A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School

by Jack Schneider, Jennifer Berkshire

A trenchant analysis of how public education is being destroyed in overt and deceptive ways--and how to fight back
Across the U.S., state legislatures-often under the cover of darkness, and usually in spite of public opposition-are passing bills that channel public dollars to private schools. These voucher schemes promise to transfer billions from state treasuries to upper-income families. But that's just the start. Opponents of public schools want to dismantle the public education system entirely. Outrageous and unfounded attacks on the schools-about Critical Race Theory, "gender ideology," and "grooming"-are all part of a broader strategy to sow doubt and distrust. This is the end game.

Education historian Jack Schneider and journalist Jennifer Berkshire trace the war on public education to its origins, offering the deep backstory necessary to understand the threat presently posed to America's schools. The book also looks forward to imagine how current policy efforts will reshape the educational landscape and remake America's future.  A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door offers readers a lively, accessible, yet scholarly view of a decades-long conservative unmaking the system that serves over 90% of students in the U.S. Presenting a clear view of the ideology motivating this assault, the book also maps the future-outlining how current policy efforts will reshape the educational landscape and remake American democracy.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Politics, History, Economics, Audiobook, Social Justice

264 pages, Hardcover

Published November 17, 2020

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading the book, in chunks, for the past week. Mostly, because it's a book best approached through a thoughtful, read/reflect fashion. When I started reading it, I realized that it was likely that I would have encountered most, if not all, the ideas included, and supporting evidence that public education was, in fact, being systematically dismantled. I knew I could skim though--check, been there, read that, check, agree, agree--but would benefit more if I could see how all the dots connected.

In the last chapter of the book, the authors (there are two--not certain why this edition only shows one) share a story of having an education scholar review an earlier draft of the book. She asks 'Do you want to scare people?' and they acknowledge that yes, the purpose of the book is assembling data and patterns that tell us where public education is headed, unless there are some drastic changes in policy and practice. We *should* be apprehensive--there are well-funded groups whose goal is just that: taking down public education and selling it off for parts.

The best parts of the book are the last few chapters, wherein the end game is revealed. Berkshire and Schneider aren't overly optimistic, and don't offer recommendations. They'll probably take some heat for that (why does every book have to present a solution?) but I think the assembled data shows very clearly that there will always be school-as-we-know-it for the rich.

The schools where students have classmates, wholesome activities and challenging curricula (not to mention fully prepared teachers) will always exist, because they're worth the cost. It's also clear that educating the poor and those with academic difficulties will move further down the list of priorities, unless something changes. The solution is likely to be political and the authors mostly stay out of politics--also good, because it might mean that the book draws readers across the political spectrum.

It's an outstanding, readable book, and a must for parents and policy-makers as well as educators. The wolf is indeed at the door.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

My struggles as an educator can be summed up in one sentence from page 195: “Schools are already charged with doing the impossible—carrying out the work of human improvement in a country driven by racial, economic, and geographic inequity.” The pandemic and remote learning has only amplified the truth embedded in this quote. Schools are expected to make up for disparities created by a history of disenfranchisement, discrimination, and privilege.

As I give this book 4 stars, I can’t help but think of the chapter where Berkshire and Schneider dissect the rating system in the US. Once left up to experts, now ratings and reviews are done by any consumer - like me. Thus, my four star review is arbitrary.

That being said, this book got me thinking. I’m an 8th grade public school teacher, but I can see how expectations placed on me are driven by outside threats of
privatization. I am expected to raise test scores (see above paragraph about disparities). I am expected to implement personalized learning, blended learning, and more. The more technology I use the better. My school district purchases technologies that differentiate and which meant to make my job easier. After reading this comprehensive look into a push for free market education, no wonder I face the impossible expectation of individualizing my instruction.

I know why I chose to read this book, but I wonder if any public school opponents will choose to read about the threats to public school. I’m not so sure, but at least this book helped give me some arguments to defend public education — although I wish more time was given to argue FOR public education, not just AGAINST school choice and privatization. As a result, I finished this book with more questions than answers, two of them being:

1. What is the purpose of public education?
2. In my state, there doesn’t seem to be talk of school choice and vouchers, but charter and magnet schools are prominent. Where does my state fall into the push for privatization?

