Interesting article. I basically agree with its premise;but I thinks its long on assertion and rather thin on specifics i.e., examples and actual items of the “dumbing down” process.
Note that the freerepublic piece was a summary of a longer article. See link.
But I’ll plead guilty to some degree. My specialty is covering lots of ground quickly. If I felt compelled to be a careful scholar, I couldn’t annoy the Education Establishment as much as I hope to!