Traditionally, K-12 was in the hands of fairly dull, safe, ordinary people. They didn’t have any fancy theories. They wanted kids to be able to read, to add, and to divide. They wanted kids to know the capital of France. Nothing grandiose. Just the basics. (And I would argue, that’s precisely what we really need today.)

John Dewey and his gang, starting more than 100 years ago, did have grandiose theories. They wanted a new society. They wanted new kinds of schools so they can make new kinds of students. And as their goals became more ideological, they became less concerned with education itself.

The article suggests that progressive or socialist thinking has been the big cause of the decline in our public schools. Progressives know what’s important and it’s not basics.

Left-wing people know what they’re up to. Right-wing people know what they’re up against. This article is really addressed to the people in the middle who optimistically assume that we will muddle through with good schools despite all the contrary pressures. Trouble is, schools are getting worse. People in the middle should look more closely at the corrosive forces.

This article will give you a quick sense of why education reform is so difficult.

https://canadafreepress.com/article/socialism-versus-education/