Confronting the Culture Wars: The Battle for Public Schools

Around the country, public schools — those communal non-partisan gathering spaces — are facing politically-motivated attacks from the far-right. On the ground, parents — particularly “school moms” — are pushing back, drawing on the powerful but often invisible skills mothers have long brough to the public education sphere. Laura Pappano, author of School Moms: Parent Activism, Partisan Politics, and the Battle for Public Education, shares on-the-ground reporting from hot spots around the country, and Dr. Peg Oliviera offers an inside look at the challenges within school communities.