You will find that government K-12 schools were a socialist scheme from the very beginning in the mid 19th century to turn American citizens into compliant mind-numbed workers for the fascist industrial-government complex.
It took a few generations but they have succeeded admirably. It only took 2 to 3 generations to produce FDRs socialism, and 2 to 3 more to yield Obama’s Marxist dream.
So...Please remember: IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO REFORM GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS! Why? BECAUSE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO REFORM SOCIALISM!
Yes, I am generally shouting at conservatives who wrongly believe that government schools can be fixed. Government schools must be shut down! Conservatives must find a way to provide universal, tuition-free, conservative, K-12 schooling for all the children in the nation.
No need to condescend. You are not the only person on this forum who knows who John Dewey was. And I do know a little about 19th century American history, having taught it at the university level. Public education worked fairly well until the 60s, when the Leftists took over and the federal government became involved, giving our country the advantage of near universal literacy that other countries didn’t match until much later. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the alternative to the mind-numbing fascist scheme you described was universal illiteracy, literacy being reserved for the wealthy. Your views are curiously close to those expressed by the early Bolsheviks. All that said, I tend to agree with you that the public school system we have today is beyond redemption.