For decades, the idea that education is the primary driver of economic opportunity has held sway. The education myth, as our guest Jon Shelton describes it, has attained the status of common sense, captivating politicians from left to right. But the overselling of education as the fix for economic inequality has been politically disastrous, not to mention bad for schools and teachers. Shelton argues that we desperately need a new way to talk about education, one that puts schools in a larger context of social democracy and economic security.

School privatization has been on a roll this year. But then the ‘fund students not systems’ express hit a wall in states like Kansas, Georgia and Idaho. So what happened? We talk to public education advocates in all three states and come away with some lessons in effective organizing, not to mention a much-needed dose of inspiration.

Jack and Jennifer sit down with Daniel Denvir, host of the Dig podcast. And ‘dig’ is an accurate description. They go deep into origins of our current education wars, how bipartisan teacher bashing laid the groundwork for today’s attacks on “woke” educators, and what the recent victory of Brandon Johnson in Chicago can tell us about the state of the education reform movement.

We’re joined by four former teachers of the year who are using their ‘teacher voices’ to push back against the tidal wave of legislation limiting what kids can learn and teachers can talk about. They’re speaking truth about kids, public schools, and teachers and hoping to inspire others to do the same. Special guests: Tracey Nance, Monica Washington, Chris Dier and Jena Nelson.

Just eight states still require high school students to pass an exit exam in order to graduate. So why did a policy that once commanded bipartisan support fall by the wayside? And what accounts for the seeming paradox that the public turned against high-stakes tests for students while continuing to support high-stakes tests for schools? Special guests Ethan Hutt and Katie McDermott help guide us through the complex and ever-evolving world of high-stakes testing.

If it feels like the assault on public education is escalating, that’s because it is. Jennifer joins historian Thomas Zimmer, host of the ‘Is this Democracy?’ podcast, to dive deep into the question of why the right is so focused on public schools right now. Zimmer, an historian at Georgetown University, argues that the push to dismantle public education and limit what teachers can teach and kids can learn is part of a broader effort to roll back the civil rights gains that have been made since the 1960’s.