Founding Fathers as essential to creating a populace was able to engage in a democratic form of government, there are a number of arguments in this book that I found extremely compelling in framing the way we think about that fundamental statement. Some of those points are:

- Public education functions not only to teach students basics of reading, math, and government, but also to socialize students in how to interact with their peers and cooperate for the betterment of society. In this way, segregation is clearly antithetical to the goals of public schools by depriving students of interaction with their peers.

- School district lines are completely arbitrary and can be gerrymandered in the same way as Congressional districts. Having always attended school in an urban district that split on city boundaries, it did not occur to me that suburbs can and do consolidate and separate their school district boundaries to align with residential segregation (and that this could just as easily be done in a way to support integration).

- Education is a different kind of right than housing or food or other basic needs. The continuation of our form of government depends on a well-educated populace, and it is in the best interest of every citizen (regardless of whether they have children) to ensure that children are well-educated and able to carry on the country into its next generation.

What I did not feel was strong enough in this book was the teasing out of the distinction between widespread public schools and publicly available education through vouchers and charter schools. He gestures toward scalability and efficiency problems at the end, but dismisses the very question multiple times as a "distraction." As a product of struggling public schools who was given a scholarship to attend a private high school for 10th grade (but did not find that environment conducive to my learning), I have directly witnessed the impact of Mr. Black's cogent argument that private schools not only arose, but persist, strictly in resistance to desegregation efforts. But the idea that private school vouchers and charter schools do not fulfill the state's constitutional obligation to provide public education (should they be allowed to be implemented to the fullest extent their proponents would like) does not seem as "obvious" or "apparent" to me (a layperson) as it does to Mr. Black (a professor of constitutional law). I would have appreciated that aspect explored further, in lieu of arguments against public schools having a "monopoly" or charters not always performing to the standards of public schools, which to me do seem much more apparent and obvious.

Similarly, I think a lot more could have been said about recent attempts at undermining public education, especially in Kansas and Washington, where they have steadfastly refused to comply with court orders to adequately fund public schools and Kansas even tried to make it impossible for the judicial system to hold legislature accountable to their constitutional requirements. Or in New Orleans, where public schools have been completely replaced with charter schools following Hurricane Katrina. These are both briefly mentioned, but in my opinion, could have done much to bring the argument current. Although, I also did appreciate the timely updates to this book regarding the preliminary impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public education funding.

I did also find this volume to be fairly repetitive among Black's main points, but overall I found the book a thought-provoking and worthwhile read.

Much appreciation to Perseus Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for the review.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some useful historical trivia but its attempt to translate that history into something supportive of the book's more contemporary diatribe (which is basically limited to the last two chapters of the book) is lurching and conclusory. For example, the author clearly has an ax to grind against voucher and charter schools, and would argue that funding such private alternatives to government-run schools would not satisfy state constitutional mandates for states to support "common schools." Yet his counterargument is basically a disappointing "nuh-uh":

I hope it goes without saying that private schools, even when funded with public dollars, do not amount to public education. Similarly, common sense ought to tell us that charter schools, no matter how many we create, will not operate as the system of uniform schools for all students that state constitutions require.

But that first assertion does not go without saying, and the second is not an obvious application of common sense. Handwaving away opponents' primary arguments is fine for a polemicist preaching to the choir, but is unlikely to persuade many who don't already agree with the author's conclusions (and probably won't even convince some who do, who were hoping for a more serious argument on the topic). The author's penchant for substituting bias for argument is likewise evident in the ambiguous, conspiratorial concern-trolling about what non-government schools are really doing and what their proponents' agenda is:

But it is not just what today's leaders have said and done. Also telling is what they haven't said. Increasingly missing, if not entirely absent, is any discussion of education's purpose and values--reinforcing democracy and preparing citizens to participate in it. What they miss is that charters and vouchers, for instance, involve an entirely different set of premises about education--and for that matter an entirely different set of premises about government.

Charter and voucher advocates downplay this value divide and scoff at the idea that their policies threaten public education or democracy. We are all on the same side, they would say.

