The Hijacking of the American Mind

How Public Schools Became a Tool for Indoctrination

Public education in America was not always the ideological battlefield it is today. Its origins were modest—rooted in the desire to educate children in reading, writing, arithmetic, and above all, virtue. But what began as a noble pursuit has been quietly, deliberately transformed. Today, the American public school system stands as one of the most powerful instruments of social engineering in modern history—crafted not for education, but for indoctrination.

The Founding: Built on a Moral Foundation

America’s first schools were closely tied to Christian instruction. The New England Primer, used in the 17th and 18th centuries, taught children the alphabet using Scripture. The goal was clear: produce literate, moral citizens capable of self-government.

This remained the foundation of education well into the 19th century. Horace Mann, father of the Common School Movement, believed education must be moral—if not overtly religious, at least anchored in transcendent virtue. Schools were to supplement the moral formation that began in the home and the church.

The Turning Point: Bible Out, Chaos In

The shift began in earnest in the 1940s and culminated with two landmark Supreme Court cases in the early 1960s—Engel v. Vitale (1962) and Abington School District v. Schempp (1963)—which effectively removed prayer and Bible reading from public schools.

What followed was not an improvement in academic performance or moral clarity. It was a slow-motion collapse of order and civility.

Between 1960 and the late 1990s, every major indicator of school dysfunction exploded:

• Teen pregnancies skyrocketed.

• Drug use spread through the student population.

• Teacher assaults, school shootings, and general classroom defiance all rose dramatically.

• SAT scores plummeted.

• Respect for authority all but vanished.

The moral framework that once undergirded the educational system was dismantled—and the void was quickly filled.

The New Gospel: Progressive Ideology

Into that vacuum rushed a new religion—not one of creeds and catechisms, but of critical theory and cultural Marxism. Under the guise of “tolerance,” “inclusion,” and “equity,” public schools became indoctrination centers for secular progressive orthodoxy.

Instead of teaching children how to think, they are taught what to think:

• That America was founded not on liberty, but on oppression.

• That gender is a feeling, not a fact.

• That truth is subjective, and morality is oppressive.

• That the family is optional, and faith is irrelevant—if not harmful.

Social Emotional Learning (SEL), Critical Race Theory (CRT), and gender theory are not fringe electives—they are woven into textbooks, classroom discussions, school policies, and teacher training programs. These are not simply academic perspectives. They are dogmas, and questioning them is heresy.

This Is No Accident

This transformation was not an accident. It was engineered. John Dewey, one of the most influential architects of modern education, was an open atheist and socialist. He viewed public education not as a neutral pursuit of knowledge, but as a tool to reshape society into a secular, collectivist future. His ideas took root in teacher colleges and spread into public policy, textbooks, and curricula.

What began as a slow drift away from moral instruction has become a wholesale campaign to unmoor children from objective truth, parental authority, and biblical foundations.

The Result: A Nation in Decay

Is it any wonder, then, that children today are more anxious, more violent, and more confused than ever before? That mass shootings, suicides, and mental health crises are now regular features of the school landscape?

You cannot remove the moral anchor of Scripture and expect the ship to stay on course.

The Time to Reclaim Education Is Now

Parents must wake up. The fight for your child’s mind is real, and the battlefield is the classroom. Opting out of the fight is not neutrality—it’s surrender. Christians and conservatives must build, support, and defend alternative education systems grounded in truth. That means private schools, classical Christian academies, homeschooling co-ops, and aggressive engagement with school boards and policy.

The goal isn’t to go back to the 1950s. It’s to rebuild on the rock that never changes.

We must restore an education system that teaches not only facts but wisdom—and that dares once again to say: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” (Proverbs 1:7)