Opinion - Stop loving public education like a five-year-old loves their mommy

Yahoo

17-05-2025

Let's be honest: America needs to grow up when it comes to how we talk about public education.
Too often — especially among Democrats — public education is loved the way a five-year-old loves their mommy: emotionally, unconditionally and without question. But love without accountability isn't justice — it's delusion. And our children are the ones paying the price.
At the National Parents Union, we love public education too. But we love it enough to fight for its transformation. We're not here to protect systems — we're here to protect children. And right now, our public education system is failing millions of them.
Reading scores are dismal. Students with disabilities are being warehoused instead of served. Families are being pushed out of decision-making. And while we're stuck defending outdated structures, political leaders are playing small — more interested in slogans than solutions.
Now we're watching Democrats fight it out between two camps: the 'abundance' crowd, led by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, and the 'anti-oligarchy' tour featuring Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). And as someone who listens to parents every single day, let me be real with you: neither message is hitting the mark where it matters most.
'Abundance' sounds like a TED Talk from someone who's never had to ration their child's asthma medication. And it's tone deaf to the fact that right now we have a problem of too many underenrolled schools across the U.S.
'Anti-oligarchy' sounds like a graduate school seminar when families are just trying to afford groceries and keep the lights on.
American families don't care what your brand of progressivism is called. They care if they can find a job that pays enough to cover rent. They care if they can get their kids into a decent school without having to move away to find one. They want their kids to be safe. They care if there's a doctor who takes their insurance, and if they'll be able to retire with dignity.
This isn't rocket science. It's kitchen table politics. And if Democrats want to stop hemorrhaging support among working-class families, younger voters and communities of color, they need to go back to being the party that fights for the average American.
That means leading with our shared values, not white papers. Talking with people — not at them. Understanding the fear, anxiety and anger that is driving society in this moment instead of dismissing it. Listening to what keeps families up at night, and building a vision that meets them where they are.
And it also means getting serious about education — starting with rejecting the nonsense that's crept into the conversation.
It's painful to watch Democrats setting themselves up for another round of pain and defeat because they are so completely tone-deaf to the majority of the American public on the issue of public school options.
Let me say this clearly: you cannot be 'for equity,' 'for accountability,' 'for civil rights,' and also be for vouchers. You can't chase a bag of unregulated magic beans in one breath and claim to care about data and outcomes in the next.
The research is clear: Vouchers fail to improve student achievement, especially for the most vulnerable kids. They divert public money into private institutions that can pick and choose which students they serve. They strip away accountability, offering little transparency and no guarantees. What's worse, vouchers erode public trust and weaken the foundation of public education while offering no scalable solution.
And while Republicans champion this destruction, let's talk about the hypocrisy.
Republicans are actively defunding the research infrastructure and discretionary grants that supported many of their own favored reforms — like charter school expansion and early literacy programs. They're burning down the very innovation system that made their ideas possible. This isn't about improving education — it's about dismantling it.
But to watch Democrats continue the same tired, disconnected song and dance about public school options and charter schools — something that has overwhelming, bipartisan support — with 80 percent of American families being in support — I mean, you're just asking to continue losing elections.
Americans want results. We want the basics done right. And we want leaders with the courage to stop playing political games and start telling the truth:
We need literacy and high expectations for every child. We need federal leadership that ensures equity is more than a buzzword. And we need authentic, lived experience at the center of policy.
So here's my message to policymakers: Start listening to the people who have been failed the longest. And start fighting for the kind of public education that is excellent, equitable and accountable.
At the National Parents Union, we know what's at stake. We organize across lines — political, racial, economic — because every family deserves a fair shot at the American Dream. But we're also watching closely. Because while Democrats argue over branding and Republicans try to burn it all down, families are hanging on by a thread.
We don't need another white paper. We need a movement — one that's noisy, passionate, unapologetically people-powered and laser-focused on what really matters.
Keri Rodrigues is president of the National Parents Union.
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