Dystopian Teacher Tales: 12 Visions of American Education, Deconstructed

We sat down with TER author, and Title 1 public school teacher Thomas Courtney to talk about his latest book. Mr. Courtney is a 30-year classroom veteran, teacher administrator, and five-time teacher of the year in San Diego, California. He has served on many committees and championed major initiatives from seeking SEL funding to renewing the standards of the teaching profession in his state. He has written numerous articles for TER over the years supporting public schools and defending policies that expand and strengthen DEI. The latest work of Mr. Courtney focuses on the potential impact of Project 2025, edtech, and current federal and state decisions on the future of our education system.

TER: Your book, Dystopian School Myths: 12 Ideas of American Education Dismantled, It has an interesting title. It also has an interesting twist as it is a collection of fictional stories and well-quoted articles. What is the book about and where did the idea come from?

Courtney: In 2024, I wrote a piece for TER about the 2025 Project. After reading the section on the so-called “Conservative Leadership Mandate” I was very concerned about what the authors of the Heritage Foundation think education should be. I wrote the essay as a warning to teachers, and voters. But when Trump was elected to his second term, I knew this warning needed to be heard louder. I was frustrated, angry, and confused about how to issue that warning. And then, a friend called me. My friend is gay. And he was afraid in a way that I didn’t understand. After his call, I wondered what it would be like to be a gay teacher, or for that matter a gay student, given the terms used in Project 2025. How would I feel?

TER: And you wrote another article?

Courtney: Actually, no. At this time, I decided to write a story to convey the feelings that my friend shared with me. I called it “Monday in Room B” about a gay teacher who is no longer protected by the law. At first, I thought it was dystopian, but after reading a bit, I learned how the laws protect those in the LGBTQ+ community. Reacting to that story helped me realize that people need to experience the potential impact in a different way right now. I love to tell stories, and I thought that having both a story and a brief analysis afterward would help the general public and my fellow teachers see those potential implications.

TER: And you published that here, at TER.

Courtney: Yes, I did. It was nice to have a place to vent something that could reflect what many of us in education are concerned about.

TER: When did you write the other stories? Was it difficult to imagine this dystopian future of education?

Courtney: Honestly, a few came to me right away because of all the news that had come out of the Trump administration, or the new Department of Education, or the recent Supreme Court decision. But many of the stories were real-time reactions to what had been happening over the past year. For example, I remember listening to Caroline Leavitt tell reporters that their questions were “stupid” and I could imagine this kind of language coming down to the teachers who would support her arguments. I wrote Mrs. Integrity Test. Foster when I visited the school in Lithuania. I was talking to teachers there about the test that was being given to new teachers in Oklahoma. These veterans who remember Russia’s influence on their studies years ago couldn’t believe it was possible in the USA.

TER: Your last story is impactful, and the longest in the collection. It ends, I think, with a lasting impression that is terrifying and hard to forget. Was that a story that came to you immediately or was it a reaction to something?

Courtney: He referred to “My Private Tutor Jeffrey” which made me happy to write and very sad, too. That happened as a result of watching a TV clip of Sewell Setzer taking his own life in an attempt to own his AI chat bot. I found the whole thing beyond pathetic, yet the next day I attended a conference where AI was heavily featured as a potential teacher in the near future.

TER: What was the hardest part of writing the story?

Courtney: Each story is honestly too hard for me to reread. In the last story, like the others, I wrote Matthias from the first person point of view. That for me, was very difficult because I didn’t have to use a lot of thinking about it be Mathias. I could see myself doing and saying, thinking and feeling all the things Mathias went through in the story when I was his age. I am very thankful that I never had to live in a time where people might think that a young man is better off sitting in front of a computer in his home like that, than sitting in school. I really like teaching, and I get a lot out of being in the classroom with the kids. I think, for me, I can’t believe that five years after the pandemic, we are pursuing the kinds of things that Project 2025 wants. I thought we learned a very different lesson about isolation and isolation.

TER: Where can readers find this book?

Courtney: The book, Dystopian School Tales, 12 Visions of an American Education Dismantled, is currently available on Amazon, as well as Barnes and Noble booksellers. I would like to know what TER readers think about the news. If you feel like it, please leave a review for other potential readers on any site.

TER: Do you have any new projects?

Courtney: Yes actually. I partnered with Olympia Publishing to release my first book directed at teachers. It’s called Teaching 102: Some Lessons You’ll Need to Survive (and Succeed) in Today’s Classroom. In fact, many of the original ideas for the book came from articles I’ve published here at TER as well.

TER: This seems to be a trend.

Courtney: It really is. I would like to share my gratitude for the courage and dedication of TER staff to give teachers like me a voice over the years. I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to share that voice, and I hope that other teachers who read this will reach out to TER when they want to share it with them. I think those words are very much needed right now.

TER: We do too!

Thomas Courtney is a 6th grade middle school English Language Arts and History teacher in San Diego, California. He is the author of numerous essays, memoirs, and short stories that appear in anthologies, magazines, and newspapers. He has written several books, including the forthcoming Viral School Rhetoric: A Teacher’s Story of Good Intentions, Bad Policy, and an Epidemic, available in the fall of 2025.