John Dewey also said that a literate population is more difficult to control.
Whole Language has served very well in this area. The juvenile detention centers and jails are full of illiterates. Larger and larger segments of the population are dependent on the government because they are illiterate.
Whole Language has also provided many, many extra jobs for teachers. The method creates the problem and then the system hires more people to "correct" it.
I have followed this in Canada for years. I assume the same is going on down there.
Yes. The system works as designed. People can't imagine anything different. It's diabolically ingenious.
I have a grandson in 2nd grade and I am impressed with both his reading and math skills. The school district he is in primarily stresses reading skills in the early grades and uses a combination of phonics and what they call "sight words" -- those that do not easily sound out -- to get the kids quickly into reading and making it enjoyable for them. Even his math homework includes word problems to reinforce the reading. The kid enjoys reading and does it on his own for fun.
I'd have to say that my grandson has advanced faster in reading than I did at his age in a parochial school where the nuns taught strictly by the old methods. Whatever this school district is doing seems to work.