Pretty unsettling stuff. Esp. because it’s the case in America. I’m in Holland, and over here there was also a strong upsurge of leftist propaganda in the ‘60s and ‘70. But it did not last, as it did over there, judging from the article.
In my experience ‘postmodernism’ was the last of the socialist-minded fads. Dutch professors and teachers wallowed gladly in this garbage and passed it on to their students. I never bought these bizarre and egotistical fantasies and nightmares by Foucault, Derrida, and their ilk. But quite a few students found it all very attractive (read: in the ‘80s). As all fake religions do, it promised unlimited freedom to its adherents; why be married to only 1 partner for life, if you can ‘get around’ as much as you like? Well, from my own observation I know that the majority of these simpletons made a complete mess of their life, and of that of their children and students too.
After PoMo, the tide changed. In general, Dutch education is surprisingly traditional, with little political indoctrination. It needs adding, however, that the quality had sunk over the past decades, in terms of general knowledge, and math/language skills.
How come?
Well, socialist politicians applied total egalitarianism in the ‘60s and ‘70s to secondary school education. The results were disastrous, in that the pupils with real talent got dragged down to the level of those with minimal talent and motivation.
It’s under repair as I write.
Lesson to be learned: avoid any fashionable ideology in education. The glittering gold of today will be the moral sh*t of tomorrow.
The traditionalist teachers, who fought Horace Mann back in the 1830’s said exactly the same thing. Acquiring an education is a tough slog, there are no shortcuts to the hard work.