I did not read any great works or any socialist works for that matter, so I did not have to write any papers. When it came time for college, even though I am no dummy, I was not prepared for college English.
I found out later that the class I was in was the experiment for the rest of the English department at that high school. I don't know if they fully implemented it afterwards, but it did leave me with a hole in my education.
The one thing that always bothered me was the fact that every class ended with all the other students complaining about their parents. I didn't chime in because I love my parents and the last thing I would do is air out anything in public. It was really a class in sensitivity training.
So, what I would like to add is that most of public education today is geared to sensitize the students for amoral issues that are directly opposed to the morals of their parents.
Educational malpractice, as is the approach described in the original article.
I am sorry.
Reasoning is taught by the Humanities. Here’s a long but great piece on what they really are: the mind’s ‘weapon’ http://www.honorshumanities.umd.edu/105Readings.pdf
100 books to read before you die: http://claudiadenobrega.wordpress.com/2010/12/23/penguin-classics-list-of-100-classic-books-you-must-read-before-you-die/