The Leipzig Connection (Basics in Education) [Paperback]

Paolo Lioni (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0897390016 | ISBN-13: 978-0897390019 | Publication Date: January 1993

In the shadows of the Bismarck’s totalitarian Germany in 1875, a little-known medical researcher laid the groundwork for a subject that in modern times was to bring American education to its knees--behavioral psychology. A latter-day disciple, B. F. Skinner, later wrote the book "Beyond Freedom and Dignity," arguing that such ancient conceptions as these are luxuries our brave new world can no longer afford. Another ardent follower--John Dewey, the "Father of American education"--took the new radical German redefinition of education to mean the reprograming of young brains and nervous systems, and applied it to his self-appointed task of creating in America the ideal socialist state. John D. Rockefeller, for purposes of his own, bankrolled what was in effect a hostile take-over of our educational establishment. "The Leipzig Connection" is a startling account of how and why these things came about. It lays out in concise detail the story of the development of the educational malaise which we have unknowingly dropped our children into, explaining not only declining SAT scores and the phenomenon of high school graduates who are barely literate, but also symptoms even more sinister: violence, prostitution and drug dealing in the schools, the self-mutilation of tattooing and body piercing, and teenage suicide.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A kind of detective story, one with a villain and victims but no heroes...the appalling effects of scientific psychology. -- MANAS

Arresting...Paints a picture of deliberate sabotaging of sound pedagogy...by those who should have known better. -- Christian Science Monitor

Perceptive...a blunt, concise argument for the restoration of educational principles...will stimulate argument. -- The Seattle Times

Power-packed...The missing link that tells us exactly who and what...fills a large gap in our present research. -- National Educator

Should be owned and read by every individual concerned with his immediate future safety...exciting reading...extraordinary. -- Common Sense Newsletter

About the Author

Paolo Lionni was born in Switzerland in 1938 and was educated there, in Italy, and in the U.S. (Brandeis University). During his lifetime he served as art director of several national magazines and his drawings, poetry, essays, and translations have been published in Europe, the U.S., and Mexico. For the last 15 years of his life, he was very active in the field of education promoting an alternative to the educational philosophies described in "The Leipzig Connection."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 115 pages
• Publisher: Heron Books (January 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0897390016
• ISBN-13: 978-0897390019
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,922 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Education > Education Theory > Educational Psychology

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why this book is a MUST READ, March 29, 2002

By 

"kenkem" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Leipzig Connection (Basics in Education) (Paperback)

This book tells the true and complete story of what happened to our educational system, and how it was ruined by Rockefeller money through the introduction of psychology (and later psychiatry)into the system. Going right along with this destruction there is another very well documented book titled "World Without Cancer" by G. Edward Griffin (an independent researcher not connected with the authors of The Leipzig Connection), which tells how the Rockefellers turned our MEDICAL educational system into a profit center for themselves---a system which promotes drugs (which they make and sell) and surgery, which necessitates the use of their drugs---and away from other more promising avenues. If you want further documentation on the destructive influence of the Rockefellers read Ida Tarbell's famous book "THE HISTORY OF THE STANDARD OIL COMPANY". Then there's "Why Johnny Can't Tell Right From Wrong" by William K. Kilpatrick and "Dumbing Down Our Kids : Why American Children Feel Good About Themselves but Can't Read, Write, or Add" by Charles J. Sykes, both of which detail the depths to which the Rockefeller financed psychological fiddling of our school curriculums has taken us. But essential to a complete understanding of any of the above is an understanding of the story related in "The Leipzig Connection". It really is a must read.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Eye opening book telling a truth about our education system, April 11, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Leipzig Connection (Paperback)

A short book with a big message. Read it for yourself to see just how much outside influence from the 19th and 20th centuries is being utilized to dumb down our children and turn them into 'animals'. A lot of the current buzz words that you hear today are ideas that have been thrust upon our phyche until we've been conditioned to believe it. You can't ask for more of an eye-opening experience than the one that this book brings to pass.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Acorns, Oaks, Mistletoe and Poison Ivy ..... Consider this, February 25, 2000

By 

Tom Hall, CTC (Glendale, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Leipzig Connection (Basics in Education) (Paperback)

This book is 5 Stars - not because it is a blockbuster, but more in the sense of The Tao Te Ch'ing - it has a basic nourishment simply put and straight. The Leipzig Connection simply traces development of "modern" "progressive" "20th century" "education" theory and practice from basic kernel (acorn) in the Psychology Labs of Late 19th Century Germany, from plant to graft to fully invasive tendrils resulting in the 20th Century culmination of an educational system realizing that a simple classic "Oak" had been subborned into a useless tangle of creepers.

Or skip the poetry, just appreciate the elegant clarity and direct purpose of this slim volume.

A MUST for EVERY student of education, educator, educational theorist, or intelligent adult.