Enrolling in this course was an unexpected revelation for me, prompting a reevaluation of my entire public education journey. It exposed the harsh reality about our education system and its true purpose for individuals from lower to middle-class backgrounds. Rather than fostering critical thinking skills to challenge established norms, it aimed to uphold the status quo and perpetuate oppression enforced by corporate powers. Surprisingly though, this experience has contributed significantly to my knowledge in various areas.
The purpose of our creation was to serve as tools for production, resulting in us becoming commodities within a corrupt system. In my final paper, I aimed to delve deeper and reveal the concealed truth within this corrupted system. My objective was to investigate the origins of the public education system and analyze various government regulations to draw attention to its corrupt nature. During this inquiry, I came across a book called The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America (which can also be downloaded as a free PDF).
Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt, an American freelance writer and whistleblower, held a position as Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Education and Research at the U.S. Department of Education during Ronald Reagan’s first term. The main goal emphasized in the book’s preface is to expose how alterations made in the American public education system were designed to gradually eliminate parental influences and equip children for a socialist future.
The book contains numerous quotes from government documents that outline the true purpose of American education. These purposes include:
- Using schools to transform America into a socialist, global “state” in line with the United Nations Charter rather than the United States Constitution
- Indoctrinating children from birth to reject individualism
- Discouraging the freedom to choose one’s career in favor of the totalitarian K-12 school-to-work/OBE process, cleverly labeled as “limited learning for lifelong labor”
I found this book extremely fascinating and wanted to read it to summarize the key evidence and foundations of the corrupt system that governs our lives. The United States has meticulously developed a strategy to mechanize its people into labor slaves. This book will serve as undeniable evidence in declassifying documents from the Reagan administration as well as before and after his term.
The intention of the public education system was to undermine the individual’s humanity and promote socialism by encouraging a submissive, obedient, and monotonous workforce. In the book “The Effective School Report,” Thomas A. Kelly, Ph. D., asserts that the human brain should be used for processing rather than storage. This book highlights the shift in educational ideals from the late 18th and 19th centuries, where education focused on drawing out innate talents and abilities through knowledge in various subjects, to a dehumanizing definition presented by experimental psychologists in 1934. According to this definition found in “An Outline of Educational Psychology,” learning is the outcome of modifications in neural pathways. Even complex forms of learning, such as abstraction and generalization, only require neuronal growth, excitability, conductivity, and modifiability. In essence, the mind functions as a connection-system for humans, and learning is the process of making connections.
The situation-response format is sufficient for comprehending any type of learning, with the most influential factors being the preparedness of neurons, chronological sequence, association, and satisfying results. John Dewey, a psychologist and the “Father of Progressive Education,” initiated the conditioning of modern American society. Building upon Wilhelm Wundt’s theory that humans consist only of a body, brain, and nervous system, Dewey advocated for inducing sensations into the nervous system as a means of education. By implementing a stimulus-response approach, Dewey believed that students could be conditioned for a new world order. Edward Lee Thorndike, who was educated in the new psychology by the first wave of Wundt’s disciples, conducted research with chickens to examine their behavior, thus pioneering “animal psychology.” Thorndike shared Wundt’s fundamental assumption that humans are animals and that their actions are always reactions.
Thorndike’s proposal in The Principles of Teaching Based on Psychology emphasizes the need for a scientific and practical approach to studying teaching. However, it is important to recognize that in the twenty-first century, education may prioritize workforce training for most young people due to excessive reliance on modifiability.
In the earlier part of the twentieth century, America had a superior education system compared to other countries globally. Sadly, within just fifty years, it deteriorated and became one of the worst among industrialized nations. This decline can be attributed to an early twentieth-century socialist philosophy that disregarded individuals’ remarkable progress across all aspects of life until then. This phenomenon is commonly known as the “Turning of the Tides.”
The wave originating in Europe gradually extended to our country, resulting in significant changes in the economy, politics, and educational system. These changes were funded by various wealthy American families and their tax-exempt foundations. The goal of this well-planned endeavor, which began almost seventy years ago, is to diminish America’s independence and constitutional ties, making it just one nation among many in an international socialist system. How did this occur? Interestingly, only a population deliberately kept unaware of the origins of our great nation could be influenced by a global workforce training scheme devised by influential figures such as the Carnegie Corporation and the Rockfeller family.
