Episode 5: America’s Education Past and Future
As we finish up with the history of American education and move to the present and then look to the future, I want to pause and address a question I am sure you are asking. How did I and others not see this? How did we not connect the dots before?
The WCP was a pile of rubble by 1954 and in its place was the APP (American Progressive Paideia. Today, anyone under the age of 70 is a product of the APP educational system. If you look at each generation living today, you will find the younger the generation, the more liberal and left leaning they are.
As I pointed out in episode four, the progressives not only took control of public schools and mandated all children attend, but they also have control over college teacher accreditation programs and textbook companies. This means they control the entire pipeline and every aspect of our education, from kindergarten to college (even if you are not in college to be a teacher). With the use of our education system, they have created a factory line of people who think, act, and vote the way they desire.
Let us finish tracing this progressive line in history and discover what APP really is and how it morphed into CMP (Cultural Marxist Paideia).
In the 1960s, we saw the product of this new progressive paideia. Our textbooks paint the Warren Court as having led the charge against racial discrimination, which was a noble pursuit. However, what most people miss because curriculum companies leave it out or twist to sound good, is that the Warren Court was the most liberal Supreme Court in American history. Pete and David give a full explanation in their book Battle for the American Mind starting on page 102. Here is a snippet:
This Court pioneered the extraconstitutional approach—an approach born of critical theory’s “structural criticism.” To the progressive Warren Court, founding documents were an impediment to progress. The Warren Court saw the Constitution as a guideline; it was living, not law. In many ways, the courts of the 1960s were simply finishing the work Progressives had begun at the beginning of the century. (Battle for the American Mind, page 103)
The Supreme court ruling in the Engel v. Vitale case in 1962 and the Abbington School District v. Schempp in 1963 prohibited prayer and Bible reading in schools, cutting the pillars of religion and morality out of our education system. Add to that the 1965 ruling in Reed v. Van Hoven, where courts ruled it, was unconstitutional for students to pray over their lunch.
Within a matter of four short years, nine justices fundamentally changed our educational system forever. (Battle for the American Mind, page 103)
Let us back up to 1923 and look at the Frankfurt School in Frankfurt, Germany. It resided at the Institution for Social Research, which is known today as the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory. Yes, you heard that correct. There was a critical theory before it morphed into the critical race theory of today.
This school was founded by a Marxist law professor. The first director was Max Horkheimer. The Frankfurt School was focused on radical social change—criticism of all things Western—using social, economic, cultural, political, and educational institutions. (Battle for the American Mind, page 110)
In 1935, after the rise of Hitler, scholars from the Frankfurt School fled to New York, where they became faculty members of Columbia University where John Dewey had just retired five years earlier. Horkheimer was offered a formal position at the university and allowed to establish his “Institute”.
Exiled Marxists were out in the open and holding court in America’s most prestigious teachers’ college. (Battle for the American Mind, page 111)
The Frankfurt School disguised their critical theory as social science. Science is known as objectively observing scientific laws in nature. Applying this to human behavior does not work because you cannot generalize off lived experience. To counter this flaw, they explained away certain human realities based on biases and power structures in the Western civilization.
They take it further by saying social scientists cannot be technical observers and problems solvers, but instead self-reflective explorers. This is where ideas like “check your privilege” and “implicit bias” come from. It is not enough to study history or civics; the student must emphasize their own current and historical contribution to the power structure that leftists deem evil at the moment. As such, in keeping with the Marxist tradition, critical theorists insist that “social science” cannot be content to describe and explain the world, but instead should emancipate students to understand their role in contributing to oppression, injustice, and discrimination. Students must become, in effect, self-loathing activists, “scientists” with raised fists. (Battle for the American Mind, page 113)
Whoa! Sound familiar? Let me continue with Pete and David’s explanation because they do a wonderful job of showing how this thinking is woven into our education system.
By turning traditional liberal arts subjects into “science,” critical theorists focus their efforts on dissecting and then tearing down the societal, cultural, political, religious, and economic layers that utopians believe prevent their egalitarian efforts from succeeding. According to them, it’s not that their systems don’t work—it’s the way we study them and understand them that is flawed. Thus the entire manner in which we study society has to change. Enter the “social sciences” Yes, our modern social sciences—like “political science”, previously known as “politics,” and “social studies,” previously known as individual disciplines like “history, economics, geography, and philosophy”—are by-products of Marxist philosophy. . . All in the service of removing God, tradition, and Western history.
