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

by Jack Schneider (Author), Jennifer Berkshire (Author)

A trenchant analysis of how public education is being destroyed in overt and deceptive ways--and how to fight back

"A powerful analysis of the predatory, profit-seeking forces that threaten our nation's public schools. . . . If you care about the future of our society, read this book." --Diane Ravitch, author of Slaying Goliath and Reign of Error

In the "vigorous, well-informed" (Kirkus Reviews) A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door, the co-hosts of the popular education podcast Have You Heard expose the potent network of conservative elected officials, advocacy groups, funders, and think tanks that are pushing a radical vision to do away with public education.

"Cut[ing] through the rhetorical fog surrounding a host of free-market reforms and innovations" (Mike Rose), Jack Schneider and Jennifer Berkshire lay bare the dogma of privatization and reveal how it fits into the current context of right-wing political movements. A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door "goes above and beyond the typical explanations" (SchoolPolicy.org), giving readers an up-close look at the policies--school vouchers, the war on teachers' unions, tax credit scholarships, virtual schools, and more--driving the movement's agenda.

Called "well-researched, carefully argued, and alarming" by Library Journal, this smart, essential book has already incited a public reckoning on behalf of the millions of families served by the American educational system--and many more who stand to suffer from its unmaking. "Just as with good sci-fi," according to Jacobin, "the authors make a compelling case that, based on our current trajectory, a nightmare future is closer than we think."

Author Biography

Jack Schneider is the author of three books, a co-author (with Jennifer Berkshire) of A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School (The New Press), and an award-winning education historian. He is a host of the education podcast Have You Heard and lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Jennifer Berkshire is a freelance journalist and a host of the education podcast Have You Heard. The co-author (with Jack Schneider) of A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School (The New Press), she lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts.