In the Know, May 2024

Attacks against public schools are nothing new, but today the very idea of public education is being threatened. How did we get here? In her new book, School Moms: Parent Activism, Partisan Politics, and the Battle for Public Education, education journalist Laura Pappano explores the rampant disinformation that's fueling the so-called "culture wars." A line has been crossed, she told NEA Today, and we are no longer debating real education ideas and policies.

What compelled you to write this book?

Laura Pappano: As a reporter, I saw things happening that involved schools but were not really about education. There's a lot of misinformation about inclusion, what kids are being taught, and what books they should read. We're in a moment right now where these sorts of attacks have gained too much traction.

I'm concerned about a lot of things in our schools, but I am not concerned at all with this nonsense that students are being indoctrinated by critical race theory; that libraries are collecting pornography; or that we are changing the gender of children. Those are untruths that are distracting from the work of figuring out how do we educate everyone who walks in the door.

Why were these attacks so successful, at least initially?

LP: The far right is nationalizing our local experiences and our local conversations around schools. I covered a school board election in Idaho last November. One of the main issues in that race was transgenderism. I was hearing people claim that their candidate was going to keep boys out of girls' bathrooms.

That was not the problem with schools in that community. This district was entering its second year without a K-6 English language arts curriculum. They have huge budget shortfalls. There were mice running over children's feet in the classroom, because they didn't have money to hire a cleaning service for the school. But that's not what they were talking about in this election.

I do think many people were slow to recognize what was happening. So the far right got a bit of a head start. But we're seeing much more grassroots action-especially from parents' groups that are on the ground pushing back.

In the book, you talk to pro-public education parent-activists. Has it been difficult for them to get colleagues and friends to take action?

LP: Well, the support has long been there, but we didn't necessarily feel we needed to act on it. We tend to take our schools for granted.

We are learning that we need to be involved. We need to pay attention to the school board races. We may even need to run.

New parent groups, like Red, Wine, and Blue, are doing a tremendous, labor-intensive public service.

Moms have done this for years with little recognition. This is one of the reasons I call the book School Moms, because they are the people on the ground.

They may have jobs and other responsibilities, but they are also very involved in public schools and are experts at networking and organizing and motivating.

They're doing what is necessary to protect the public schools. Parents and educators can be a powerful force when working together.

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