Let that sink in for a moment. Then let me help you gain a little perspective. Our nation was founded and our educational system created on the WCP (Western Christian Paideia) which is based on the pursuit of unchanging divine order. In contrast, critical theory, which makes no claim of absolute truth, instead it rejects any notion of God, sin, or natural law, in turn completely rejecting that rights are endowed by a Creator, as stated in our Declaration of Independence.
Nothing they stand for is, in any way, shape, or form American. They are adept at twisting words to lure unsuspecting citizens into their way of thinking. They have the wolf in sheep’s clothing routine down pat. And who does the Bible show twisting words to lead man into sin? Genesis 3:1-5 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Who does the Bible warn us as being a wolf in sheep’s clothing? Matthew 7:15-20
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
Do you see why they pulled God and the Bible from our schools? Had our parents and grandparents been equipped with this knowledge, they would have been able to recognize the lies and bad fruit and put a stop to it.
Wise conservatives who knew the truth of God’s word, caught on to the progressive’s real intent, called them out on it. And what did progressives do to those who opposed them? They labeled them mad.
As John Goldberg put it in Liberal Fascism, the Frankfurt School’s “analysis also held that since Marxism was objectively superior to its alternatives, the masses, the bourgeoisie, and anyone else who disagreed with them, had to be, quite literally, mad.” (Battle for the American Mind, page 115)
They labeled their opponents mentally unstable fascists. We see how this has turned into cancel culture. Who was being canceled and why? Those who opposed the progressive agenda because they exposed their lies with the truth. The truth still eludes many Americans as the Cultural Marxist Paideia continues to be deeply ingrained in our culture.
This next connection is going to shock many of us and some of us will go into denial, but I ask that you step back and research the facts yourself.
We know that Columbia University is where members of the Frankfurt School became faculty. Did you know that at the time of their arrival, Columbia was America’s oldest and largest Graduate School of Education? They created a pipeline from Columbia University to the local K-12 classroom that pumped the Marxist critical theory into every child across the United States who attended a public school. You can still see the agenda clearly marked out on their website today.
While Marxist critical theory made its way through our college and K-12 classrooms, two other forces captured the institutional side and constitutional side in order to have an ironclad grip on our education system: teachers’ unions and the Supreme Court. We have already addressed how in the 1960s, the Warren Court ignored our founding documents and made rulings that fit their progressive agenda.
Let us turn to the teacher’s unions. The two major teachers’ unions are the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). They are the two most powerful unions today.
When the NEA was founded in 1857, it was not a union, but an association. At the time, it reflected America. It was traditional, conservative, and God fearing. In her book Standing Up to Goliath, former educator Rebecca Friedrichs discusses the association.
“During the 1960s, before the NEA was taken over by unions, teachers spoke out a lot, because the NEA was a positive association formed by teachers to support their profession and the children in their care. A sweet retired teacher reached out to my friend Larry Sand one day and said, ‘In the 60s NEA was not like it is today! I still have booklets given to us in Teacher’s Ed for memorization in the classroom. All of them are Bible verses.’”
“The booklets, Selections for Memorizing: Growth Booklets, are full of Scriptures from the Holy Bible, prayers, writings, and poems about kindness, moral character, and even the importance of the Education Triangle [students, parents, and teachers]. They were printed en masse by the NEA so that every child in schools across the country could have one every year.” (Battle for the American Mind, page 117)
Can we say that about the teacher’s unions today? Are they positive? Do they support teachers and the children in their care? From a recent personal experience, I can say that at least in my state, the state teacher’s union does not support our teachers who pay them, nor the children in our classroom. We had a bill passed that mandated 80 hours of professional development to be completed by all teachers in two years or they would lose their license. The trainings had inflexible scheduling and unreasonable attendance policies. Plus, if you did not complete it within in a year, the state would not guarantee they would pay for the training they mandated. Although this bill was crucial for our state’s teachers, the bill’s discussion and passage lacked any union representation. In fact, they endorsed it on their website.
When educators became aware of the bill passing into law, there was an outcry. The union then switched gears. They sent out a petition to be signed, which did nothing. After teachers stormed the capital, and their demands were not met, the union reposted its support of the mandated training on its website, under the guise of helping teachers meet this new mandate.