Overall, this book paints a clear picture of the threats to public education, but I wish more had been done to explain WHY we care that public education is being threatened.

[Jerrod Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one has been on the shelf for a couple years. Glad I finally got to dig into it.

A couple takeaways:

• The authors’ viewpoint on teaching being viewed as a “gig” rather than a profession is so spot on. This stems for the profession being devalued from the fact that teaching has been dominated by women since its inception, which is obviously very silly because women are badasses

It also comes from that after many years of being in school, a lot of people think they know what “good teaching is.” This is a lot different in comparison to a profession like a lawyer / doctor where you most are not watching it happen almost everyday for a big portion of their lives. This has created alternative programs where teachers only go into the profession for a short time and then move on to a different career. Until teaching is truly valued as a PROFESSION, the needle won’t be fully moved in education.


• The book also brings up the amount of money that is being poured into marketing, especially for charter networks. School choice is such a big hit, that hundreds and thousands of dollars is being invested into marketing and not the development of teachers. When one charter network was asked about this, they stated that they would basically layoff teachers before taking any money out of their marketing budget. WOW!

Side note: Love the how the authors discussed teachers and schools alone cannot alone save our country from ineffective policy and systemic poverty over hundreds of years. I could go into much more detail about this book, but definitely recommend for anyone in education

In all, I pray for the day that we in the field of education teaching is valued as a profession and student learning is truly valued instead of trying to make profit off schools and students.

[Jacob · Rating 1 out of 5]

The authors seem to only use politically charged language to scare people, by their own admission in the conclusion, about a political movement they don't like. This book lacks any real argument beyond rich people, Republicans, and those that disagree with the authors are bad. I'd appreciate a real premise and support rather than a series of quotes and statements with buzzwords.

[n · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you listen to the Have You Heard podcast, this book is going to be super predictable. It focuses largely on the GOP's push to dismantle US public schooling, and it focuses on Betsy DeVos more than anyone else. While DeVos definitely was responsible for harming schools, this has been a long process that has taken place over decades. It's frequently bipartisan, too.

The book has a strong liberal-conservative framework. Because of this, it smashes a lot of people into the same categories for the same reason without actually understanding the nuance behind beliefs. For example, they keep saying that people who want to dismantle public schools do so because they want to generate profit! Well, that's not true when you include people who want to dismantle public schools because they see school abolition as being part of the path to justice and freedom.

There's a lot of scare quotes around words like "system," as if we're supposed to forget that schools are part of a system. The authors want you to not view schools in that light, and I think that actually hurts their argument more than it helps.

[Bam cooks the books · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do you picture for the future education of our children, grandchildren? Because if one thing's for certain, it won't be the traditional kind of education we all have experienced. The authors of this book discuss many of the possibilities: for-profit, vouchers, charter schools, virtual schools, etc. Will our children be taught online using A.I, eliminating the need for teachers?

All of this information is couched in politics. It seems the dearest wish of libertarians like the Kochs would be to dismantle free public education all together. It's time to pay more attention to what is going on at the state and federal levels where the decisions are made.

[Nicole Simovski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent overview of the current changes K12 education is undergoing that ultimately aims to dismantle the public education system in favor of a privatized, market-based, deregulated business. Must read if you care about the future of our children’s education.

[Nadav David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot from this book about the history and current reality of the billionaire class and the political Right, aided by neoliberal Democrats, efforts to dismantle public education for the purpose of profit, control and weakening organized labor. The authors provide helpful detail into different tactics within this broader conservative vision, including school vouchers, charter schools, virtual learning and more, making me more able to suss out when these regressive political tactics are being introduced locally. As a partner of a badass public school teacher and union member, this book was instrumental in understanding her and her colleagues fight, both within the classroom and the union, more clearly.
My 4/5 comes from a desire to hear more from the authors about a progressive / radical political vision for public education and a deeper history of organized labor / movements to support public education.

