America’s Two-Tiered Education System: Is Public School a Broken Promise? This episode reviews Chapter Ten of American economist and economic historian Peter Temin’s The Vanishing Middle Class. Temin examines the crisis in public education through the lens of the dual economy, showing how disparities between the FTE (full-time equivalent) sector and the low-wage sector are reflected in schools. The chapter traces how historical forces—including racecraft, gender roles, and Supreme Court decisions—have contributed to an unequal distribution of resources, leaving many urban schools segregated and underfunded. Temin critiques privatization efforts and short-term reforms, pointing to the failure of the Newark schools experiment, while highlighting more promising long-term approaches such as early education, sustained funding, and community engagement, exemplified by the success of Union City schools. Ultimately, Temin underscores the critical role of both human and social capital in educational success. He argues that systemic inequality, rather than diversity, drives distrust and widens the education gap, threatening public education’s promise as a pathway to opportunity.