Abstract
I review historian Jon Shelton's 2023 book, The Education Myth: How Human Capital Trumped Social Democracy. First, I summarize the book's main claim that a pernicious myth about public schooling's role in developing human capital is the root of our current educational problems. Second, I provide a chapter-by-chapter summary of the book's contents. Finally, I analyze the book's accomplishments and suggest that there is one powerful education myth about public schools' relationship to American democracy that the author omits from this valuable new study.
Recommended Citation
Swope, K.
(2024).
Myths Economic and Civic. A Book Review of The Education Myth: How Human Capital Trumped Social Democracy.
Democracy and Education,
32
(1), Article 7.
Available at:
https://democracyeducationjournal.org/home/vol32/iss1/7