An Educator's Gps: Fending Off the Free Market of Schooling for America's Students

The time has come to focus on teaching and learning that all American students deserve. Quality instruction that engages all students with thinking skills that create successful intelligence for the future of all students is offered throughout traditional public education in the US. But, an adult-centered perspective about schooling―free market theory―stands in the way of sustaining and improving the comprehensive teaching and learning offered by traditional public education.



Traditional public education in the US is under attack. This book details the effects of this assault by the proponents of free market schooling and uses data-based research to fend off the attack. Key aspects of traditional public education that benefit all of America’s students are compared with the adult-centric, exclusionary, intentions of choice schooling or privatization. The critical importance of traditional public education to the future of US democracy is explored. A primary purpose of traditional public education―how to think―and examples of quality day-to-day instruction are shared. On behalf of all US students, this book develops concepts including points of practice, function, and mediated identity. The value of comprehensive traditional public education deserves a vigorous defense and this book is written to provide it.

Jeff Swensson served in traditional public education as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent, and superintendent across the Midwest for the past 45 years. He graduated from Amherst College, received his MAT from Northwestern University, and earned his PhD from Indiana University.



John Ellis served public education across Indiana as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent, superintendent, and Director of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents for more than 43 years. He graduated from Ball State University with a BA in education and a Master’s in Education before earning his PhD from Indiana State University.



Michael Shaffer served in schools in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Iowa as an assistant principal, principal, and assistant superintendent. He graduated from Morehead State University with a BA and MA in elementary education and earned his Education Specialist and Education Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Ball State University.