Yes, absolutely they would, and nothing in this book remotely comes close to challenging either the sincerity or the accuracy of that obvious point. The book earlier lauds court decisions stating that state education clauses go beyond the old mere eighth-grade attainment expectation and state education systems should be evaluated on how well they prepare students for the responsibilities of republican government, the two primary ones of which are voting and jury service; the book then utterly forgets those decisions when arguing that charter and voucher schools ill-prepare students for democratic participation or are otherwise threats to democracy.

The result is a work that is a coherent exposition of a self-constructed world that will be recognizable only to those who already lived in it before they read the first page.

[ManOfLaBook.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: https://www.ManOfLaBook.com

Schoolhouse Burning: Public Education and the Assault on American Democracy by Derek W. Black takes a look on the assault on public schools through an analysis of what that means to our democracy from a moral and legal perspective. Mr. Black is a lack, a legal scholar, law professor, as well as a public school advocate who focuses on educational equality.

This was a fascinating book, which advocates the case for public education through a legal viewpoint and analysis of the history of the case for public education in America. The author makes his case in a clear and concise manner, as well as gives the reader an understanding of how, and why, did the smear campaign on public school began.

In Schoolhouse Burning: Public Education and the Assault on American Democracy by Derek W. Black, a professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, provides context for the ongoing debate about public education, vouchers, charter schools, and more. It is an important book at a time when the Secretary of Education herself was hired for her outright hostility for public education and what it stand for (namely: she has to pay more taxes).

I did not realize that American’s Founding Fathers held public education in such high regard, figuring that the only way their experimental governing system through civic participation would work is if the electorate is educated. There weren’t many things they all agreed upon, so I was surprised to find out that public education was one of them.

Mr. Black goes on to trace the beginning of public education throughout the American Civil War, how the Southern states fought against educating freed slaves, the high regard freed slaves held public education, and of course the downhill spiral of the last few decades. The book goes on to explain vouchers, charter schools and other ways to divert money from public schools, as well as how those well-meaning systems have been manipulated and twisted from their original intent, as to be almost unrecognizable.

The author puts the blame squarely on the likes of DeVos and the Koch Brothers who went on decades long smear campaign with the intent of destroying public education. They want to completely dismantle public education, and replace it with privately run schools. Public education, however, is not a for-profit business, and it’s dangerous to see it as such. The Kochs, don’t only object to public education because it’s funded by taxpayers, they also believe that the kids are getting indoctrinated into left wing ideology, contrary to almost ever serious study ever done.

The author brings forth many court cases and legal decisions which support his case. He is optimistic, but barely, that the defunding of public education will stop if states make it a priority instead of breaking the system, then complaining that the system is broke.

[Jeremy Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this was indeed a helpful organization of public education and its complicated struggle throughout American history, the bulk of its pages revolve around racial disparities over a host of others widely ignored. For example, the Bible Riots in Philadelphia (1844) were a Pre-War hotspot that showed how intense families were about what their children would be taught inside of a school where teachers didn't necessarily share their views, a problem that continues to this day, even if the author didn’t speak on the moral concerns of parents. Then there were the attempts by state governments to use education as a means for assimilating indigenous people who lacked educational facilities (or reasonably funded ones) throughout the 19th and 20th Centuries. Even the debates over classroom discussions of evolution (attempts to suppress scientific investigation) and more than a century of book bans (attempts to shield children from language or scenes or behaviors deemed inappropriate for some, though not all) would have warranted a chapter or two. But as the author acknowledges in the final pages, he was not entirely well versed in educational history, at least not as much as those who assisted him were. So in its finality, this book shows an admitted blind spot, emphasizing racial components over so many others of equal concern. It was good, well cited, well written, but simply lacked a comprehensive view of public education in all its burning complications.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

This book illustrates how the legislative and judicial history of education in the United States has established a clear dedication to the fundamental right of education, and how education has been under threat for decades. It explains, in thoroughly well documented and surprisingly readable prose, how education is irrevocably tied to racial inequality and how the school voucher system grew out of attempts to avoid school integration.

