Blog PostPrimary EducationSecondary Education

Fixing K-12 education. 10 principles for reform

Persuasion Article by Greg Lukianov

Photo credit Persuasion

In his Persuasion Article Greg Lukianov, co-editer of the 2018 book The Coddling of the American Mind outlines ten insightful and urgent reforms for rescuing primary education in America, and retrieving it from deformed, aggressively enforced ideologies that lie at the base of so much that cripples creativity, and invites totalitarianism in all social and political behavior.

Lukianov writes at clearly and at length in this article, about these 10 healthy educational principles. Some of these include:

Principle 1: No compelled speech, thought, or belief.  

It is usually bad to tell someone what they cannot say. It is usually far worse to tell someone what they must say, and it is always wrong to tell people what they must think or believe…. 

Principle 2: Respect for individuality, dissent, and the sanctity of conscience. 

If K-12 education is to include moral education, it must allow students to question or dissent from the moral education it provides without fear of punishment. Otherwise, it is indoctrination and thought reform, not education. 

These and many more are here, and should be read. Read Lukianov’s important article here