[P]rogressive American educators at the beginning of the twentieth century instituted a utilitarian system of education that had its roots in the anti- intellectualism of the American frontier. This funnelled large numbers of students into vocational training programmes, depriving them of the benefits of a liberal education. The Language Police offers a kind of sequel to this argument. For, where earlier educators concentrated on practical learning, their successors concentrate on moral uplift and the building of self-esteem. In both cases, this comes at the expense of critical thinking. —Paula Marantz Cohen reviews Diane Ravitch’s The Laungauge Police: How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn —Make mine a vixen (Powells)

I blogged about this book back in April, 2003… haven’t gotten around to picking it up, though.