In this post-truth era, public education--and education more generally--appears to be under attack. In the US, the numbers who forsake a public education for either home schooling, or for for-profit or charter schools, are increasing. Public schools are closing with more rapidity, especially in the urban areas of the US. Conservative legislators villainize teachers and administrators. State legislatures enact ever more restrictive and controlling laws and policies; for example, bills seeking to restrict even which bathroom a student might use (the so-called "bathroom bills"). Schools are also under attack in a more literal sense, via school shootings and also via a perceived, socially-constructed increase of school violence. In response, leaders and policy makers seek a quick fix: they call for increased use of metal detectors in schools, an increased police presence, and even for arming teachers/staff (forcing some/all teachers to carry a gun, or at minimum, making a gun-carry certificate a requirement). In more global terms, and framing the issue in neoliberal terms, schools are criticized for preparing students poorly for their future roles in capitalist economies/societies. But such instrumentalist logics, employing the language of productivity, efficiency and profit, neglect the intrinsic purposes of education. This article explores the current trends and suggests alternatives.