At the inaugural American Identity Summit hosted by the Chicago Thinker, the second panel consisted of four speakers debating American citizenship and the changing character of American education. The discussion focused on public school performance, the impact of teachers’ unions, parental rights, immigration, and the future direction of classroom instruction.
Paul Vallas, former CEO of Chicago Public Schools and a longtime political figure, argued that urban districts like Chicago “have gone off the rails,” blaming a politicized union leadership. “The major unions in cities like New York and LA and others, they’ve really become political parties in their own right,” he said. Vallas cited declining test scores and described the current system as “educational apartheid,” where low-income students are “relegated to failing schools.”
Robert Bortins, CEO of Classical Conversations, a Christian homeschooling program, advocated for eliminating centralized control of education. He said, “Education is really being coerced by the state in our country,” arguing that reform should “serve parents instead of serving the teachers’ unions.” Bortins opposed school choice policies if they increase government involvement in families’ decisions, seeing it as “government getting involved in parental decisions.”
Immigration attorney John Heiderscheidt, speaking as a Chicago Public Schools parent, emphasized the need to refocus education on students and rebuild unity across communities. He highlighted the importance of shared American ideals, particularly in integrating immigrant populations. He argued that civic identity should be grounded in values, not background: “To me, the idea is, what are our core principles and beliefs? Not ‘where do you come from,’” he said.
University of Chicago professor Dorian Abbot criticized the erosion of moral grounding in modern education, saying, “What I see lacking in education is virtue.” Abbot argued that the humanities have strayed from their original mission to “preserve and celebrate our tradition,” and are now “denigrating, attacking, and destroying our tradition.”
The panel also addressed the effects of COVID-19 on education. Vallas linked extended school closures to rising youth crime: “The spike in crime in 2024 can almost be exclusively linked to the spike in youth crime.” He praised Catholic schools for reopening early, asserting they had “no loss in academic performance.” He proposed keeping schools open longer daily and through the summer as a solution. Bortins adamantly disagreed, viewing this as another way for the government to expand control at parents’ expense.
While the panelists disagreed on proposed solutions, they largely agreed on the pressing need to ameliorate the American education system. Whether by giving greater power to the parents, restructuring the politicized systems, or restoring its moral foundations, the speakers believed in the urgency for promoting change in our education.