[S. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very leftist book that pins all the blame of a failing public school system on conservatives, despite both liberals and conservatives are to blame. If you're a leftist, enjoy the book, if you're a moderate independent like me, read with a grain of salt, if you're a conservative, skip it.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most coherent and thorough explanations of the current educational landscape. Though laced with inherent bias, the work brings a sense of balance to the perspectives surrounding school choice and highlights the objectives of prominent leaders in education. The book frames American schools as though they are in a perilous position, as evidenced by the title, and presents a call to action.

[Blaire Malkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really insightful read on how vouchers and charters went from being nonstarters to gaining traction in American education and the deep influence of devos and Koch families in this project. Also a look at how conservatives didn’t change their policies only their message and the devastating impact this will have on public education.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I blogged my review here:

https://fourthgenerationteacher.blogs...

[Lance Eaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Schneider and Berkshire's critique of charter schools and the privatization of public education is a sharp and insightful analysis that helps unpack the complex forces at play in actively trying to dismantle public education. They demonstrate that the current push toward charter schools is part of an ongoing effort by right-wing conservatives that has moved from peripheral to center over the past 80 years. Initially arising as a means to work around equally funding schools for Black children or allowing for integration, charter school's historical legacy and contemporary means of being able to do a great deal of harm to students and teachers without any public accountability raise a range of questions about who is benefitting (i.e. profiting) from these structures. Schneider and Berkshire help to answer that question while also showing the ways these increasingly present strategies work on several levels. In the guise of "choice", they recenter the purpose of public education from creating citizens to being a good that parents should have a choice in (choice for the public option or use their tax dollars for the private/charter option). In the process of legislatively getting states and cities to create voucher programs where taxpayers' dollars go with the student (e.g. to a charter instead of a public school), they increasingly contribute to the demise of public education, which is often not sufficiently funded. The decreasing funds contribute to poorer school results which contribute to a downward spiral. Of course, this is something that has been played out in many other areas where the public good is slowly eroded and as they point out, once these cycles start, they rarely are turned around and once a system falls apart, it is almost never revived. And while there are criticisms of public education, the idea that it needs to be destroyed is one that will in many ways destroy many bedrock elements of civic society in general. At the same time, many companies are looking to make fast money on educational technology that everyone is looking to largely teach masses of students (though, of course, those that can afford it, will still get human-based teaching). But the goal of automating teaching and learning also chips away at the idea that public education should be something grounded in a community and part of a society and more a selection of tasks accomplished with a computer and often, under-experienced, overworked, and easily-dismissable (i.e. replaceable) workforce. This alone is enough to raise concerns for readers but the authors offer so much more that leaves one questioning what chances there are for those who want public education to actually be available for future generations.

[Dan Philibin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gave a clear, well-explained overview of all the current threats to public education and the efforts to dismantle it.

My main takeaway is that for as big, bureaucratic, and expensive as public schools can be, they provide tremendous value to communities, and there are good reasons for why the system is the way it is. Deep-pocketed groups have been trying for decades to dismantle public education, and have only been able to chip away at it — in part because public education is still highly popular with the public. It's disheartening to hear that behind these efforts are not motives of improving education quality and equity (though they are marketed as such, of course), but motives of profit and, I suspect, curriculum micromanagement by conservatives who are quickly losing favor with the public. However, it's encouraging to learn of the power that public teachers unions and teachers' strikes still have and the public's unwavering refusal to give up on their local public education systems.

Would be curious to learn more about: the changes the author feels are necessary to improve or strengthen public education; the increasing value schools provide to communities who are seeing many of their remaining 'fourth places' disappear; and the successes and failures of standardized testing, which will likely be the subject of my next read.

[thi · Rating 4 out of 5]

the last chapter title, “Education, à la carte” ate so bad

I appreciate the bluntness in stating that this is almost entirely a republican/conservative plot of prioritizing their own profit above ALL else and doing so blatantly, and so full of smug that it’s truly so cartoonishly evil to everyone else

It’s almost impressive just how excluded the elements of socialization, labour, safety, and literal education of children and families are in the talks of this privatization, it’s all and only about commodification

Every single argument is about or adjacent to profit and to their credit the ones most impressionable, the selfish, clearly need not hear anymore

Trying to sell the notion that children’s education should be akin to hand picking streaming providers is so—

Replacing educators with technology, frankly to cut costs—my anger has no bounds

This read was possibly the greatest string of innocuous words, that fueled the most rage in my body

[M W · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good primer on the threats public schools in the US have and continue to face. I think in the end the authors try to tackle too many separate topics (religious private schools, charter schools, anti union sentiment, gig economy). While this does inform a first time reader, they will be left with only a somewhat hasty and cursory overview of at least some of these issues.

