Deliberate Dumbing Down of America Public Education

Introduction

Amidst all of the policy documents and historical data in the book, one can easily identify the heart of the writer. Iserbyt gently reminds the reader that the real issue at hand is the child. It is America’s children who are experiencing the full brunt of the new methods, new curricula and new agendas in the classroom. Many readers will experience the “light bulb” turning on as they fully come to understand how the innovations which have occurred in education during the last century affected their parents, themselves, their children and grandchildren. Teachers may find the contents of this book particularly enlightening and refreshing. Iserbyt takes the reader behind the scenes to reveal the true nature of many popular classroom curricula. The truth will be comforting to those who have utilized certain programs or methods, and perhaps were troubled by them, but didn’t know the full scope or plan behind them. Iserbyt does not ignore or soft-peddle the ethical issues, but encourages the reader to take the high moral ground. The other day a caller phoned into Rush Limbaugh’s daily radio talk show. The caller’s wife earns $25,000 per year as a teacher. She has 30 students. Her school district receives $9,000 per year per student. This totals $270,000 per year. “Why isn’t my wife being paid more?” he asked. The caller—and people like him—should be referred to the deliberate dumbing down of america . In this book they will find the scandalous answer. It has something to do with why we have a generation of—as Limbaugh describes it—”young skulls full of mush.”

S ARAH L ESLIE

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