The Victims of Dick and Jane [Paperback]

Samuel L. Blumenfeld (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2003

A collection of essays showing the causes for the deline in America's public education. Mr. Bluemenfeld chronicles the beginnings of the look-say method of reading and the devestating results this methodology has had on America's children. In addition, he discusses sex education and death education. He shows how humanism has become the prominent philosophy behind these changes in Americal education that have left graduates of America's public schools unable to compete in the businesses of America. He also shows the way back to competent education methodologies that will result in a citizenry of an educated, competent,freedom loving populace.

Product Details

• Paperback: 278 pages
• Publisher: Chalcedon (May 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891375210
• ISBN-13: 978-1891375217
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,113,351 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Samuel L. Blumenfeld is a resident of suburban Boston. He is a native New Yorker who was educated in the public schools of New York city and City College of New York. Before turning full-time writer he was a book and magazine editor. To give himself frontline experience for his books on education he served as a substitute teacher in the Quincy, Massachusetts, public schools. He is chairman of the Massachusetts branch of the Reading Reform Foundation.
Blumenfled's articles have appeared in the New York Times, Herald Tribune, Commentary, American Opinion, Ideas, Reason, Inquiry, American Education, Vital Speeches, Education Digest, American Legion Magazine, Conservative Digest and Boston Magazine. He has authored seven books on the subject of education. Several of his books have been given the highest ratings by Mary Pride and Cathy Duffy, two of the leading homeschool curricula reviewers.He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from Bob Jones University in May 1986.
Dr. Blumenfeld is a popular lecturer, teacher and advisor at many conferences, workshops and conventions, especially homeschool conferences. He has participated in such events on every continent.
Blumenfeld is frequently heard on numerous radio and TV talk shows across the U.S.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concerned About Education? Read This!, May 5, 2010

By 

Bruce Deitrick Price (Virginia Beach, Va.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Victims of Dick and Jane (Paperback)

I urge everyone to read at least one book by Samuel Blumenfeld; and this may be the best place to start. There are 18 essays, mostly written in the 1980s and 1990s. You can read them in any order. You will find that this book is an excellent guide to the treacheries and nonsense everywhere evident in education. Blumenfeld is a scholar and a crusader. He is very smart and earnest. He is the country's foremost expert on reading. I highly recommend this book to all parents, all teachers, all homeschoolers, and indeed all citizens.

Here are some typical titles: How to Teach History to Children; Is Humanism a Religion?; Deliberately Dumbing Us Down; California's Reading Debacle; The War Against Christianity in America; and Let's Break Up the Public School Monopoly.

Here are some suggestive quotes:

"The International Reading Association...is perhaps the only organization of such size in which a form of educational malpractice has been enshrined as the highest pedagogical good and its practitioners awarded prizes for their achievements."

"The vast majority of American children are trapped within a system that is turning their brains into macaroni."

"We've known now since 1955 that whole-word methodology is the problem. Flesch naively assumed back then that after the educators read his book, they would recognize the error of their ways and return to the sane phonetic method of teaching. What he didn't understand, however, was the political agenda behind what those progressive professors were doing. Their goal was to use education as a means for changing America from an individualist, capitalist, religious society into a socialist, collectivist, humanist society."

"Perhaps if the government schools were doing a decent job of teaching, taxpayers would feel that their money was being put to good use. But the public school system in America is a disaster. In fact, it is the only American institution that threatens our very future as a nation."

Taking all the essays together, the message is that our Education Establishment left no gimmick untried when it came to dumbing down the schools. It continues to amaze me that people can look at this onslaught and say, no, I don't see a conspiracy, what conspiracy? For everyone who wants to know more about our educational decline, start here.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Problem of Modern American Education and the Solution, December 10, 2009

By 

Mike Robinson "Mike A Robinson: Apologetic An... (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Victims of Dick and Jane (Paperback)

Many Liberals and conservatives alike admit that the American public education system is ineffective. In "The Victims of Dick and Jane" Samuel Blumfield exposes and analyzes the deep difficulties with current public school education. He traces how the problems began and the manner in which the epidemic of humanistic education evolved. The author makes a case that many students are victims of state controlled public education. Blumfield's enormously unpopular solution is to apply a biblical structure to education.

D. James Kennedy endorsed this work by stating "This may be the most comprehensive and insightful analysis of what's wrong with our public school system ever written."

CF noted that The NY Times declared in the "1990's more than 90 million American adults can barely read and write."
This is a weighty analysis for a very serious problem. All parents should read this work and confront your local school board with the essential information. There Are Moral Absolutes: How to Be Absolutely Sure That Christianity Alone Supplies

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real thinker, May 18, 2007

By 

Susannah L. Miller Volpe (New Bethlehem, Pa United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Victims of Dick and Jane (Paperback)

There are numerious things wrong with our current education system. This author is sure to point out what he believes they are. Even if you do not agree with all of his points, the whole thing is very thought provoking and informative.