Anti-Public - by Ronald E Chennault (Paperback)

About the Book

Examining decades of elite discourse about public education, Ronald E. Chennault argues that much of it is anti-public. Chennault casts light on the cultural and political processes at work and challenges the unquestioned assumptions beneath the surface of this conversation, with the hopes that we can transform and strengthen public education.

Book Synopsis

Consider this: Restrictions placed by state legislatures on what schools can teach about America's history of conquest and enslavement. Broad bans enacted by local school boards that remove meaningful books from school curricula and the shelves of libraries. Court rulings that muddy the distinction between what counts as private versus public expressions of religion in public school settings and that open the door to publicly funded religious education. All of these recent actions chip away at the foundation of public education in America. But how did we get here? Decades of elite public discourse (talk and text) about public education helped to bring us to this point. Much of this conversation is anti-public. It includes statements by major elected officials, education advocacy organizations, journalists in mainstream press outlets, and other influential actors. Chennault casts light on the cultural and political processes at work and challenges the unquestioned assumptions beneath the surface of this discourse, with the hopes that we can transform and strengthen public education.

Review Quotes

"Chennault offers a comprehensive account of the evolving claims of public education's purported failures. His indispensable critique of elite discourse on public schools should be required reading for anyone who claims to be an education 'reformer.'"

About the Author

Ronald E. Chennault is an associate professor and former associate dean of the College of Education of DePaul University, Chicago. He is the author of Hollywood Films About Schools: Where Race, Politics, and Education Intersect (2006) and a coeditor of White Reign: Deploying Whiteness in America (1998) and Liberation and Education: Perspectives on Black Educational Thought (Rutgers University Press, 2026).