Prof. David Labaree: Why Schools Were Never Meant to Change: The Hidden Logic of Education | EPS 016

Prof. Labaree has spent decades studying the history, sociology, and politics of American education. His books — including "How to Succeed in School Without Really Learning," "The Trouble with Ed Schools," and "Someone Has to Fail" — have fundamentally shaped how scholars and policymakers understand why schools behave the way they do.

In this conversation, Dr. Steve and Prof. Labaree explore:

— Why schools are pulled in three fundamentally incompatible directions: democratic equality, social efficiency, and individual social mobility — How the credential has replaced genuine learning at the heart of education — and why students, parents, and institutions all play a role in this shift

— What meritocracy actually does in practice versus what it claims to do in theory

— Why educational reform so consistently fails to achieve its stated goals — and whose interests that failure actually serves

— The difference between education as a public good and education as a private commodity — and what happens when the latter wins

— What genuine, lasting educational reform would have to look like if we were truly serious about it

— How technology , from computers to AI, keeps promising to transform education and keeps falling short