A painful history
politics, education, political correctness, left wing, liberalism, ideology, philosophy, corruption
August 4 2000, by Thomas Sowell
THE PUBLIC in general and parents in particular are shocked from time to time when tests reveal the intellectual incompetence of public school teachers, or when some of the weird fads to which school children have been subjected come to light. But neither the public nor the media seem to see anything beyond the oddities of a particular school or particular teachers.
In reality, there are not only nationwide networks promoting everything from "whole language" to homosexuality in the schools, there is a large body of literature by education gurus -- going all the way back to John Dewey in the early 20th century -- urging schools away from their traditional role as conveyors of an intellectual heritage toward being "agents of change" in society.