In another incident, our state legislature was pushing to pass a law that allowed any teacher to approach administration for discussion of any issue without it having to go through the local union rep. This is great because now teachers did not have to wait for the monthly formal discussion to have their concerns heard and addressed by administration. A positive thing, right? Yet the state union sent out letters telling teachers to call their senators and oppose the bill because it would silence the local association and voice of teachers.
A teacher licensing bill drew no union response, yet a bill empowering teachers ignited massive union opposition. I suspect this is true of all state teachers’ unions.
Did you know that by 1932 John Dewey, the father of progressive public schools, became the honorary life president of the NEA? He was also the cofounder of the NEA’s rival, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) in 1916. Knowing what you know now about John Dewey, does that make you question the agenda of these unions?
Both associations were absorbed into the public unionization movement during the 1960s. From there teachers unions were off to the races—guided by a growing left—wing labor movement that was grounded in left—wing organizing. (The NEA was advised by Saul Alinsky, as you well recall.) Schools and teachers who had previously been guided by parental involvement and local control were now at the whim of powerful new and overarching federal involvement. Soon after, the teachers unions were putting politicians in office and then bargaining with them on the other side—all with progressive aims in mind. (Battle for the American Mind, page 119)
Still not convinced that these unions have overstepped their bounds, causing more harm than help?
In 1972, the NEA consulted Saul Alinksy to train their staff. One of the training documents titled Alinsky for Teacher Organizers, made the case that teachers should be used to organize, not just for changes in the classroom, but for social change. (Battle for the American Mind, page 37)
The American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association outright deny that critical race theory is being taught in our classrooms all across the United States. Yet in 2021, The American Federation of Teachers invited the author of How to Be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi to be their keynote speaker at their national conference. Here is a quote directly from his website: “Being an antiracist requires persistent self-awareness, constant self-criticism, and regular self-examination.”
In essence, he is saying we are born racists and must strive daily to overcome it. This is coming from their keynote speaker. At the same time, they deny that gender and racial theories are being taught in our classrooms, yet they have multimillion dollar legal funds to defend teachers who run into trouble with state or local laws banning the teaching of critical race theory.
Educators who are part of the union, that is your money they are using for this. Step back and ask, is that where you want your money going? Other disturbing programs and ideals find support from these organizations. Investigate it for yourself and decide if your money is working for you. I recommend reading Rebecca Friedrichs’s book, Standing Up to Goliath, to learn more about our teachers’ unions. I put a link to her book and her website For Kids and Country, in the blog post of this episode.
I never joined the teachers’ union, which was not a popular decision in my house where my father and grandfather were not only part of the auto workers’ union, but were part of their local union’s negotiation team. They discussed how the local union negotiates a fair contract on my behalf. I pointed out that my union dues do not go to those in my local union who are striking a bargain on my behalf. Instead, they funnel the money to the state and federal levels. Each of which put my money towards a multitude of things I do not agree with.
I then shared that I did not want to join an organization that uses scare tactics to get people to join. Every pitch I heard about joining the union was all about how they could step in a protect me and my job should a legal issue arise, because you never know when a student will tell a lie that will destroy your career. First, I fully trust in God to protect me. Should He allow a legal action to remove me from the classroom, then He has something better in store for me. Second, should a legal issue arise from a student lying about me and my employer does not use their legal funds to help defend me, but leaves me hanging, then I do not want to work there anymore.
What I love about my dad and grandpa is that they may not have been happy with my decision, but they respected it, because they could not deny the truth behind my statements. And guess what? They still loved me even though we disagreed on this one topic.
I have thrown a lot at you in this episode, that to be honest, for some of us, is hard to swallow. A good deal of us may even be shaking our heads and denying it. I encourage you to step back and take the time to dig in and find the answers for yourself. I am sure just visiting the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association websites would reveal a lot about who they are and what they stand for. The question is, is that who you are and what you stand for?
Resources and Links
Book- 4 Centuries of American Education by David Barton: https://shop.wallbuilders.com/index.php/four-centuries-of-american-education.html
Book – Separation of Church and State, What the Founders Meant by David Barton: https://shop.wallbuilders.com/index.php/separation-of-church-state-what-the-founders-meant-book.html
Book – Battle for the American Mind by Pete Hegseth and David Goodwin: https://battlefortheamericanmind.com/
Book – Standing Up to Goliath by Rebecca Friedrichs: https://www.forkidsandcountry.org/standing-up-to-goliath/#none