The GEB (General Education Board) was established in 1902 by an act of the United States Congress and approved on January 12, 2902. It was incorporated through the endowment of Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Sr., with the main purpose of serving as a laboratory for educational experimentation.
Another foundation called the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching was created in 1905.
In 1918, both foundations collaborated in planning the transformation of traditional education – while Rockefeller focused on national education, Carnegie took charge of international education.
A grant from the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace led to the establishment of the Institute of International Education in 1919. One notable initiative undertaken by this institute was organizing a student exchange program.
The intention behind educating international students is akin to training them as envoys representing their home countries. It is worth noting that in 1919, the Progressive Education Association was established and supervised by John Dewey. Consequently, the Carnegies and Rockefellers, two of the wealthiest families globally, began to invest substantial amounts of money into educational foundations. It is crucial to perceive this from a business perspective, as these actions may appear to be mere efforts to enlighten the public to the untrained eye. However, this judgment would be gravely mistaken, as these individuals are wealthy businessmen who have surpassed the need for monetary wealth and now seek power.
These renowned psychologists carried out meticulously planned studies to initiate a new world where intelligence is scorned and imaginative thinking is lacking. In 1921, the League for Industrial Democracy changed its name to the Intercollegiate Socialist Society and declared its objective as “Education for a new social order based on production and not for profit.” Simultaneously, in that same year, the Council on Foreign Relations was founded, with Georgetown’s late Professor Quigley describing it as “a front for J. P Morgan and Company in association with the very small American Round Table Group.” On December 15, 1922, the Council on Foreign Relations publicly endorsed global governance.
The International Bureau of Education, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and later incorporated into UNESCO, was established in 1925. In that same year, Dayton, Tennessee hosted a noteworthy court case known as the Scopes “Monkey Trial.” This trial revolved around the inclusion of evolution in public school curricula and featured renowned lawyers William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow presenting opposing arguments. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) contended that evolution should not be restricted from public schools, while Sir Julian Huxley, head of UNESCO, asserted that evolution served as an essential concept linking various aspects.
Huxley’s aim was to predict an educational system based on the notion that we are not much more advanced than our evolutionary ancestors. He advocated for humans being trained similarly to animals, using outcome-based education and direct instruction. This idea is exemplified in Huxley’s 1932 novel Brave New World, which satirizes a mechanized future where humans are replaced. Around the same time, Herbert Hoover appointed a committee to examine social trends in 1932. Although this committee did not receive approval or funding from Congress, it became an executive action supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. Additionally, the National Education Association established the EPC in 1932 with the goal of altering objectives within our education system.
They published a book titled Education for All American Youth, which described various federal programs for health, education, and welfare, along with Head-start programs, federal funds without federal control, and sex education. From 1933 to 1941, an eight-year study was conducted that would later serve as the foundation for many educational reforms and innovations seen today. The Carnegie Corporation and the GEB provided most of the funding for this study. In a passage discussing the study, Wilford M. Aiken documented its origins and goals by stating, “It has been assumed that physical and emotional reactions are not part of the learning process; however, if they are present, their significance is limited.”
The participating schools in the study believe that the school should be a place where young people collaborate on purposeful tasks. They aim to create an environment similar to a work or work-related setting, resembling a real-life simulation. Mein Kampf, a book written by Adolph Hitler and published in 1939, contains notable excerpts discussing education. Hitler suggests that the populist state can take control of educational work with minimal changes. He argues against overwhelming the immature brain with unnecessary information that it does not need and will likely forget. Hitler emphasizes the significance of differentiating between general knowledge and specialized knowledge.
Adolph Hitler advocated for specialized education to combat memory loss and stressed the importance of teaching specialized skills for the labor force. This parallels the school-to-work initiatives implemented by the American government in the 1990s. World War II commenced in 1939, and subsequent decades were marked by turmoil and provocation. In 1946, the United States became a member of UNESCO, which disrupted societal norms by rejecting ethical principles and imposing educational mandates on our government.
President Truman emphasized the importance of education in establishing the moral unity of mankind. The report titled Higher Education for American Democracy v. 3, Organizing Higher Education discussed the role of education and emphasized the need for policies set by the State Department and foreign ministries. It also recognized the need for the United States Office of Education to collaborate with the State Department and UNESCO. In 1953, Professor B. F. Skinner published Science and Human Behavior where he compared operant conditioning to sculpting behavior like a sculptor shapes a lump of clay.
