Honoring the Memory of Sol Stern
Sol Stern, a renowned journalist and education reformer, passed away in 2025. Known for his fierce polemical energy and consistent advocacy, Stern made significant contributions to City Journal, where he served as a longtime contributor and, under editor Myron Magnet, one of the country's sharpest critics of education orthodoxy.
Throughout his tenure at City Journal, Stern's main work focused on the effects of progressive education, particularly its failures and negative consequences on American public schools. He criticised politicised pedagogy, content-free curricula, and the destructive influence of educators like Paulo Freire, Lucy Calkins, and others.
In his critical essay, Stern highlighted the contrast between the approach of public schools, which follow an approach where students construct their own knowledge, and that of Catholic educators, who remained committed to the ideal that minority children can share in, and master, our civilization's intellectual and spiritual heritage.
Stern's reporting brought readers inside classrooms and made a compelling case that education reform was the civil rights struggle of our time. He authored the book "Breaking Free: Public School Lessons and the Imperative of School Choice", where he advocated for rigorous curricula, school choice, and accountability in public schools.
Stern believed that school choice backers pay insufficient attention to the content of classroom instruction. He called E. D. Hirsch, the most important education reformer of the past half-century, whose ideal of "cultural literacy" was not sought by today's public schools.
Apart from his education writing, Stern was a consistent defender of Israel and a relentless critic of anti-Semitism in the magazine. He also wrote passionately in support of Catholic schools as a vital refuge for disadvantaged kids in failing public systems.
Stern began his journalism career with Ramparts magazine in the 1960s, retaining the fierce polemical energy of his Ramparts days to the end. However, he publicly broke with City Journal and longtime friends like David Horowitz after Donald Trump's election in 2016.
As editor of City Journal, Brian C. Anderson recognised Stern's significant contributions, stating, "Sol Stern was a remarkable essayist, a passionate advocate for education reform, and a tireless defender of the values that make our civilisation great. His work will continue to inspire and challenge readers for years to come."
Stern's essays on topics like Tel Aviv, the Nakba, Hannah Arendt, and more, showcased his broad intellectual range and commitment to truth. His passing marks the end of an era in journalism and education reform, leaving behind a legacy that continues to influence and inspire.
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