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David Giles of Corinth is a candidate for the Maine House of Representatives for District 27.
“Society is indeed a contract … not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born.”
Edmund Burke’s words, written in 1790, still ring true today, especially when we consider the state and future of public education.
Public schools are not just policy experiments or budget line items. They are institutions built by past generations who believed that a free society requires an educated citizenry. Our grandparents and great-grandparents taxed themselves, built schoolhouses, and staffed classrooms because they understood something we’re at risk of forgetting: Education is a public good and a civic responsibility.
Burke’s view of society as an intergenerational contract reminds us that we don’t just govern for ourselves. We stand between the sacrifices of the past and the hopes of the future. What we do — or fail to do — with public education will echo long after we are gone.
Today, there are calls from some in Maine to abandon or dismantle public education in favor of privatized options. While parental choice is important, Burke would caution against throwing away institutions that have served our communities for generations. Reform is necessary — yes — but reform should be rooted in preservation, not destruction.
We should be asking: Are our schools forming citizens? Are they passing along the moral and civic values that bind a nation together? Are they equipping the next generation not just for jobs, but for leadership, service, and critical thinking?
Because our children will inherit the consequences of our decisions. Every budget cut, every curriculum shift, every local school consolidation doesn’t just affect the present — it shapes the future of our communities, our workforce, and our democracy.
Public education is one of the most powerful ways we honor the social contract between generations. I believe we owe it to those who came before us to uphold what they built — and we owe it to those yet to be born to leave something even stronger.
This isn’t about politics. It’s about principle. If we want to preserve the fabric of our communities and our republic, I believe we must take seriously our role as stewards of public education.
The future is watching.