Skinner and Kinsey utilized the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives and applied scientific classification principles to education. This approach treated education as an experiment, considering human behavior as measurable and observable. However, this resulted in the detachment of individuals from their inherent freedom and self-control. As a result, it influenced the governing methods for individuals and society, shaping education and teacher training today. On August 6, 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower initiated the first White House Conference on Education, as reported by The New York Times.
The announcement led to many questions about the goals of our schools and how to make our school system more efficient and cost-effective. These questions had predetermined answers, which led to the creation of new laws for future implementation. The 1940s and 50s were a time of societal upheaval in both the United States and around the world. In the 1960s, there was a rise in socialist movements. President Eisenhower received a final report called Goals for Americans on National Goals, which started the process of transforming America’s political structure from a constitutional republic to a social democracy.
Ralph Tyler was chosen by the Carnegie corporation in 1964 to head the committee that assessed progress in education. This committee, initially established as a project in 1963, eventually transformed into the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 1969. The subsequent year saw Congress granting approval to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1965, signifying a shift towards nationalization/internationalization of education within the United States. The ESEA offered federal funding and guidance for various facets of education, including goals, management, planning, programming, budgeting systems, and accountability. It is important to note that the ESEA specifically focused on students from low-income or minority backgrounds.
In the 1970s, educational policies based on federal and international control continued. On April 30, 1972, The New York Times published an article titled “The Social Studies: A Revolution Is on—New Approach Is Questioning, Skeptical—Students Examine Various Cultures.” Written by William K. Stevens, this lengthy front page article delved into a long-standing controversy in the United States that had been ongoing for twenty-six years. The controversy involved those supporting global society-focused education versus those advocating for American History and Western Civilization-centered education. This debate encompassed the discussion of “social studies” versus traditional history and “process” education versus fact-based education.
During the seventies, there was conflict between science and psychology regarding the application of statistical methods to understand human behavior. However, this approach is misguided and inappropriate. The problem lies in the fact that while we can accurately measure the speed at which something falls off a cliff, measuring a person’s attitude or opinions is much more complicated. This is because individuals can change their opinions or attitudes at any given time. Additionally, when a person consciously and deliberately decides to act in a certain way, the information becomes imprecise. An article from The Herald News on March 20, 1974, titled “Parents fear ‘Big Brother’ Aspect of New Concept,” further explores this issue.
In this article, the concern of parents is brought up regarding the educational goals and the potential imposition of a standardized curriculum on all students through computerized evaluation. Non-conforming students may face the label of misfits and be directed to the school psychologist, possibly under the special education category. Additionally, there is mention of a bill proposing the establishment of two new Educational Improvement Centers (EICs) by the federal government. These EICs aim to provide training to teachers so they can act as agents for social change. The transition to a competitive grading system (A, B, C, D, E, F) is also discussed as a development happening in the 1980s for schools that have not yet made the switch.
The text above discusses the difference between competitive and performance-based education systems. The competitive system assumes that all students are the same and molds them accordingly. On the other hand, the performance-based system allows students to compete against themselves using methods such as open book tests and authentic assessments. According to Thomas A. Kelly, Ph.D., a leading change agent in the Effective Schools Research Method, the brain should be used for processing, not storage. However, because of America’s deliberate dumbing down, academic test scores have likely declined.
President Ronald Reagan famously referred to the Soviet Union as an evil empire, while also signing educational agreements with them that are still in effect today. In 1982, William Spady, who is known as the father of Outcome Based Education (OBE) or school-to-work education, stated at a conference hosted by the U.S. Department of Education: “Two out of four functions of Mastery Learning include: Extra, which encompasses the entire process of acculturation, social roles, social integration, and encouraging student participation in the social unit; and Hidden, which entails a system of supervision and control to guide student behavior, with the ultimate aim of promoting social responsibility or compliance.”
In 1984, the presidentially appointed National Council for Educational Research issued two policies titled “Policies on Missions for Educational Research and Development Centers.” The first policy, released on June 14, 1984, acknowledged the controversy surrounding federally funded research and projects over the past two decades. It also highlighted the exclusion of public views from serious consideration, as educational research was increasingly seen as observing and measuring the education process using social science’s quantitative techniques. This perspective seems reminiscent of behaviorist Skinnerian views in psychology.