I would also advise against the audiobook version, the reader is pretty terrible to the point that I was often unsure whether I was listening to an actual human being or some text to speech robot.

[Chris Heady · Rating 4 out of 5]

An essential read if you are curious about the current fight to demonize public education. Dense but important, melodramatic at times but also purposefully scary. Reinforces the importance of standing up for public education and public schools.

[Andy Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the following twelve well-researched and accessible chapters, you will be taken on a whirlwind tour of national education policies often supported by both Democrats and Republicans:

1) Private Values
2) Faith in Markets
3) The Cost-Cutting Crusade
4) The War on Labor
5) Neo-Vouchers
6) The Pursuit of Profit
7) Virtual Learning
8) The End of Regulation
9) Don't Forget to Leave Us a Review
10) Selling School
11) Teaching Gigs
12) Education, à la Carte

Every administration since Ronald Reagan in the 1980s has supported most of the approaches to public education described in these chapters.

The wealthy will always be able to afford small classes with experienced teachers.

For the masses, the goal is to reduce costs.

As we've learned during the pandemic, teachers can't be replaced with computer screens and families and students benefit greatly from in-person schooling.

It is definitely worth an investment of your time to read this book. You will learn how and why so many wealthy influencers make a profit by undermining your local public schools.

Full disclosure: I am a big fan of the authors' podcast Have You Heard. You should subscribe!

[Carol Tilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read. It'll make you angry and ready to take action.

[Kaitlin Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was thought-provoking and worrying. But also they got the date of Hurricane Katrina wrong, which was embarrassing.

[Kelly Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting look at our schools and those who would like to make a profit from educating or kids.

[Peter Parris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book which details how conservatives are working on pulling money out of public schools. I felt it needed more discussion of problems and solutions in public schools.

[Kate Livesay]

This was so scary!😅

[Sara Broad · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door" by Jack Schneider and Jennifer Berkshire is about the simultaneous unraveling and privatization of public school in America. As a former public school teacher and a firm believer in teachers' unions and high-quality public education, the facts contained in this book about the changes in public education are appalling. In no other areas of public life are Republicans, and even some Democrats, so intent on giving away money than they are when it comes to the privatization of K-12 education. This book also includes some discussion about the thievery of for-profit higher education institutions. This book highlights how there really is zero to be gained from the unraveling of public education. Definitely an important read.

[Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended this book for anyone interested in education policy. The “wolf” that Berkshire and Schneider are presenting is pervasive in education, yet largely invisible to most stakeholders. This book sharpened my knowledge about education policy and conservative interests within education, and has been a launching point for my understanding of state level education decisions.

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A wolf is lurking at the door of America’s public schools—prowling, biding it’s time, and waiting for the pack to assemble… what does it take to frighten away a wolf? Shouting, making noise, and standing tall.” (xxi-xxii)

So, this is perhaps one of the most sobering, truly chilling books I’ve read in a while.

In this book, Schneider and Berkshire paint a vivid and rather bleak picture of not just the current state of public education in America but also of the trajectory if the public is not compelled to intervene.

From the sharp criticisms of basic factors such as spending on teachers and classroom sizes to more inflammatory—and, frankly, complex—concerns such as oversight, curriculum, standardized testing, and policy making, this book explores how [largely] conservatives in the private sector are actively trying to dismantle public education + community relationships with public education and reformat the “whole operation” as a true business aligned with free market practices rather than a mission aligned with propagating the most public good.

