The Progressive Agenda Being Fulfilled  

(by Tunya Audain 100815, comment to Blog School for Thought (SQE) on topic “Saying it as it is” 100814 

http://www.societyforqualityeducation.org/index.php/blog/read/saying-it-as-it-is/ ) 

The deterioration of language skills is real and deliberate.  It is a pervasive trend with direct connections to teacher 

training where progressivism is the norm.  Canadian Deans of Education have signed onto an Accord to produce teachers 

to assume social and political roles, to contribute to social change and community transformation. 

I recently read an article http://www.educationnews.org/commentaries/book_reviews/97169.html 

"John Dewey, Dumbing Down, and The Scandal of Dyslexia".  The author concludes that Dewey and his buddies, being 

socialists, “They were sick of individualism, the pioneer spirit, free enterprise, and people doing their own thing. John 

Dewey wanted you to be a happy member of a group. You didn’t need that much literacy or knowledge. Dewey actually 

saw these as impediments. He calls, especially in the early grades, for sharply curtailing the study of literature, history, 

math, science, geography and such, in order to make room for social activities, specifically, ‘cooking, sewing, manual 

training’”. 

“To advance his sociopolitical visions, Dewey was eager to dilute content and diminish learning.” 

All this is in line with what John Taylor Gatto has been saying in his “Dumbing Us Down. The Hidden Curriculum of 

Compulsory Schooling”.  Several times a winner of “Teacher of the Year Awards” in New York, when he quit teaching 

he said he no longer wished to “hurt kids to make a living.“ 

Today I found this guest column (from EducationNews) by a teacher also deploring poor English and grammar in this 

article “Grammar problems caused by ‘hyper-constructivism’”. http://betrayed-

whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.com/2010/08/grammar-problems-caused-by-hyper.html  (from the blog, Betrayed*) 

Robert Archer faults “constructivism” which, unfortunately still exists in teacher training.  It’s a form of discovery-

learning and had Dewey as one of the historical figures influencing this development. (See Wikipedia for constructivism).  

This is what Archer said:  “Somehow, this grammar-is-imbedded movement is supposed to help students naturally take in 

what proper grammar is (i.e., grammar by osmosis). It’s very much a hyper-constructivist approach to education; the 

students are supposed to “discover” proper grammar on their own as they read good pieces. Then, somehow and some 

way, they are to emulate these proper mechanical structures in their own writing. And if the students don’t quite “take it 

all in,“ the teacher may take 2.5 minutes here and there to show them what a damn verb is.” 

Is all this deliberate, manufactured, dumbing-down? To create a class of poorly educated mass with another class of elitist 

rulers?  Sounds very Plato to me – philosopher kings!  Isn’t this what socialism is all about—We are all equal, but some 

are more equal than others? 

We need to find more essays and material about this deliberate capture of curriculum by left-wing progressives for their 

political purposes.  I found an excellent article on the hijacking of art education for the purpose of social justice, etc..  

Very, very perceptive and scary. http://www.aristos.org/aris-10/hijacking.htm   

Of course, science, math, literature are already seeing social justice themes but I haven’t seen any articles (good 

references) as persuasive as the above art article. 

Am I a conspiracy freak?  I don’t think so.  I see the progressive agenda being actualized everywhere.  Progressives are 

about a number of things, but their main thing is uniformity.  NO CHOICES.  That’s why they love government 

monopoly education.   

* Betrayed, the blog sounds like a great place to visit.  This is their write-up: 

Betrayed – Why Public Education Is Failing http://betrayed-whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.com/ 

Betrayed is an online chat forum for parents, teachers and community members to offer their thoughts on what’s wrong 

with public education and how to make it work better for the students…Help teachers and parents take back the classroom 

from those who have stolen it.                      

BCTF Will Continue To Call the Shots in BC Education 

(This essay was published Dec 10 in the Vancouver Sun's blog, "The Report Card")

The Avison Report clearly illustrates how the current BC College of Teachers is dysfunctional to the fulfillment of its mandate.

Even if the BC Teachers’ Federation would agree to any concessions, or even if it is unwillingly dragged in to a different future relationship with the BCCT, the teachers’ union will likely remain unchastened and unbowed.  The BCTF’s political and union agendas will continue.

The attitude that the BCTF sees itself as THE boss in BC education has been borne out by several recent statements from BCTF Headquarters — as IF the BCTF is the parent to whom children must come.  This is an attitude of grandiose self-appointed superiority!

In a CBC interview President Lambert said that in a forthcoming meeting with the Minister of Education she will ask why the BCTF was not contacted about these three cases as revealed in the Report.  My inference here is that the BCTF feels this was a negotiable issue between the Ministry and the BCTF.  

The BCTF just doesn’t get it, does it?  After a certain point, some things are just NOT negotiable!

Avison made this point in the Report.  After some rather blatant delay and waffling in a child pornography case, Avison wrote about this inappropriate behavior: “With respect, this response acknowledges that the member who didn't get it right the first time wouldn't get it right the second time either.

"Why this was considered an acceptable response is, at best, puzzling,"

A regular reader to this blog, DLM, also picked up on this haughty attitude: “… why does the president of the BCTF believe that the minister of education should contact the BCTF regarding the specific cases rather than the college who are the regulatory body responsible for certification?  I would like an explanation on Ms Lambert's comments as to why she believes that the BCTF should have been contacted on this issue.”

A further instance of arrogance came up in a recent interview with News 11:30: "We are left kind of perplexed as to what the intention of the report is and why it's been released without any consultation with us."  http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/154786–report-bc-teachers-college-is-dysfunctional

I’ve written in other essays that the BCTF has, by stealth and intimidation, acquired the role of “parallel government” in BC education.  How has this happened?  

From a research article we see that the newly formed socialist government in 1972 seems to have given away the keys to the schoolhouse to the BCTF leadership. 

Please read Thomas Fleming’s article: “Decline and Fall of the BC Ministry of Education 1972-1996”, especially the section, Teacher Power.  “Through the help of the Teachers Political Action Committee (TPAC) the NDP for the first time in BC swept into power in 1972 …The BCTF executive was by now firmly in the hands of militants, notably supporters of the ‘radical Marxist’ Jim MacFarlan, to use historian F.Henry Johnson’s description.”

http://library.queensu.ca/ojs/index.php/edu_hse-rhe/article/view/454/611

Don’t forget, we are entering into a collective bargaining period between the BCTF and government representatives. Is this ever a peaceful time?