“The word education cannot, to the surprise of many, be found in the Constitution, so they conclude that education holds no special place in our constitutional structure,” the historian Derek W. Black writes in his book Schoolhouse Burning: Public Education and the Assault on American Democracy. “This isolated fact dominates the thinking of those who should know better. The list of scholars, judges, and politicians who say the federal government has no role in public education is a long one. Even worse, some thought leaders are now saying that the concept of public education—whether run by state or federal government—is a farce. They ignore an incredibly rich education history.” Lewis H. Lapham and Black discuss the role of public education—at the founding of the United States, during and after Reconstruction, and now—on this episode of The World in Time.

Lewis H. Lapham speaks with Derek W. Black, author of Schoolhouse Burning: Public Education and the Assault on American Democracy.

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