As a layperson in this area (interested in education only as an informed citizen and a minor bureaucrat in higher ed), I found the historical context fascinating. It simultaneously provides justification for supporting the fundamental right to education and yet also spends time describing why originalists and libertarians oppose it. One of the most haunting elements is how those who oppose large government have co-opted both segregationists and parents who are just concerned about the quality of their children's schools to build a super-coalition.

I had expected less time to be spent on the past, but the concluding section about the present day does a remarkable job pulling the historical elements together. Honestly, I feel like this is practically required reading— it adds so much necessary context to conversations about education. Highly recommended.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every American with an interest in education needs to read this book. Derek Black, a law professor, traces the strong, deep roots of public education in America. Public education was highly valued by the framers of the federal constitution as essential to democracy, even if education is not specifically enshrined there. Credit goes to freed Black citizens who, during Reconstruction, established the right to a good public education in state constitutions; many states were readmitted to the Union or later achieved statehood only on the condition that their new constitutions guaranteed a good education to all children. The author discusses how southern states in particular tried to renege on those guarantees by excluding or segregating Black students, and he details the court battles at the state and federal levels that slowly restored public education for all. It wasn't easy; Virginia shut down all its public schools for several years rather than integrate its schools--and gave vouchers to white families for private schools. Sound familiar? Black addresses the current efforts to undermine public schools and encourages us to remember that the overwhelming majority of Americans truly value public education, and we need to fight for it because it is a fight for democracy itself.

[Inge Kutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wake-Up Call
I hope this book, Derek W. Black’s Schoolhouse Burning, sets off every fire alarm in the nation and start blaring in the ears of everybody who has a responsibility for public education in this country and wake them up if they have been dozing at the wheel or driving down the wrong way on a one-way street. Your children’s education is in jeopardy if you don’t wake up and do something about it.
Surely our children’s welfare is everybody’s concern? When you read this book, you will find that people in position of trust have been not only neglecting their responsibilities and duties but are doing their best to exploit their positions and destroy public education. That is how big a threat public education is to oligarchs. They see also that public education is a lovely money-making trough from which they can siphon endless amounts of cash.
Derek Black traces public education back to the founding of this nation and describes its necessity to buttress this fragile construct of democracy in language that is lucid and compelling. When I first read about the freedmen’s yearning for education and how hard they worked, once they had access to it, it was like a kick in the gut, but I couldn’t tell why then. I just knew this is vitally important, especially nowadays. Now, after spending months researching my parents’ story, I realize that I identified so strongly with the freedmen because I was denied public education in China as a child. I was not allowed to attend school because I was not Chinese enough. Only one of my parents was Chinese. One of my most frequent fantasies as a child was to be in a classroom surrounded by classmates. I started school in the fifth grade in a village school in Switzerland. It was everything I had dreamed about. I loved school.
Of course, in hindsight, I am also truly grateful that I was not allowed to attend school in China, because, under the Communists, schools are centers of indoctrination, not education. The results can be clearly seen in China today. It is now a nation so badly abused that they can’t tell fact from fiction anymore. It is now a nation so morally bankrupt, so ethically untethered that it will take many years and many miracles to bring it back to what anybody might call a civilized level.
American public education is on a downward spiral. It is my hope that this book will galvanize all good people to collaborate quickly and efficiently to correct its course. I want all children to experience my joy in being at school and learning about all the wonders in the world.
On a scale of one to five, I would rate this book eight.

[Sara Broad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Derek Black's "Schoolhouse Burning" is a comprehensive history and analysis of public education in America. This book enlightened me about the importance of education as a guiding feature of American democracy when this country was founded several hundred years ago. It also taught me about the Founding Fathers' failure to deem education a fundamental right, which has led to many often losing battles for those parties that have tried to ensure that all children are entitled to an equal, high-quality education. Unfortunately, as Black points out, there is an ongoing movement funded by the ultra wealthy and backed by state and federal governments to privatize education and to devalue the work that teachers do. For those curious about the historical role of public education and where we might be headed, "Schoolhouse Burning" is a solid read.

