You are correct. Under John Dewey's stewardship of the Columbia University teachers' college, so-called progressive education, with its attendant emphasis on socialization (i.e., conformance with subjective social norms) and deemphasis on learning and basic learning skills like phonics, spread throughout the educational system. Many conservatives may sneer at the "ivory towers" of the prestigious universities, but those ivory towers are the control towers of intellectual life. Secular humanists and socialists gained control of these universities in the 1930s and even earlier, if you are talking about Harvard or Columbia.
You intended this for someone else,I think, but thanks for the information. I disagree on only one detail. Phonics is not necessarily the way some kids learn to read. My son was beat over the head with it, but did not learn to read until he was twelve when we found that he is a “sight” reader. He has a devil of a time listening to lectures and getting information that way.