In this post, I reproduce a seminal essay by Michael Katz called "Public Education as Welfare." It was originally published in Dissent in 2010 (link to the original) and it draws on his book, The Price of Citizenship: Redefining the American Welfare State. I encountered this essay when I was working on a piece of … Continue reading Michael Katz — Public Education as Welfare
Below is a piece I wrote for a book that was just published by Teachers College Press -- Public Education: Defending a Cornerstone of American Democracy, edited by David Berliner and Carl Hermanns. Here’s a link to a pdf of my piece. Here's the book's table of contents, to give you an idea of its scope … Continue reading Public Schooling as Social Welfare
History is full of ironies. One is that sometimes buffoons can be more beneficent national leaders than great men. A case in point is Napoleon III. My source for this analysis is the new book by Alan Strauss-Schom, The Shadow Emperor: A Biography of Napoleon III. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was the undistinguished nephew and heir … Continue reading Beneficent Buffoon — The Case of Napoleon III
This post is a piece by Agnes Callard, A More Perfect Meritocracy, which was published in Boston Review on December 21, 2020. Here's a link to the original. As you know, if you've been following this blog, I've long been wrestling with the idea of meritocracy. In particular, I've been focusing on its dysfunctions and … Continue reading Agnes Callard — A More Perfect Meritocracy
This post is a reflection on a book by Arlie Russell Hochschild, Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right. In it she provides one of the most compelling and persuasive explanation for the turn toward right-wing populism in American politics and the peculiar appeal of Donald Trump. As she puts … Continue reading Hochschild — Strangers in Their Own Land
This post is a follow-up to a piece I posted three weeks ago, which was Michael Katz's 2020 essay, Public Education as Welfare. Below is my own take on this subject, which I wrote for a book that will be published in recognition of the hundredth anniversary of the Horace Mann League. The tentative title … Continue reading Public Schooling as Social Welfare
In this post, I reproduce a seminal essay by Michael Katz called "Public Education as Welfare." It was originally published in Dissent in 2010 (link to the original) and it draws on his book, The Price of Citizenship: Redefining the American Welfare State. I encountered this essay when I was working on a piece of … Continue reading Michael Katz — Public Education as Welfare
David Labaree on Schooling, History, and Writing 