The Lost Foundations of Public Education

a beginning

Thanks for your readership and support over the years.

In facing election results that are both shocking and bitterly disappointing, the question becomes simple. What now? That being said, the focus of this blurb must become one about the challenges we face as a culture, as Americans. I believe one of the most important factors in our slide into the Republican landslide is the serious and continuing decline in public education. What follows is an introduction to a book I am beginning to that end.

“Education has always been about more than books, pencils, or desks. At its core, education shapes who we are and who we want to become. It’s the mortar that holds our communities together, the promise of opportunity, and the foundation for a life well-lived. John Dewey once said, “Education is life itself.” Sadly, somewhere along the way, we lost that thread. Where public education once centered on growing citizens, thinkers, and good neighbors has become a system obsessed with numbers, rankings, and tests. It’s a shift that didn’t happen overnight, but the consequences are all around us, and the costs are profound.

In the past, classrooms were places where young minds learned to question, imagine, and engage with the world beyond themselves. Education wasn’t just about mastering multiplication or memorizing state capitals. It was about understanding your place in a broader story—your community, your nation, your world. Teachers were entrusted not just with preparing students for work but for life. The lessons weren’t always easy or even pretty, but they planted seeds of curiosity and character.

Then came the changes. A rising tide of fear and ambition, born from Sputnik and the Cold War, and other cultural changes began to reshape the American classroom. The challenges we feared drove us to changes in focus that opened the door to ideas that were anathema to the traditional ideals of public education that fueled American successes. Schools were no longer places to nurture democracy and creativity—they became tools for national competition. As the Civil Rights Movement brought long-overdue integration, the backlash was swift. The public school, once the pride of communities, became a battleground. The focus shifted. It wasn’t about learning how to live together or how to think critically. As a people, we could not face who we were and who we should be. The gulf was too wide, and we were incapable of crossing it honestly. Instead, public education became about test scores, standards, and measurable outcomes driven by programs like Race to the Top and No Child Left Behind. Over time, the soul of education, one that supported American democracy and shone a light on a path forward, faded into the chaotic decline of today.

We’re left with schools where creativity has been replaced by conformity and where the measure of a student isn’t the questions they ask but the bubbles they fill in. Teachers are told to follow scripts and dogmatic curricula; students are taught to pass tests. Communities fight over what’s taught instead of why it matters. Book bans and other restrictive policies increase year by year. The progressive ideals of educators like John Dewey and Boyd Bode—who believed education was a cornerstone of democracy and personal growth—seem like distant echoes from another planet.

Those echoes matter. The echoes remind us of what’s been lost and what could still be regained. This book is about finding our way back. It’s about rediscovering an education system that values critical thinking over rote memorization, creativity over conformity, and community over competition. It’s not a call to abandon accountability but to redefine it—to hold us accountable for building a system that serves students as whole people, not just test scores.

The path forward won’t be simple. It’s not about flipping a switch but about restoring balance. If education is life, as Dewey said, then it’s time to breathe life back into our schools. The stakes couldn’t be higher—not just for students but for the democracy we all depend on. There’s still time to rebuild what’s been broken, to reclaim what’s been lost.

And that’s where we begin.”