A wide, cinematic digital painting symbolizing rebellion against institutional control public school apologists embrace. In the foreground, a teenage student—gender-neutral, wearing a torn school uniform—stands defiantly in a desolate classroom where desks and chairs float mid-air as if freed from gravity. The walls behind them are cracked with faint outlines of government insignias and propaganda posters peeling away, revealing vibrant murals of creativity and free thought beneath. Through a shattered window, golden sunlight spills over a vast landscape of open fields and distant mountains—representing freedom and self-directed learning. The color palette shifts from dull grays and cold blues inside the classroom to warm golds and soft greens outside, creating a clear visual divide between control and liberation. The mood should feel bold, introspective, and liberating.

Prebunking my public school apologist haters

ByTC Marti

A public school apologist would scoff at the Public School section at Liberty & Lore, so I thought I’d clear up a few misunderstandings.

I’m not the kind of writer who will scour numbers, statistics, and data points. Head over to the Foundation of Economic Education (FEE), the Mises Institute, Reason, and Unskool, and you will find plenty of data proving how ineffective public school is.

We don’t need another outlet pointing out the obvious. That gets us nowhere. What we do need, however, are personal accounts and observations reminiscing on the miseries of public school, and I could probably write a 12-book nonfiction memoir series on the subject. Literally one book for each grade.

In other words, my libertarian worldview isn’t why I have a vendetta against public schools. Even during my late-teenage years and into my early twenties, when you could’ve pegged me as a member of the far-Left, I still didn’t like the idea of them.

Public schools are always a strong arm of the State

Back then, I associated public schools with the political Right, especially when you factor in I’m from a predominantly right-wing area. So, I felt reform was the best way forward. Then I saw a lot of that reform taking center stage nationwide after I left school but I still made one major connection: Public schooling is whatever the State wants it to be.

That’s dangerous enough. And whether a curriculum gears itself toward the Right or the Left, the core dynamics apply:

  • The State wants kids under its thumb as often as possible
  • Kids are still told to sit down and shut up while in class
  • Teachers patrol the hallways like armed Nazis while kids must keep talking to a minimum
  • The bell system conditions kids when to rush to their next class and what to study in that class
  • A common curriculum that every student, regardless of their interests, must abide by

An enemy to liberty

There’s no bigger contradiction to liberty than the public school system. If a kid chooses not to attend unless formally noted, the State can hit them and their parents with criminal charges. That can’t happen in a free nation, especially when education organically occurs when an individual explores what they’re interested in learning.

This means neither the classroom nor the rigorous system we’ve been conditioned to accept is necessary. So, this is less about hating on public schooling as much as it is recounting what I’ve seen and experienced. Add to the fact not an iota of what I “learned” in school helped me attain my current career, and I’ll rest my case that it’s not necessary to attend for educational purposes.

That said, there is something far, far more sinister at play. Education is the excuse for public schools to exist. But indoctrination is and always has been the true endgame.

So what does real education look like?

The Arcane Prophecy by TC MartiIn my young adult fantasy series, Arcane Elemental Academy, Yote Diamondback attends an educational institution that has no set curriculum. Instead, Elementals like her choose what they want to learn, have full control over their schedule, and see their teachers as guides, not strict disciplinarians.

And best yet? Arcane is a private umbrella institution featuring 32 competing schools within it.

That means those schools better provide a sound service, or else they can forget about existing. Each school also offers something different, geared toward a student’s personality and learning style, almost ensuring there’s an ideal fit out there.

Yote sees the differences between Arcane and the mainstream private school she attended before. You know, those mainstream private schools that are basically public schools with a price tag, like your local Catholic schools.

And you know what? She enjoys learning, even if there’s something sinister lurking nearby that’s trying to control her. No, it ain’t Arcane, but something darker and more disturbing than she could’ve imagined.

So, if you’re a fan of young adult fantasy with libertarian themes, check out the first three chapters of Book I, The Arcane Prophecy, and meet Yote right before she ventures to Arcane. You’ll see her duel with her bully of a sister, Jett, and you’ll also stumble across the school Yote originally wanted to attend. Get to know her now.

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