The report, A Nation at Risk, sounded the alarm about the quality of American schools and the potential for a looming disaster. “The educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and as a people,” it said.
The expression of angst, amplified by the media and Reagan in public hearings around the US, is described by Dana Goldstein’s book, The Teacher Wars, as one of the most influential federal documents ever published. It had some positive outcomes, such as securing the future of the education department despite Reagan’s 1980 campaign promise to abolish it. But in creating a narrative of failure, it arguably led to a generational cycle of blaming and underpaying teachers that puts the current shortcomings of the Trump administration into perspective.
Read the full article on The Guardian website.