05/11/2026
WHAT ARE WE REALLY TEACHING OUR CHILDREN?
Education goes beyond academic knowledge.
From an early age, children are exposed to systems of repetition, rewards, consequences, rules and authority. These experiences can shape their habits, beliefs, emotional responses and understanding of the world.
This is particularly interesting when we look at the science of the subconscious mind.
Psychologists such as Ivan Pavlov and B.F. Skinner studied how associations, repetition and reinforcement influence human and animal behaviour. Skinner even explored how these principles could be applied to classroom learning through programmed instruction.
In 1934, the American Historical Association published a report on social studies in schools, financed by the Carnegie Corporation. It openly discussed the changing economic structure of society and the growing role of education in preparing citizens for that changing world.
Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt later explored these developments in her book The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America.
The important question is not whether every school is deliberately programming children. It is whether we are teaching children to think independently or simply training them to follow instructions.
As parents, we should encourage curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, emotional awareness and the confidence to question things.
Because education should not just teach children what to think.
It should teach them HOW TO THINK., critical thinking is lost sin 2020.
Speaker video
Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt
Ctedit owner of the video.