In this episode, we investigate the liberal and the radical approach to public education. Liberals see public education as a good, democratic idea, and even as a human right; they believe the issues with education stem from certain school policies (such as funding, teacher training, and school discipline); and they believe that we can solve the issues with public education by convincing our Congress and Board of Education to change these policies. Radicals, however, see public education as indoctrination by default. Even if public schools had the most updated facilities and the latest technology, they would still be institutions of control and discipline, designed to prepare children for a life in the workforce. Unlike liberals, radicals don’t believe the issues in public school come from specific policies; they believe the issues are inherent. As a result, radicals believe we need an entire restructuring of our political system in order to fix the problems—and until that political upheaval happens, radicals say we must always remain critical of the education we receive in schools.
