The Miseducation of the Masses (Part 3): The System is Born

Mic Check Radio

In part 3 of our series on the education system in the United States of America, we take a look at the continued influence of Foundations - mainly the ones started and funded by the Carnegie and Rockefeller. We also discuss the Columbia Teachers College and their project, the Lincoln Experimental School. Then we look at the effects of the Progressive Education Associations "Eight-Year Study" and how it started the concept of the segmented school curriculum. And let's not forget the power of uniform textbooks - and how Harold Rugg (through the Columbia Teachers College) was so well funded that 5 million of his textbooks were distributed nationwide. Eventually, in 1952, the Reece Committee started investigating Foundations and their influence on public life. When their report was published in 1954, it was summarily ignored. Why was it ignored? Because, a scathing indictment of the power of capitalists in the United States and how they were (and are) warping the public education system for their own benefit wasn't a report those capitalists wanted anyone to know about. Sound familiar? [Click to Listen]