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Article: Alter ego: since 1970 'ed psych' has taken over education. Baby boomers, meet John Dewey.(Back to School)
- Article from:
- National Review
- Article date:
- September 30, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 National Review, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Since 1970 'ed psych' has taken over education. Baby boomers, meet John Dewey.
IT was the year of the nation's Bicentennial, 1976, when education's high priests finally succeeded in their struggle (which had been going on since the heyday of John Dewey's "progressive education" in the 1920s) to shift schools away from academics and toward socialization and guardianship. Teachers threw out stuffy old books, tests and curricula were dumbed down, and once-neat rows of desks were replaced by "open classrooms."
The increasingly powerful teachers' unions solidified their gains by insisting that teachers be treated as "experts" and "professionals." The tactic ...