Sol Stern (born 1935) is the author of the book Breaking Free: Public School Lessons and the Imperative of School Choice (2003)
Early life
Stern was born in
Ramat Gan, Israel (then Mandatory Palestine) in 1935. He was raised in
the Bronx from infancy and attended the City College of New York; the University of Iowa; and the University of California, Berkeley.
Radicalism
Stern began his career with the radical magazine
Ramparts to which, in 1967, he contributed the article "A Short Account of International Student Politics and the Cold War with Particular Reference to the NSA, CIA, etc." It included the allegation that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had supported the National Student Association, ties that later were confirmed by the organization itself. The CIA funded overseas projects to the tune of $3.3 million, and it recruited NSA staff members for intelligence work.
In 1968, Stern signed the "Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments to protest the
Vietnam War.
["Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" January 30, 1968 New York Post]
Conservative shift
His departure from radicalism came after
New Left attacks on Israel.
He also collaborated with
Ronald Radosh on a research project into the evidence against Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Originally intending to prove their innocence, Stern and Radosh came to believe that the Rosenbergs had been guilty of spying for the
Soviet Union. In 2008,
The New York Times described him as a "cantankerous provocateur against liberal education policies, criticizing reading curriculums that de-emphasize phonics as well as public schools that focus on social justice."
[ Sol Stern interview at the New York Times, published February 13, 2008] Stern has written critiques of
Paulo Freire's work,
[ "Pedagogy of the Oppressor: Another reason why U.S. ed schools are so awful: the ongoing influence of Brazilian Marxist Paulo Freire.", City Journal, Spring 2009] Bill Ayers's career as an education reformer for
City Journal and elsewhere and of Palestinian motives "A Century of Palestinian Rejectionism and Jew Hatred (2011)".
[ "The Ed Schools’ Latest—and Worst—Humbug: Teaching for “social justice” is a cruel hoax on disadvantaged kids.", City Journal, Summer 2006][ "Obama’s Real Bill Ayers Problem: The ex-Weatherman is now a radical educator with influence.", City Journal, 23 April 2008] In 2020, Stern publicly broke with
City Journal, arguing the magazine had lost its independent outlook in the Trump era.
[ "Think Tank in the Tank." Democracy, July 7, 2020. ]
See also
External links