It’s actually sickening to read some of the pages in this book. As an educator (in a community college), I found some of the practices being not just promoted amongst conservative circles but being loudly endorsed by conservative politicians to be so flagrantly in the disservice of students and their learning needs that it disgusts me. The apathetic and, honestly, reckless approach that so many of these self-appointed “education reformers” are applying to the practice of educating this country’s young people is heartbreaking.

I said this book sickened be at points but, really, I mean it saddened me.

“‘…where are the children and who is looking out for them?’” (199)

This quote is introduced in a different context than I am introducing it here but I couldn’t help but come back to this sentiment when I finished reading this book.

If educators and those in positions to provide care, support, and learning to children are not looking out for children, then who is?

Should that not be the core of our work as educators?

Overall, I think this is an, at times, bleak but necessary and important exploration of how public education has arrived at the state it is in. If you don’t address and name the problems at hand—if you don’t point out the wolf, how can you possibly begin to fix anything, to fight back?

Very insightful! Highly recommend, not just for educators and parents but for anyone a part of any community anywhere! We ALL benefit from public education, after all—that’s supposed to be the point~

[Gregg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of the many things the pandemic has revealed about our nation, one of the more dismaying is how imperfect a grasp we have on the role of our public schools. Over and over again, I read hand-wringing items in the papers bemoaning the lack of learning taking place over remote learning, accompanied with importations to “open the schools” and “reach our kids.” These are the same writers, of course, who complain about how the schools are not singlehandedly erasing the achievement gap or getting our kids to embrace math and science. Oh, the irony.

Schneider and Berkshire’s point is clear: public education is under attack, has been under attack for decades and is likely to suffer further blows, even with a Joe Biden in the White House instead of Donald Trump. Corporate interests, privatization agendas, conservative drooling over marketplace logic and union-busting: their argument is fact-heavy and convincing. Their book is short on solutions, but anyone invested already knows what to do: keep banging the drum and pushing against the “schools suck” narrative. Criticism of public education is not likely to abate any time soon, the writers remind us at the end of the book, since such a massive endeavor as trying to teach an entire nation of 50 million children is bound to fall short of any stated ambitions.

But in order to see the future of education as per the desires of the corporate, conservative class, all you have to do, according to this book, is look at what Uber has done to its drivers; what the university system has done to its adjuncts; what Amazon reviews and ratings have done to qualified criticism and commentary. If we cease to look at our schools as a common good and look at them the same way we look at burger franchises and cell phone plans, we’re truly sunk. The stakes could not be higher.

[sami · Rating 2 out of 5]

The interesting title & description captured my interest as an Ed policy nerd. While I thought the premise was sound and their overall message was clear, I found much of the background information presented to be oversimplified, drawing too-neat conclusions about what’s happening in education. They wrote with straight lines from question to answer when complex CSI-like string boards with lots of intertwined pit stops were needed to create a full explanation of where we are in education. For a first read /intro to Ed policy it would be probably fine, but didn’t add much to the larger conversation that wasn’t more nuanced elsewhere

[Cleo · Rating 5 out of 5]

In A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door, Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider go beyond talking about the "dismantling of public education' solely in terms of the school choice movement or the reliance on standardized test scores. Their book explores other aspects of the conservative agenda as it relates to public education that generally speaking receive less attention: virtual schooling, unbundling education, deregulation, limiting the role of organized labor and so-called 'personalized learning.'

Both in laying out the current state of public education, particularly the agenda pursued by Secretary of Education DeVos and laying out some of the historical context, Berkshire and Schneider provide an extensive yet well laid out and easily understandable assessment of the issues at play specifically given the funding and efforts being allocated toward a very specific agenda. A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door is a must read for anyone interested in the current state and future of public education.

[Greg Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe this book addresses most of the issues facing public education, however it focuses almost exclusively on Devos and big conservative money. They are an issue, but not solely because of the Goldwater/Reagan movement. Some of their momentum comes from the strong left lean of teachers unions. These unions have provided many positives for teachers, but their strong left lean on social issues allows conservatives to use them as a battering ram. During the pandemic we have seen unions push large urban districts to provide online only services, which this book acknowledges is less than best. But the unions which are fond of saying follow the science disagree when the science suggests that reopening schools are what’s best.
So in many instances private schools are going on while public schools sit empty.