“In our desire to make sure that our children learn to “adjust” to their environment, we have given them insufficient opportunity to acquire the knowledge that will enable them to master their environment.”

“In our attempt to make education “fun”, we have neglected the academic disciplines that develop sound minds and are conducive to sound characters.”

“Responding to the Deweyite attack on methods of teaching, we have encouraged the teaching profession to be more concerned with how a subject is taught than with what is taught. Most important of all: in our anxiety to “improve” the world and insure “progress” we have permitted our schools to become laboratories for social and economic change according to the predilections of the professional educators. We have forgotten that the proper function of the school is to transmit the cultural heritage of one generation to the next generation, and to train the minds of the new generation as to make them capable of absorbing ancient learning and applying it to the problems of its own day.”

“The fundamental explanation of this distortion of values is that we have forgotten that purpose of education. Or better: we have forgotten for whom education is intended. The function of our schools is not to educate, or elevate, society; but rather to educate individuals and to equip them with the knowledge that will enable them to take care of society’s needs.”

From Barry Goldwater’s “The Conscience of a Conservative”, published first in 1960. Ghost written by Brent Bozell.

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