[Janet Morrison-Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fund our Education system

Absolutely fascinating read. Although I had done research on the public schools, I didn’t realize how deeply embedded our education system is in our constitution. This was good news to me. Although I question and grow concerned about the focus (or lack thereof) that some of our policy makers seem to put on education today, it was good to know that our education system was based on the knowledge that we needed an educated public to be able to shape our country. I hope and pray in the next few years we can get back to that grounding and understand the principles our education system was founded on, as well as do more to ensure that those opportunities are much more equitable as we move forward.

[Elizabeth Colquitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Critical historical view of education in America. The book gets in the weeds at times, but Black proves his case. Without glossing over the racial, religious, class and gender-related shortsightedness of the founding fathers, he shows that their vision left room for the inclusion of these marginalized groups in the future. The founding documents prove repeatedly that democracy cannot survive without free, quality public schools, and Black indicates how the policies of both Democratic and Republican administrators of the past 40-50 years (vouchers, charter schools) have been methodically undermining the founders' vision.

[stephen s raj · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy summer reading book for every parent who decides the school for his or her kid in the fall. The author narrates the american history of education and its close relation to democracy and freedom. He clearly shows the fundamental duty of every citizen to provide the opportunity for education for all and pleads the political leaders to act on it. The book clearly reveals the current problems in our public education and dare necessity to improve it the nation to lead the world. I recommend this easy reading book to every concerned parent.

[Jenna Spinelle]

The history presented in this book rivals that of any historical I've read. Add in Derek's legal background and this book is true tour de force. Our democracy has a lot of issues to contend with right now, but Derek's book shows us why we need to keep public education at the forefront of our social and political conversations.

I had the chance to talk with Derek for a podcast I produce and really enjoyed our conversation about the book and everything that's happened since it was published. You can listen to the episode here: https://democracyworks.simplecast.com....

[Jon Hale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Schoolhouse Burning is a must-read for anyone and everyone concerned about the status of public education. Derek Black has published a masterpiece that manages to provide a historical overview with a trained eye toward legal implications of one of the most pressing issues of our time – the assault on public education. Reading this impressive volume will arm you with the knowledge needed to defend our public schools and, essentially, our very democracy.

[Jeni Enjaian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book almost accomplished its goal. I wondered if I would "enjoy" my read since I have moved away from education-themed reads. Black had an excellent structure and plenty of evidence ... in the middle sections but not the framing chapters. I wholeheartedly agreed with the points he made in those framing chapters but felt frustrated that he did not include the evidence and connections as well. If he had done that, I would consider this book nearly perfect.

[Maggie Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This started and finished in a very time appropriate manner but the middle dragged a bit unless you are a court scholar. Lots of court case references and context but the importance of public education access to the future of our democracy is not overstated. A must read for anyone NOT familiar with the tidal wave of privatization and segregation happening under the guise of "school choice."

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay so I really wanted my hundredth book of the year to be fun and meaningful but alas…homework prevails.

This book was interesting. Especially reading it back to back with Dubois…who I feel like would have some spicy things to say about it. But the author is coming to speak to my class next week, so maybe I’ll ask him about it!

[Linda Saleski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Understanding the connection between public education and the health of democracy is critical. The historical context provides insight into many of the choices that have been made at the state and federal level. The effort to dismantle public education is an assault on democratic principles.

[Hillsullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was for a book club and very enlightening for me. I had really not understood the history of public education. Also made me think about what would be the curriculum for a black history class

[Michael Kearney · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great message and a comprehensive treatment of the constitution basis for public education. But , oh so dry a telling! This was the Jack Webb history of public schools, "Just the facts, mam".

[Marion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every American should read this book.

[Nichole]

I started reading this book as an egalley and it just didn't work in that format for me. I would gladly return to it as a physical book.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great history of the development of public education as a right for children within the American system. One must know history so it doesn't deem repeat itself.