Deliberate Dumbing Down of America Public Education

230 use in primary school, and proposals for the restructuring of the curriculum and of teaching methods through the use of computers in the early grades. Additional issues include evaluation of the training of teachers in the use of comput ers and elimination of teachers’ fear of computers, and creation of Soviet-American pilot projects for joint experiments. [Ed. Note: On December 20, 1985, during a “Contact America” radio interview with U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennett, co-host Malcolm Lawrence asked Bennett if he was involved in the United States-Soviet education exchanges. Bennett responded, “No. I’m not in that loop.” Pray tell, what “loop” was he in during his tenure as the top official dealing with American education? The writer was informed by the U.S. Department of State that both agreements were still in effect after the so-called break-up of the Soviet Union. (See Appendix XXIII.)] T HE F ACT F INDER OF P HOENIX , A RIZONA ON J ANUARY 1, 1986 (V OL . 46, N O . 4) CARRIED an ar ticle entitled “Shocking U.S. Agreements to Let Soviet and Red Chinese Educators Indoctrinate America’s Children.” (See Appendix XXIII.) Excerpts follow: We now have proof that agreements have been made with the Soviets for nearly 30 years to have their educators work with ours in planning curricula for America’s school children. This is a shocking addition to what we have already learned about the many ways that the Soviets are carrying out their secret war for world domination. Early in October, we learned that two Communist educators are already here in Phoe nix, teaching and conferring with educators at Central High School. Boris Bayev is a 41-year old principal of a Soviet secondary school at Ulyanovsk, USSR. A teacher from Red China is also at Central High. E DWIN F EULNER , PRESIDENT OF THE H ERITAGE F OUNDATION ( CONSIDERED BY SOME TO BE the fore most “conservative” think tank in the nation), chaired the United States Information Agency’s (USIA) Commission on Public Diplomacy in 1986. The annual report carried a cover letter from Feulner as chairman encouraging the acceptance of its recommendations. Under “Educational and Cultural Programs, Exchanges and International Visitors” the report states in part: The Commission urges USIA, the Department of State, and the relevant private sector orga nizations to move quickly to develop specific programs for U.S.-Soviet exchanges pursuant to the General Exchanges accord, other exchange initiatives undertaken at the Geneva Summit, and the agreement by President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev to review these programs at their next meeting. [Ed. Note: The Heritage Foundation later established an office in Moscow, ostensibly to oversee Russia’s “hoped-for” evolution from communism to free market economics.] 1986