After decades of serving as a punching bag for the party’s neoliberals, public schools and the people who work in them are back in fashion.
“Never underestimate a public school teacher,” Tim Walz instructed the crowd at the Democratic National Convention last month. Their raucous response to the line is indicative of Walz’s strength as a teacher turned candidate. According to one recent poll, he’s the most popular member of either presidential ticket—in part because of his teaching background.
This raises an obvious question: Why has it taken so long…