Joan Dunn taught in Brooklyn Public schools for a few years around 1953. She recognized at that time that our public schools were compromised and probably finished.

She wrote a book titled Retreat From Learning: Why Teachers Can't Teach (available on Archive.org.)

This is not a research paper. This is not a reconstruction of what happened more than 70 years ago. Joan Dunn was there, as an eager young teacher, very smart, highly idealistic and motivated. Her story is one of confronting a monster, and slowly, painfully realizing she could not win against it.

Her conclusion: "The city high-school teacher...is overwhelmed first and foremost by the theory of progressive education, the classroom application of the philosophy of John Dewey. This man who changed the face of education died in 1952 at the age of 93."

Please see Episode 143 on my podcast Let's Fix Education. It's a short piece about Joan Dunn but still with a half-dozen primary quotes that explain everything.  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1792553/episodes/14774796

I loved Joan Dunn and her book. She is an excellent writer. The whole story is very poignant. Joan Dunn was desperate to teach her students. But the school will not let her because the school is regimented in a Progressive or John Dewey way. She explains all facets of this retreat from learning. I often sense that our teachers know almost nothing about the history of American education. This is a book they need to read.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Similarly, recent Episode 140 about Rita Kramer and her book titled "Ed School Follies" is a companion to Joan Dunn's story. Both, in my mind, are totally reliable time capsules or museums. You can go back into these books, and understand completely how meddling ideologues were able to take down the culture.