Education, a New Religion?

A thought occurred to me while walking to the mailbox this morning.  Educators believe in processes that are not backed by evidence, but rather by hearsay.  Educators believe in methods that are not backed by science, but rather by faith.

Aren't these the principal characteristics of religion?

We are trusting the future of civilization to these people?

Are you scared yet?  I'm scared shitless. 

The more I think about it, the better the analogy works.  Education has high priests distributing the gospel: Ken Robinson, Michelle Rhee, Lucy Calkins, Dan Meyer, and that Khan guy.  These priests tour the land preaching, claiming to have found The One True Answer to all your educational problems.  All you have to do is follow their lead (by paying them $$$$), and you will find educational salvation.  It doesn't matter that they have not set foot in a classroom since the Ford Administration (if they ever did). 

Education has prophets who tell us the way things will be if just believe hard enough and pay the priests exorbitant fees.  Dewy, Bloom, Skinner, Rousseau, Gardner et al.  Don't worry your pretty little head that all their philosophy and/or science has been discredited by a mountain of more recent experiments.  Just keep dreaming that their utopian vision is achievable if you work very hard implementing all of the high priests' ideas.

Educators are dogmatic.  They are terrified of rigorous questioning and open debate.  It does not matter how much evidence (in the form of scientific studies or personal experience) you bring to the discussion, if you do not agree with the prevailing dogma, you are in big trouble.  Don't believe me?  Read E.D. Hirsch's story about teaching an education class in The Making of Americans.  Talk to any senior teacher in the cities of New York and Washington D.C. where oppressive evaluation systems are designed to punish and squash dissent.

Educators ignore effective teaching practices.  Case in point: Direct Instruction.  Forty years after Project Follow Through demonstrated Direct Instruction's superiority over other teaching methods, few teachers even know about it, let alone use it.  Subsequent research shows Direct Instruction works with all kinds of students in a myriad of settings, yet educators actively work to hide it.  Why?  Because it directly contradicts all of the Progressive prophets and priests of education.

Education has become a cult.  A dangerous, destructive cult.  Be afraid, be very afraid.