Status Updates From Four Centuries of American ...

"For centuries, American education included religious and moral principles as part of student instruction--and there is no question of the academic success of that philosophy. However, there have been great changes in recent years. Beginning in 1962,…" (45) "...educational scores plummeted...." (46) " 'The longer U.S. students stay in school, the less they seem to know' " (47).

"Since schools for black as well as white students, female as well as male students, included religious and moral lessons as part of the academic instruction, it is not surprising that the schools that opened their doors to all students without regard to race or gender also included religious and moral lessons in their academics" (41).

"America's first colonial educational laws, its first federal laws, and the declarations of many early American statesmen confirm the fact that the unique American approach to a successful education integrated religious and moral lessons with academic instruction. Subsequent textbooks demonstrate that this philosophy of education remained intact and unaltered for centuries" (38).

"The American settlers [& the Founders] were convinced that if the common people could read & learn the Word of God...themselves, & study the limits on governing authorities set forth in the Bible, citizens would (15) resist government misbehavior & thus preclude similar occurrences in America" (16). "Foreign observers would travel to America to investigate what had caused her remarkable progress & rapid rise" (18).

"While some would measure [a good education] only by technological advances, it should also be measured by the content a student has learned--and by how well that student has been taught to think and to reason. Unfortunately, although the technological advances over the past 50 years have been significant, there is abundant evidence that the cognitive advances have lagged far behind" (1).

Originally started reading this October 1, 2021, but life got in the way, so I didn't finish it. Now I've decided to read more, so I'm returning to this book.