Neither Harlem, nor the Harlem Branch Y

In this paper, I will make a case that education has its own particular type of public sphere.I argue that while the notion of "public," as opposed to "private," might at first glance seem easy to pinpoint, this same notion takes on new meaning in educational circumstances.This educational type of public sphere I will name the "taught public."As the name "taught public" implies, public space in education is different from other public spaces.It is different because it entails teaching and, of course, a teacher.To get at this notion of the taught public, I will begin with a reading of Langston Hughes's poem, "Theme for English B." 1 Then, I will come back to the particularity of the taught public with the aid of Gert Biesta's recent recuperation of teaching, and D. W. Winnicott's psychoanalytic perspective.2 In the end, I hope to show that educators not only contribute to the public sphere but also add a distinct dimension to the public sphere-the taught public-that demands attention, and demands to be fostered. BETWEEN COLUMBIA AND THE HARLEM BRANCH YIn his poem, "Theme for English B," Hughes offers the following narrative, a narrative bearing directly on the public versus private spheres of education.At the risk of repeating what is well known, I include the poem in its entirety.