On October 25, 1984, another policy was released, which included the following excerpt: “Insofar as it represents a broad spectrum of interests, including parents who have a serious stake in the outcomes of federally funded educational research, the Council affirms that the fundamental philosophical foundations for such research should be the unambiguous recognition and respect for the dignity and value of each human person.” This policy assures the public that their financial contribution to federal interests is mindful of their best interests. They can trust that the federal government acknowledges the worth of every individual. Moving forward into the nineties, a report funded by Carnegie in 1934, called “Conclusions and Recommendations for the Social Studies”, with a budget of $340,000, reveals the emergence of a new era of collectivism. This report accurately portrays the development of a socialist planned economy and a world on the brink of transformation, which we witness beginning to unfold in the nineties.
The issue at hand is the lack of understanding among Americans regarding the distinctions between free enterprise and planned economies, as well as between ‘groupthink’ and individual freedom, which readily paves the way for the acceptance of a socialist agenda. In 1991, a plan known as the “America 2000 Plan” was formulated to implement the Carnegie’s restructuring agenda. This plan was presented to the public by Lamar Alexander, who served as President Bush’s Secretary of Education. Essentially, the plan aimed to bring about extensive changes to American society. One of its proposals was the establishment of year-round schools operating from 6 am to 6 pm, catering to children from infancy to age 18. Some excerpts from the plan include statements like “In order to witness real improvement in American education, a revolution is necessary, not just a renaissance… We must create a new generation of American schools for future students.” The Executive Summary of this document anticipates significant changes in more than 110,000 public and private schools, affecting all communities, homes, and perceptions about education. This intentional dumbing down has become an excuse for initiating social changes such as the privatization of education, with multinational corporations assuming responsibility for education and the training of future citizens. This shift will be financially supported by the establishment of charter schools and through the implementation of legislative measures that provide tax credits.Parents who initially support the multiple options presented might alter their perspective once their child is subjected to the corporate quota system, which directs them towards a predetermined career.
The concept of a society being dumbed down, brainwashed, and conditioned is prevalent, and it will readily accept what is being offered to the Americans in order to remain competitive in an increasingly global economy. This idea has been frequently mentioned in the news. Nonetheless, Edward Hunter, the originator of the term ‘brainwashing’, suggests a method to reverse this process. He believes that truth is the most crucial remedy, and integrity is the most powerful weapon against the totalitarian concept. The dissemination of these facts to the people who need and can utilize them should be prioritized without any hindrance. Only when the people are well-informed can they effectively shoulder their responsibility.
When individuals are aware of both the opposition they are fighting against and the values they strive to preserve and improve, they become invincible and more powerful than any strategy. The way I perceive the education that I and my parents have received has significantly changed. Witnessing the passage of legislation supposedly aimed at advancing our education has repulsed me to the point of feeling nauseous. It is evident that there was never an intention to nurture our uniqueness. Instead, it appears to be a calculated scheme to dumb us down, wasting our time with insignificant information while increasing control over the nation. Although I cannot precisely define what education should be, I can certainly articulate what it should not be. It should not resemble a scientific experiment where every action we take is meticulously monitored by a federally funded authority.
The purpose of public schools is to provide enough education for individuals to succeed in mundane jobs outside of school. The system is not designed for learning, but rather to train students to master tasks automatically. Memorization involves storing information in the brain and using reflective thinking to develop methods for recalling it. Reflective thinking is crucial for learning as it allows the brain to deeply understand and analyze the material it is presented with. After analyzing the underlying messages of this book, I am uncertain about our education system. It seems that the original intention was to create individuals who are easily influenced and willing to believe anything, while the ruling elite carries out global agendas that undermine our civil liberties. It appears as if there was a planned takeover and control of the United States for global interests. While the idea of a one world government may sound appealing, the United States was founded on the principles of breaking free from British rule. It seems that the legislation enacted and the true goals of our education were never aimed at genuinely educating the public, but rather included everyone in a large “controlled” experiment with predetermined outcomes.
Our society has become devoid of individual creativity and uniqueness, as we have been deceived and manipulated throughout our lives. The education system is now controlled by federal mandates, which goes against the original intention of our founding fathers. They envisioned us as a critically conscious people who question the government and advocate for limited government size. Unfortunately, we have become a nation driven by physical impulses, lacking critical thinking skills and unaware of our Constitutional heritage. I believe that this oppressive education system can be overcome, and one day we will have the ability to design our own curriculums and explore education independently.
