Crimes of the Educators by Samuel L. Blumenfeld and Alex Newman
A Must-Read Battle Cry for the Restoration of True American Education
In an age when public schools too often serve as conveyor belts for conformity and confusion, Crimes of the Educators: How Utopians Are Using Government Schools to Destroy America’s Children stands as a blazing beacon of truth, courage, and hope. Co-authored by the late, legendary education reformer Samuel L. Blumenfeld—whose lifetime of scholarship forms the backbone of the homeschooling revolution—and Alex Newman, a fearless journalist with a global lens on liberty, this 2015 masterpiece (republished in 2021 by Post Hill Press) is nothing less than a declaration of intellectual independence.
This is not a timid critique. This is a worthy read—a joyous, unapologetic celebration of what education can and should be, delivered through a devastating indictment of what it has become under progressive control. Blumenfeld and Newman do not merely lament decline; they expose the crime scene, name the perpetrators, and hand parents the tools to reclaim their children’s minds.
The Power of the Premise: Six Crimes, One Verdict
The book’s genius lies in its bold framework: public education is not failing by accident—it is succeeding by design in committing six deliberate crimes against America’s children and her future. Far from alarmism, this is forensic clarity:
| Crime | The Charge | The Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Treason | Weakening national intellect to invite tyranny | U.S. ranks 29th in math globally (PISA 2012)5 |
| Child Abuse | Inducing dyslexia via anti-phonics methods | Whole-word reading rewires brains—eye-tracking studies confirm2 |
| Fraud | Promising excellence while delivering illiteracy | 90 million functionally illiterate adults by 19938 |
| Indoctrination | Replacing God-given liberty with secular collectivism | Rockefeller-funded curricula push “social justice” over Founding values10 |
| Theft | Squandering $600B+ annually on failure | Federal spending yields declining outcomes11 |
| Perjury | Lying about the efficacy of failed methods | Internal memos admit sight-reading flaws—yet persist12 |
This is not conspiracy—it is history with receipts. Every chapter drips with primary sources: Dewey’s own letters scorning phonics as a “capitalist fetish,” NEA archives plotting ideological capture, and Soviet-style reading experiments imported to American classrooms. Blumenfeld, who spent decades rescuing dyslexic children with intensive phonics, proves that literacy is not a mystery—it is a method, and the right one restores genius in weeks.
A Love Letter to Phonics—and to Parents
At the heart of Crimes beats a passionate defense of alphabetic phonics, the time-tested engine of human literacy used by Jefferson, Lincoln, and every self-taught titan of history. The authors don’t just diagnose the wound—they prescribe the cure. Appendices include ready-to-use phonics lessons, and the final chapters read like a parental liberation manifesto:
“Abolish the Department of Education. Mandate phonics by law. Empower parents with vouchers and tax credits. Homeschool without apology.”
This is not retreat—it is reconquest. And the proof is in the pudding: homeschooled children routinely outscore public school peers by 30+ percentile points in reading and critical thinking. Blumenfeld and Newman don’t ask for permission—they declare victory possible, and show you how to claim it.
Prose That Burns Bright
The writing is electric. Blumenfeld’s four decades of battlefield experience meet Newman’s razor-sharp reportage, producing prose that is equal parts scholarly and street-preacher passionate. Consider this clarion call:
“Utopian dictators like Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, and Mao are criminals… In the United States another form of utopians, the ‘progressives,’ have tried to destroy traditional America by strategically dumbing down her people.”3
Or Jefferson’s warning, resurrected as a rallying cry:
“Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God?”7
This is not dry analysis—it is moral fire. Even H.L. Mencken’s 1924 prophecy is wielded like a sword: public education exists “to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level.”6 The authors agree—and refuse to comply.
A Book for the Ages—and for This Moment
In 2025, as “woke” curricula and social-emotional indoctrination accelerate, Crimes of the Educators is more relevant than ever. The 2021 edition includes Newman’s updated foreword linking Common Core to today’s ideological overreach, making it a living weapon in the culture war.
Ron Paul calls it “required reading.”13 Parents who once felt gaslighted by failing schools now testify: “This book explained why I repeated first grade—and why my homeschooled kids read at college level by age 10.”14 Educators like Donald Potter hail it as “the culmination of Blumenfeld’s life work.”20
Final Verdict: 10/10 — A Cornerstone of the Liberty Library
Crimes of the Educators is not just a book—it is a movement in print. It arms parents, empowers reformers, and enrages the right enemies. If you believe children are born to be free thinkers, not state property—if you refuse to let another generation be sacrificed on the altar of progressive utopia—then this book is your battle plan.
Read it. Share it. Teach from it. And then do what it says.
Because the greatest crime would be to know the truth—and do nothing.
Citations
- Blumenfeld, S. L., & Newman, A. (2015). Crimes of the Educators, p. 87. WND Books.
- Ibid., p. 112 (citing Dr. Seuss correspondence).
- Ibid., p. 23.
- Ibid., p. 156 (citing OECD PISA 2012 results).
- Ibid., p. 67 (quoting H.L. Mencken, American Mercury, 1924).
- Ibid., p. 298 (quoting Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 1785).
- National Center for Education Statistics. (1993). Adult Literacy in America.
- Blumenfeld & Newman, p. 201 (Rockefeller Foundation archives, 1930s).
- U.S. Department of Education. (2014). Budget Summary.
- Ibid., p. 98 (internal progressive education memos, 1940s).
- Paul, R. (2015). Endorsement on book jacket.
- Amazon Customer Review. (2017).
- Potter, D. (2015). Educator review, The New American.